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7 must-see artists at Beach Road Weekend on Martha’s Vineyard
Imagine an island music fest filled with iconic artists and beautiful beaches… No, not that one. You won’t find sliced bread with Kraft singles at Martha’s Vineyard’s Beach Road Weekend Aug. 25-27, but you will find a punk legend, Grammy winners, ice cream, doughnuts, sausages, and organic popcorn.
Single-day passes and other tickets are still available. How do you get there? Check here and here.
Who should you see? I got you. (The festival notes that their schedule is subject to change; I’ve used their most recent time/day info.)
Patti Smith
Icon. All hail the punk poet laureate. A 2021 Grammy Hall-of-Famer for her seminal 1975 album “Horses,” the poet/singer/National Book Award Winner has always been her own person through and through. She’s inspirational — and yet can be gruff and funny with a sailor’s mouth — in a live show. I saw her in New Bedford about five years ago, and she told the crowd, “I’m 71, I’m gonna f***ing enjoy life.” Now 76, she’s still f***ing enjoying it — and a great Insta follow, whether she’s wandering Edgartown or hanging with the Dude. With her band, Friday, 5:15 p.m.
Kevin Morby
Do yourself a favor and listen to “This Is A Photograph” now. (Well, after you read this.) From the chill-out folk-breezy “Beautiful Strangers” to the calypso-folk beats of “Harlem River,” the 35-year-old sounds, at various times, like he could be from the ‘70s, ‘80s, or very much of today. He just dropped his first-ever film score, “Music From Montana Story,” the cover of which also somehow captures his whole timeless, dreamy vibe. Friday, 1:30 p.m.
Twiddle
… Aaaand I lost the jam band fans. They’re in line at the ferry terminal. Yup, the Vermont-grown jammers bring the cow funk and Phish flavor. Check here for a sense of the psychedelia and grooves. Saturday, 12:45 p.m.
Gary Clark Jr.
Incendiary. “Not only one of the best guitarists of my generation, he’s also one of the most creative musical forces,” as Lukas Nelson, Willie’s son, once told me. The guitar hero has jammed with Beyoncé, collaborated with Alicia Keys and Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover, was invited to the Obama White House in 2012, has played tributes to Tom Petty and Jeff Beck, rocked Ringo’s birthday show, and you have to see him jam with the Rolling Stones and John Mayer on “Going Down.” Check “When My Train Pulls In” for a sense of his finger-work. Going down the Gary Clark Jr. guitar-licks YouTube rabbit hole (which I just did) is very much worth it. Saturday, 4:15 p.m.
Leon Bridges
Sunday’s headliner brings that smooth finish to the fest with his signature neo-soul funk. I can’t get enough of “Texas Sun” — his dreamy groove-trip of a collab with Khruangbin. Like Morby, the 34-year-old Grammy winner has that brilliant knack for channeling vintage vibes: at various points, he’s ‘60s soul, ’70s R&B, with a dash of Laurel Canyon in there at times, other times more Al Green, Sam Cooke. Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
Dispatch
Where my fellow ‘90s kids at? If you went to high school or college in Massachusetts in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s, you know every word to “The General” and are already singing it right now. The Vermont-born, Boston-based indie rockers have had a few incarnations and breaks over the years. Catch ‘em now and relive your glory days. Saturday, 5:15.
Mumford & Sons
The band that sounds like a moving company and is actually a group of pals is known for putting on epic live shows. The U.K. band has been hooking audiences with catchy tunes, riffs, and jam-grass breakdowns since ’07. Bring your dancing shoes. You can’t help but move when they get going. Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
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Welp, I promised you seven and I’ll keep my word —but I could list a full dozen:
- Bon Iver
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- John Hiatt
- Mary Chapin Carpenter
Learn more here.
Lauren Daley can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1.
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