Americana West Music Festival 2024, Day 1 Concert Review

The Americana West Music Festival opened last night at the Hotel Café, the first of two nights of fantastic music and great vibes. The Hotel Café has two stages and both were in action, so choices had to be made regarding who you wanted to see at any given moment. The great thing was that whatever you choice you made, it was the right one. There were no mediocre artists at this thing. Whoever you were watching, you were certain to be enjoying the music.

Francis Blume

The doors opened a bit late, but that actually didn’t affect the schedule, as Francis Blume, scheduled to go on at 7, went on at 7:05 p.m., as close to on time as one could expect. He did a solo acoustic set. This was in the larger room, which is where I started the evening. I immediately dug Francis Blume. With his first song, “One Way To Omaha,” he created cool, dark atmosphere, and included some whistling. He followed that with “Kills Me.” “It’s a real upper,” he joked after telling us the song’s title in his introduction. His set also included “Can’t Pretend,” “Now That I Care,” “Daydream” and “Gone For Good.” When introducing “Daydream,” he said that he wrote it about hating his day job. “But, good for me, the company I worked for went bankrupt.” His set ended at 7:31 p.m.

Alex Jordan

Then, as Alex Jordan was setting up, Ted Russell Kamp joined him on stage. It turned out that Ted was part of the house band backing several of the artists over the course of the evening. Very cool. Ted Russell Kamp is one of those musicians who get me interested in projects just through their involvement. Another of those musicians is Carl Byron, but more on him in a bit. At 7:38 p.m., Alex Jordan was ready to go. How’s that for a quick changeover? He opened his set with “Queen Kerosene,” which had a great country rock sound. That song is the title track to his new album, and his set focused on that release. Before going into “Blue,” the Jayhawks song, which he also included on that new CD, Alex said, referring to the musicians backing him, “I met these guys about ninety minutes ago.” Talented musicians can pick up things quickly, and though these guys weren’t Alex Jordan’s regular backing band, you’d never know it if he hadn’t mentioned it. Their rendition of “Blue” featured a nice lead on guitar during the jam. They also jammed on the next song, “Emily,” a fun number. After it, Alex said, “This is a fun day.” Indeed. His set also included “Made To Fall Easy” and “Saving Grace.” His set ended at 8:06 p.m.

Ryan Hahn

Ryan Hahn was up next, using the same backing band. Ryan Hahn was someone I’d seen last summer at a special concert celebrating Mick Jagger’s 80th birthday, where he played with his band The Believers. At that show he did only one original song, “Alright,” which he also played last night. But he opened his set with “Little Town,” which mentions “the hills of Kentucky,” where he was originally from. And in introducing “Farmers Son,” he said that a lot of his songs are about coming from Kentucky, from a small town, and coming to Los Angeles. Though every once in a while you’ll meet a native of this city, most of us have come from elsewhere and can relate strongly to this material. He followed “Farmers Son” with “Dead Man’s Mine,” a powerful number that found the band jamming again, and wrapped up his set with “Evil Girl.”

Shane Alexander

Ryan Hahn’s set ended at 8:38 p.m., and I rushed over to the other stage to catch Shane Alexander’s set, which had been scheduled to start at 8:40 p.m. I got there at 8:39, and found that he was already playing. I mentioned earlier that I tend to pay attention to projects that certain musicians get involved with, and that Carl Byron is one of those musicians. Well, a couple of days ago, he had posted that he was going to be playing with Shane Alexander, which is why I was determined to catch his set. Carl hadn’t steered me wrong yet, and that perfect track record continues, for I immediately connected to Shane’s music. When introducing “A Heart Like Mine,” he said that Carl Byron plays on his new album, and that is a disc I want to add to my collection. “A Heart Like Mine” was a beautiful song. “This is not our first goodbye” was a line that stood out for me. He followed that with “You Make Your Own Luck,” which he had written with Danny McGough. “You find your own way/It’s never too late.” “Ballad Of The Troubadour” was a song he wrote because his father-in-law didn’t understand why he does what he does, and in it he sings that a song can make the world just a little bit better. Obviously, everyone who attended the festival last night agrees with that. He wrapped up his set with “Front Porch Serenade,” finishing at 8:58 p.m.

Los Rock Angels

I stayed at the second stage to catch the next three acts, beginning with Los Rock Angels, a band that has been around since the late 1980s, and last night was introduced as the “most elusive band” in southern California. Could that be why I had never seen them before? I don’t know, but I’m so happy that I saw them last night. They opened their set with “Hole In My Heart,” and immediately had the whole crowd smiling. “There’s a hole in my heart where there used to be you/I loved you so much, I don’t know what to do.” “Happy Friday night, everybody,” they said after that song. Well, these guys were making sure it was a happy Friday night for everyone in the room. This band was certainly delivering the most cheerful music of the night, at least thus far. They encouraged dancing, and some folks moved tables to create a little room. Their set also included “Mexicajun Baby” and “Heartaches, Tears And Water,” along with a few others whose titles I don’t know. There was some delicious work on accordion, and, at one point, some great stuff on harmonica. Their set ended at 9:50 p.m.

Wolftrap

 

Next up was Wolftrap, another group I had not seen before, and another that I loved right away. They opened their set with “Fucked Up Blues,” featuring some sweet vocal work. They followed that with “Angeline,” folk rock that really rocks. After that, they mentioned how they moved to L.A. just a couple of years ago, and said that Los Rock Angels are their new favorite band. I get that, but I bet Wolftrap’s next song made them a new favorite of everyone in the room. It was a delightful song about gangrene that had many folks laughing out loud, yet also had a beautiful, sweet sound. That was followed by “CRISPR Blues,” which began with some good blues guitar work and included the line “Cookin’ up some new DNA.” Yes, I absolutely love these guys. Their set ended at 10:28 p.m.

Gilbert Louie Ray Band

Earlier I mentioned the Mick Jagger birthday concert which was organized and hosted by Jay Souza of Patrolled By Radar. Another of the groups that played that show was Gilbert Louie Ray Band, and that group followed Wolftrap last night. I had enjoyed their short set last year, and was excited to hear a little more from these guys. I wasn’t the only one excited about their set, for the room got even more crowded as they began, and most of the people there were familiar with the band’s material. Their set included “What I Have Left,” a cover of Marty Robbins’ “Doggone Cowboy” (with Jordan Hook joining them on guitar) and “Allegedly,” along with a few others. And apparently the band has an album coming out this summer, so that’s another release to keep an eye out for.

Al Dual

It was already after 11 p.m., and I rushed back to the first stage to catch Matt Axton’s special set. But, fortunately for me, they were a little behind in that main room, and Al Dual was still on stage. Holy moly, what a performance! The energy and joy were tremendous, and the music featured some phenomenal guitar work. I caught only a couple of songs, but they were enough to make me want to own everything this artist has put out. So when the set ended, I asked them if they had any records and CDs for sale. They assured me they did have a record out in their car, and that they’d bring a copy back for me. And indeed, they did. While Matt Axton was playing, a member of the group handed me a copy of Reel To Reel. It was my only music purchase of the night, and I can’t wait to enjoy it.

Matt Axton singing "Joy To The World"

Matt Axton put on a special set to close out the first night. Labeled “Americana Joy,” the set featured several artists joining him for two songs each, the first a song written by Hoyt Axton (Matt’s father) and the second being an original. Molly Kruse was the first artist to join him, and kicked off the set with “Boney Fingers,” with the crowd singing along. It was a total delight. Matt stepped off the stage then for Molly’s original number, “Out Of My Hands,” which featured a lead on bass by Ted Russell Kamp and even a short drum solo. Regina Ferguson then joined Matt for a nice rendition of “Evangelina.”  Regina played guitar on her original song, “Carolinas,” with Matt stepping off again. Matt then mentioned the title of the set, “Americana Joy,” and said the “Joy” was because of his father’s most famous song, “Joy To The World.” Taylor Hungerford, of Tar & Flowers, played “The Pusher,” a song recorded by Steppenwolf and featured in Easy Rider. Taylor was on electric guitar as well as vocals, and Matt did not play on this one. It was excellent rendition, with a particularly good jam. Taylor followed that with his “Spinning In Gold,” which was also fantastic. Matt did not play on this one either. Nena Anderson joined Matt for a wonderful rendition of “Little White Moon.” Her original was “One More,” on which she played guitar. Jordan Hook was the final guest of the set, and he chose “Never Been To Spain,” another of Hoyt Axton’s well-known compositions, and then played his own “Dancin’ Fool.” Matt did not play on either song. That was the end of the guests, but not the end of the set. In fact, Matt had planned on playing another six songs, but perhaps because things were running a bit late, he cut it down to only two. The first, “Bad Moon,” featured some delicious work on guitar, with the two guitarists trading licks. “Who do you think won that battle?” Matt asked someone in the crowd. The night concluded with “Joy To The World,” with the audience singing along. The show ended at 12:46 a.m.

The fun continues tonight at 7 at the Hotel Café.

Los Rock Angels

Wolftrap

 

Gilbert Louie Ray Band

Al Dual

Molly Kruse

Regina Furgison and Matt Axton

Taylor Hungerford and TRK

Nena Anderson and Matt Axton

Jordan Hook