Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

The Navigator

Star's festival serves up variety

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published January 27, 2006

I'm a lucky guy. Over the years, I've been asked to review numerous concerts for the St. Petersburg Times, and although the tight deadlines can be challenging, it's always fun.

On a few especially fortunate occasions, the bosses tapped me to review shows I happily would have paid to see as a fan, from Steve Earle to Slipknot, Emmylou Harris to Def Leppard, Lucinda Williams to Ludacris.

Sure, my tastes are eclectic. But they weren't always that way.

I grew up believing rock was the only true music. Rap was a lame fad. Folk singers were lame whiners.

And, of course, country music was only for rednecks.

That's right. I was a complete idiot.

Some people never break out of that mind-set, but again, I was lucky.

In my late teens, a friend turned me on to Public Enemy, which showed me rap could be even more powerful than my beloved hard rock and punk.

Another introduced me to R.E.M., which taught me that great music can belong to a variety of genres, enjoying folk, country and blues influences.

But I never really got into a country artist until I heard Steve Earle, an incredible singer-songwriter whose mighty repertoire includes elements of traditional country, bluegrass, rock, pop, folk and even hard rock, and sometimes all in the same song. Heck, the guy even does a blistering cover of Nirvana's Breed.

Over time I gained an appreciation not only for "alternative" country artists such as Earle, but also those steeped in more traditional country.

When you're asked to review a George Strait or Travis Tritt concert, you get educated on their stuff real quick. And you realize just why they're stars.

The thing is, from country to metal to punk to rap, all of these genres have a foundation in the original rhythm-and-blues-based rock 'n' roll. They're cousins in an extremely extended family.

So it's refreshing to see the cousins reunite on occasion, like when rapper Nelly and country artist Tim McGraw teamed up last year for the hit single Over and Over. So much for thinking those genres could never find common ground.

On the other hand, probably none of this is surprising to Charlie Daniels, who brings his country music festival, Charlie-palooza, back to the Ford Amphitheatre on Saturday.

The Charlie Daniels Band has been cranking out a potent mixture of country and Southern rock for years, and 1979's The Devil Went Down to Georgia was the perfect crossover tune, an epic dose of country rock with memorably kick-butt fiddle action.

Charlie-palooza is Daniels' annual daylong benefit show for The Angelus, a St. Petersburg organization that provides housing to severely disabled persons. Daniels has been holding local benefits for The Angelus for more than 15 years.

Among the dozen acts joining the Charlie Daniels Band is Montgomery Gentry, a duo well-versed in mixing traditional country with straight-up guitar rock for maximum impact.

The veteran Southern rock crew Marshall Tucker Band, which still retains a couple of original members, always is a favorite. And because most attendees likely are WQYK-FM 99.5 listeners, they'll enjoy performances by Cledus T. Judd and Chad Brock, who star on the station's morning show when they're not making music.

And for anyone who said they'd never be caught dead at a country music concert, please consider this: I've had more fun and met nicer, genuine people at most country shows than at the average rock show.

So even if country's not your usual bag, check it out. You might like it.

- Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 813 226-3431. His blog is at www.sptimes.com/blogs/tampaarts

Charlie-palooza, featuring the Charlie Daniels Band and 12 other acts, is Saturday at the Ford Amphitheatre. Gates open at 1 p.m., and the music starts at 2. Charlie Daniels Band performs at 9:30 followed by a jam session to close the show. Tickets are $14.95 to $59.95 and available at ticketmaster.com or fordamp.com/. For information, go to charliepalooza.com/.

[Last modified January 27, 2006, 11:43:52]