Matt Smith group is, from left, Matt Smith, Jeff Sipe and Reed Mathis.

When local guitar player Matt Smith decided to record some of his new tunes, he imagined a dream team to back him up. He wanted to get Reed Mathis, of Tea Leaf Green, into the studio at the same time as Jeff Sipe, of many different projects. The only problem would be getting the sought-after musicians — who are nearly perpetually on tour — in the same room at the same time.

As luck would have it, Mathis’ band was booked to play the 2010 edition of Wakarusa, the annual music festival on Mulberry Mountain in Franklin County. Sipe had a few days off in the same time frame, so Smith sent them demo tracks, gathered the two musicians in Crisp Recording Studios in Fayetteville for a whirlwind three-day session and cranked out 11 tracks.

The resulting album, “Now or Never,” will be released on Saturday (March 12) at Greenhouse Grille in Fayetteville.

Smith talked to me about his motivation for recording songs on his own (apart from his regular duties as a guitarist in the Flipoff Pirates), how he approaches his sound and what listeners can expect on the new album. You can read that story here if you are a subscriber to the Northwest Arkansas Media group papers or its online products.

The trio — who had never played together before the recording sessions last summer — will reunite for Saturday night’s show, which will begin at 10:30 p.m. Also guesting during the evening is Smith’s daughter, Annsley Smith, and his father, Gus Smith, both of whom were featured on a track on the record.

Admission to the show is $15.

Widespread Panic. All photos by KEVIN KINDER, NWA Media

Saturday was expected to be the big day.
The big artists. The day of big attendance. The day of the heaviest excesses.
And?
It was one big party.
The Wakarusa Festival continued into Saturday with artists such as Widespread Panic, Zappa Plays Zappa and The Black Keys and a population of festival goers that certainly reached its highest point of the entire event, which continues through today (Sunday) at Mulberry Mountain near Ozark.
It was a full day of music, dust, heat, partying and more. If you can imagine it, it can happen at a music festival.

High temperatures did not temper the enthusiasm of the crowd, which turned out in force to see the mainstage artists such as Widespread Panic, who drew a crowd of perhaps 10,000 fans that formed a sea of dancers.

There were plenty of other memorable sets, too.

We started the day with Truth & Salvage Co., a six-piece Americana outfit based in Los Angeles. The group swung between nostalgic looks at country music to a lopping zydeco. Lyrically, the group was a little weak, but a crowd of perhaps 100 in the noontime hour swayed along them for the durations of their set.
They were followed on the mainstage by Tea Leaf Green, a Wakarusa festival staple and a jam band that writes a mean pop song. I didn’t catch much of the band’s show, but I walked away impressed (again) at their musicianship.

Blues Traveler

Sticking with the mainstage, Blues Traveler followed with a bluesy, soulful, virtuoso performance. Although recognizable for their hits in the mid-90s, the band that took the stage on Saturday afternoon was one adept at solos, especially those of lead vocalist John Popper, who also played harmonica and did it well. The group did play their biggest hits, including “But Anyway,” Runaround” and “Hook” and a surprisingly delightful cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.” They are truly a formidable band.

Next up on the mainstage was Ohio-based duo The Black Keys, who are touring in support of a new album, “Brothers.”

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys

Their set marked the beginning of the large mainstage crowds, as many 5,000 thousand gathered to watch their 90-minute set. They started with older tracks such as “Stack Shot Billy” and “Girl Is On My Mind” before adding two touring members – a bassist and a keyboard player – and diving into a block of songs from “Brothers”: “Everlasting Light,” “Tighten Up,” “Next Girl,” “Howlin’ For You,” and “10 Cent Pistol,” all played in short order.

They beefed the songs up with short solos, and guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach must be acknowledged for his guitar play. He’s not a noodler like some of those on the list (we’ll get to that in a minutes) but he played menacingly at times and played some absolutely filthy guitar riffs, including the barnstormer that runs through “I Got Mine,” the song they closed the set with.

It got greasier with the psychedelic rock of Zappa Plays Zappa. The eight-piece band is led by Dweezil Zappa, who plays the music of his late father, Frank Zappa. I’m not terribly familiar with the Frank Zappa catalog, but Zappa Plays Zappa certainly captured some of the weirdness of the Zappa sound. The group played cuts like “Daddy Daddy Daddy” and “Keep It Greasy,” with Dweezil Zappa often instructing the crowd about the album the songs came from.

A stage over, at the Revival Tent, Slightly Stoopid drew an overflow crowd to watch their blend of rock, reggae and other genres. I didn’t stay long, but the crowd, a young rambunctious group, was already grooving when I left.

It was perhaps the biggest name on the entire bill – Widespread Panic – that closed out the mainstage entertainment. The group from Georgia has been playing for two decades and has a roster of songs that can fill much much more than the three-hour block of time they were given.

The group switches focal points between members, letting players such as Jimmy Herring on guitar and Dave Schools on bass have their way with their instruments.

It’s impossible to guess because of the dark and immense amount of ground in the festival area, perhaps 10,000 people gathered to watch. But, others were headed elsewhere, too.

JJ Grey played a late night set. So did Split Lip Rayfield and dozens more.

It was a big day indeed.

Tea Leaf Green is looking for a reason. They’ve got a reason to be in Fayetteville: They play tonight (March 9) at George’s Majestic Lounge.

Friend of the blog and music aficionado DGold, host of the Honest Tunes Radio Show on KXUA (88.3 FM) is hosting a live performance and a live Web cast from California-based rockers Tea Leaf Green, who play today (March 9) at George’s Majestic Lounge.

The band will be playing live (acoustic) at 6 p.m. on the radio show and streamed live from the show via UStream starting about 9 p.m.

For details or links, check out http://dgold.info/radio

Of course, nothing beats seeing a show live. The show starts about 9 p.m.; local band Mountain of Venus opens. Tickets, which are available through the venue’s Web site, are $15.

The Avett Brothers

As I stood watching the Thursday night (Aug. 13) activities at the Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival near Ozark, it sure looked like there were fewer people at the festival than the year before.

Had the change in date got them? Did last year’s hurricane condition — and rain at previous festivals, too — dissuade people from coming?

Nope.

The difference in attendance between Thursday night and when I returned to the festival site in the early afternoon hours of Friday (Aug. 14) was remarkable. And people just kept coming.

When I arrived again on Friday, I was forced to park at the outermost of the camping grounds. Just an hour later, after watching the bands, my campsite was engulfed, just another spot in a ever-widening army of tents and cars with out-of-state plates.

It’s hard to say how many people are currently on the Mulberry Mountain site, which is located on Arkansas 23 about 8 miles south of Arkansas 16.

But it’s clear that the beautiful weather, coupled with the prospect of seeing bands such as The Avett Brothers, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and dozens of other acts, were too hard to resist.

Click the ‘more’ link below to continue reading about the Friday-night events at the Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival.

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Festivals are a unique experience. At one point last night, sitting at my campsite, I could distinctly hear three band playing at the same time. You’re forced to pick and choose, and there are always some that get left behind, even acts you really want to see. Here is what I caught:

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5:15 p.m., Split Lip Rayfield, Downhome Stage

At this point in time, it might be appropriate to offer a disclaimer: I’ve seen Split Lip Rayfield far too many times to be considered a casual fan, and this show would mark my second time in two days.

In the heart of the midday sun, which, despite complaints from the fans, was never unbearable, considering what a day in mid-August can sometimes reach, Split Lip offered a different set than the one they played just 20 hours prior at a stage next door.

Sure, they included several of the songs that would be considered their hits, such as “Redneck Tailgate Dream” and “Kiss of Death,” but they also offered some that they didn’t the evening before, stompers such as “3.2 Flu” and “Little More Cocaine Please.”

It was as robust and enthusiastic as the evening before, despite the temperature and a crowd that had to chose between them and popular festival draw Railroad Earth.

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6:40 p.m., Tea Leaf Green, Main Stage

I didn’t get to stay for the entirety of the Tea Leaf Green set, due mostly to the fact that I was hungry and wandered off for something to eat.

They spooled off several jams as I meandered about, relying alternately between keyboards and guitar as the focal point. Late in the set, as I was walking back toward the concert area, they invited Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth to join them.

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8:45 p.m., Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Main Stage

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Harvest Festival director Dewey Patton told the Times prior to the start of the event that he hoped the addition of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and The Ozark Mountain Daredevils would expand the festival’s demographic base and attract a few older than the typical 20-somethings that dominate these events, age wise.

It looks to be a success.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who originated in California in the late ’60s, drew a sizable  crowd to watch them play a series of songs from all of the decades since.

They played the early stuff, such as “Mr. Bojangles,” the Bob Dylan song that they covered early in their career and helped launch them as a commercial act, and new songs, too, such as “The Resurrection,” which lead singer Jeff Hanna declared would appear on a new studio album the band plans to release next month.

They also played a few covers along the way, including “Some Dark Hour” by the Grateful Dead (it is impossible to attend a music festival and not have some band, somewhere, play a Grateful Dead song) and also a snazzy, downtempo version of The Beatles’ “Get Back.”

Whatever song they were playing, the highlight was John McEuen. His mastery of three instruments — mandolin, banjo and fiddle — is greater than most achieve on any. About halfway through the set, he stopped to tell jokes, and played a solo banjo medley that included traditionals such as “Turkey In The Straw” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” that amazed and inspired.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band setlist: 1) 2) Long Hard Road; 3) The Resurrection; 4) Going to the Country; 5) Rippling Waters; 6) Some Dark Hour [Grateful Dead cover]; 7) My Walking Shoes Don’t Fit Me Anymore; 8) Return to Dismal Swamp; 9) Get Back [Beatles cover]; 10) Working Man With Nowhere To Go; 11) Mr. Bojangles; 12) Bless The Broken Road; 13) Traditional banjo medley; 14) did not catch the title 15) Fishing In The Dark; 16) Baby’s Got a Hold On Me 17) American Dream 18) Bayou Jubilee 19) Cadillac Ranch

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11 p.m., The Avett Brothers, Main Stage

Here is what you need to know about The Avett Brothers: They are any kind of band they want to be. Some of their songs are tender. Others are heartbreaking. Some are rollicking. At some points, the band was fully electronic, with guitars, bass and drums. Others, it was just the two brothers harmonizing over a single guitar.

And here is what else you need to know: Their reputation as a sensational live act is deserved, and it stems from the fact that they pull it off. They are ferocious when they want to be, soft when they need to be and utterly convincing at both. During songs such as the new “Kick Drum Heart,” their boisterous behavior carries the speedy tune. On others, such as “Shame,” they are heartbreak epitomized, an astonishing act of confessional honesty.

Highlights included the moving balladry of “Murder in the City,” and “November Blue” and the stomping, gritty, “Hard Worker.”

The brother duo from North Carolina along with bandmate and bassist Bob Crawford (and also with part-time contributer Joe Kwon on cello), alternately tore through old and new material. They played two songs off an album that won’t be released until September, and it’s a good indicator at how fast this band is moving into the public consciousness. They have recently signed to Columbia Records to work with famed producer Rick Rubin, who will release the new album under his own offshoot American Recordings.

Here’s why it’s telling: Their album won’t be out for seven more weeks, and only one of the songs has been released as a single, and even then, only briefly, but already hundreds were singing that song, “I And Love And You,” when it was played Friday night.

As their set concluded the main stage performances, the fans screamed for an encore that would never come. Seth Avett simply came out, pointed at his watch to indicate they were out of time and went about his way.

And if my campsite and those around me were any indication, everyone in the crowd went on to talk about The Avett Brothers.

The Avett Brothers set list: 1) Please Pardon Yourself; 2) Famous Flower of Manhattan; 3) did not catch the title; 4) Late In Life; 5) (The) Living Of Love; 6) Paranoia In B Major; 7) Denouncing November Blue (Uneasy Writer); 8) That’s How I Got To Memphis; 9) Hard Worker; 10) Pretend Love; 11) I Killed Sally’s Lover; 12)  not sure of the title; 13) Swept Away; 14) Salina 15) I And Love And You; 16) Kick Drum Heart; 17) Murder In The City; 18) Shame; 19) Colorshow; 20) Down With The Shine; 21) November Blue 

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1 a.m., Cornmeal, Downhome Stage

I sort of listened to Cornmeal. They were playing not far from my campsite. I know they played at least two covers, bluegrass style: “You Should Be Dancing” by The Bee Gees and “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)” by The Doors. Really.

I know they were playing at 2 a.m. But there were other concerns. It was time to sit back and relax and enjoy the Arkansas evening and recount the concert victories we’d all experienced during the day.

There needed to be a little rest, too.

There is plenty more music happening today.