THE CAPITOL GROOVE – YEAR ONE – BUSHNELL PARK – HARTFORD
By Joe Perusse
The inaugural Capitol Groove was held on the lawn at Bushnell Park June 29 and 30 and in my impression was a rousing success. The music was outstanding, there were plenty of food and drink options, free water stations and port a potties. There was never a long line waiting for any of these choices. The VIP area, chair and blanket section and standing areas were clearly marked and email updates came all weekend long.
Leading off the show, very appropriately was The Cap Groove All Stars featuring a combination of Hartford’s finest musicians playing Funk, Blues, Jazz, R&B and Hip Hop. Vocalists Erica Tracy, Brandon Serafino and Briana Maia each sang 2 songs and bassist Doug Wimbish from Living Colour closed the set with a hip hop medley. Joining them on stage were Andy Sorenson (Guitar), Paulie Philippone (Keys), Tom Sullivan (Bass) and Dwayne Keith (Drums).
Next was the soulful trio Say She She consisting of vocalists Piya Malik, Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown. They had some catchy songs and got the early crowd up dancing.
Ozomatli from Los Angeles was a nice party band with urban latino influences. They threw shirts into the crowd, joked about it being hotter than satan’s taint and enjoying walks around Hartford meeting the crackheads. Ending the final song of their set with a instrumental parade through the crowd kept the party theme intact. The band members include Wil-Dog Abers (Bass), Raul Pacheco (Guitar), Justin “El Nino” Poree (Rap Vocals, Percussion), Asdrubal Sierra (Lead Vocals, Trumpet), Ulises Bella (Sax) and Jiro Yamaguchi (Drums).
Photos Isaac Nines Photography
Trampled By Turtles a Bluegrass band from Minnesota, not exactly the mecca of bluegrass, had more people heading to the barricades to get a closer look. Dave Simonett (Vocals, Guitar) founded the band and made a superb decision hiring Ryan Young (Fiddle) as it was hard to take your eyes off of his impressive playing. Tim Saxhaug (Bass), Erik Berry (Mandolin), Dave Carroll (Banjo), and Eamonn McLain (Cello) complete the lineup.
Shakey Graves from Austin Texas featured a little bit of Blues, Folk, Country and Rock and shared a funny story about being young and moving out of his parents house to move away with his girl to make music. He highly does not recommend this path to success.
Next up was my reason for attending Saturday, The Revivalists. I have seen them before and it is always a fun show. This was no exception as David Shaw (Lead Vocals, Guitar) was his usual ball of energy running around the stage and at times through the crowd. Rob Ingraham (Sax) was impressive with multiple solo jams. Zack Feinberg (Guitar), Andrew Campanelli (Drums), George Gekas (Bass), Ed Williams (Pedal Steel Guitar), Michael Giradot (Keys, Trumpet) and PJ Howard (Drums, Percussion) didn’t let the constant rain throughout their set slow them down a bit. There was a good amount of people leaving after the set. The rain could have been a factor as it was still early in the evening.
Closing night one was My Morning Jacket, a rock, country, psychedelic mix from Louisville Kentucky. More people headed up to the standing area as that section was the most packed of the day. They certainly had the best light show we’ve seen so far. Extended jams throughout the set showcased the musicianship of the members, Jim James (Vocals, Guitar), Tom Blankenship (Bass), Patrick Hallahan (Drums), Carl Broemel (Guitar) and Bo Koster (Keys).
Sunday started out hot and humid as Vincent Lima, a solo artist from Los Angeles took the stage. He made jokes about how poorly his career is going and had a greek mythology theme running through his set.
The heat and humidity was about to end for the day as festival organizers made an announcement that severe storms were approaching and everyone should head to their cars, or elsewhere, to take cover until it was safe to return. This was a smart decision as a huge thunderstorm roared through the area. Organizers kept everyone up to date throughout with multiple emails. When we were finally let back in the standing room area on one side of the stage was now closed off as a small pond had formed in Bushnell Park. Also taking a hit because of the weather, sets by The Suffers and Tank and the Bangas needed to be cut.
Trevor Hall, a combination of rock and folk musician led off the second part of the day. Worried about time as things were already behind schedule he mentioned he was not gonna talk a lot and just get through as many songs as he could. He did mentioned he was impressed with the security team as they were hitting the multiple beach balls flowing around back out into the crowd.
Guster, an alternative rock group from Massachusetts, forms originally at Tufts University was in a playful mood. Ryan Miller (Guitar, Vocals) was immediately worried that you could see a coffee stain in his shirt up on the big screen. He said he didn’t want to disrespect Connecticut with a stained shirt but he did it right as he was going to walk on stage. He then made up song about spilled coffee on the fly.
Later as he was walking through the crowd with a wired mic he grabbed an umbrella from a fan and headed over to the newly formed Bushnell Pond and danced around. Upon returning to the main stage he questioned his wisdom on how an umbrella was helping him with electronics in the middle of the biggest puddle in the place. Brian Rosenworcel (Drums) got a loud roar from the crowd on introduction as he went to Hall High in West Hartford. Adam Gardner (Guitar) and Luke Reynolds (Guitar) joined in on the fun.
The Head and The Heart, an indie folk group, from Seattle featured what was for me the best voice of the festival, Charity Rose Thielen (Vocals, Violin, Guitar). There was just something about when she sang that really resonated with my ears. Jonathan Russell (Vocals, Guitar) said this was his favorite kind of festival where there was lots of room and kids could attend. He shouted out the parents who brought their kids thanking them for encouraging music. Matt Gervais (Vocals, Guitar), Chris Zasche (Bass), Kenny Hensley (Keys) and Tyler Williams (Drums) complete the lineup.
Closing night two was Dispatch and the reason I was attending the show. Not because I am a huge Dispatch fan, honestly the song I knew best in their set was “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne, but due to the fact that my sister Claudine asked me if I wanted to go since my brother in law Billy and her are big Dispatch fans. They left me to get closer to the stage and get that packed crowd intensity. Another impressive light show and extended jams highlighted the closing act for the second night in a row.
Chad Urmston (Vocals) mentioned he was impressed everyone made it through all the rain. The crowd was singing along the most I heard all weekend. The band shouted out the indigenous people who lived on the land where the festival was held. In a really cool moment Dispatch had Kam Franklin from The Suffers, whose set got cut, come join them for the previously mentioned “Crazy Train”.
Thankfully the organizers let Dispatch play past their scheduled 10PM close as they played until 10:45 even coming back out for the festivals only encore. Brad Corrigan (Vocals, Drums) is the other member of Dispatch. Touring members include Matthew Embree (Bass), Jon “JR” Reilly (Percussion) and jack of all trades Mike Sawitzke (Guitar, Banjo, Trumpet, Mandolin, and Keys).
In my opinion it was a very well organized, well run weekend. Hartford mayor, Arunan Arulampalam came out between The Head and The Heart and Dispatch and announced a save the date as the festival will return June 28 and 29, 2025. I was definitely glad to hear this. He also said it was going to get bigger with 2 stages and more bands. I have mixed feelings about this. I liked the 1 stage set up. There was time between acts to grab a bite to eat, get a drink, use the rest room or just be able to talk quietly. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s how you GROOVE.
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