The Mavericks of Maverick FESTIVAL 19

This year’s Maverick Festival marked the debut of the Full Band sound of Electric Blue Yonder. We were very much excited and a bit nervous to bring that sound to the Maverick Audience because it moves outside of the historic preservation and reverence into a synthesis of sounds influence by many roots musics including 60’s folk, rock, surf, and psychedelia. We are taking a different approach as we step body into Space Folk, and while we worried we might be ‘too different’ the Maverick audience showed up for us, and we put on shows that we’ll remember forever.

Beth and I first performed at Maverick 17 back in 2024 as a duo and sometimes trio with our friend and artist at large, Chris Murphy, on fiddle. We actually met Chris at the Maverick 17 just before we walked on stage together. That relationship bloomed into us swapping gigs from Key West to California. Maverick is a connector. We felt a glimpse of the community built around Maverick, but as newly added members of the family we were a bit overwhelmed by meeting so many great folks in such a short time. This year, it was nice to see those familiar faces along with a whole new cast of folks that were new to us, but in some cases had been at the festival since its inception. We felt a stronger connection to the heart of what makes a small rural festival such a strong moment of human connection.

In these posts, we’ll reflect on the three sets and our time around Maverick Festival 19, and give each of the band members a space to relate their own experiences. Come along. You belong!

Saturday night Psych

Set 2: saturday night psych

Ear for Sympathy

All Kinds

The Undertoad

Fearless

Night Demons

Raygun Blaster

DAY MISSION: Birmingham Symphony Hall - Jennifer Blackwell Auditorium

Saturday morning began with Beth and I up with the sunrise. We were invited to perform at the Nashville Sounds In The Round by Sally and Steve of Gasoline and Matches. We left Woodbridge around 10 till 6 to arrive for a 9am load in. The drive. was smooth except at one point an erratic man shouted as he passed me on the right emphatically pointing at the left lane. I was in center with cruise control on at the speed limit of 70. There were lorries going 60 in the left and a wide open right. He sped off, crossed two lanes form right to left, and then pulled up on another car ahead and did the same, this time coming in early enough to force the car to hit their brakes to avoid collision. It was a good way up as I was starting to grow road weary. We made it to the show without incident. The Jennifer Blackwell story on the dedication intrigued me. It said:

“Jennifer had a spiritual connection with music and an open-hearted eagerness to explore music in all its varieties, from her beloved opera to the popular music of the 60s.”

We shared the stage with 4 other great outfits, traded songs about life, and connected with some open-hearted people in the room with us. I even got to play one of the nicest Steinway’s I’ve ever touched.

FESTIVAL DAY 2:

Russell and Andrew stayed behind and headed to the Festival around 11:00.

Russell & Andrew’s Day 2 Accounts

Beth and I returned around 17:00

Our set started at 21:35. This is a special set because all songs are unreleased songs from the upcoming album. We opened up the set with “Ear for Sympathy,” a slow build song about hearing the heart song of a place and carrying on the spirit through song. I added a message about extending a bridge of love to find our commonality with fellow humans and growing in our understanding that “It Takes All Kinds,” the title of our upcoming record. We rolled right into All Kinds. “The Undertoad” is a public service announcement about facing your fears based on a recurring nightmare I had as a child.

Friday night At Maverick

Set 1: Electric Americana

Lonely Child

Schtick Shift

Letters

Space Folk

Thundertrain

Quiet Moon

Rising Tides

PREREQUISITE:

Friday started with a drive from Croydon after playing a show at The Sound Lounge in Sutton the night before. We met a great group of humans (all most all bassists) in a band called “The Long Version UK,” fronted by Tricia Davies Nearn on (you guessed it) bass and vocals, with John Heal on rhythm guitar and vocals, David Krupski on drums, and Peter Bruntnell on electric guitar. The night was a bit slower than we’d hoped, but we met a great band, tightened our set for Maverick, and got to meet a few really great people. We’d snagged a deal on lodging in Croydon, stayed in a nice cottage, found a great coffee shop for breakfast and drinks and departed without incident.

WOODBRIDGE:

Maverick Festival arranged for us to stay in a lovely townhouse in for Friday and Saturday of the Festival. We checked in, took a stroll through town, grabbed a few essentials, and then found ourselves at Portion, a rotisserie based sandwich shop, for a great quick bite before heading on to Easton Park Farm. We also took a quick walk down to the waterfront to take in the sites and sounds. We didn’t spend much time in Woodbridge during our stay, but the time we did was a peaceful and restorative time. It’s a place we’d like to return and explore some more.

FESTIVAL DAY 1:

We arrived just after 17:00 with the first acts already in motion. The grounds were brimming with people and they were just getting the bars up and rolling. We were immediately met with friendly faces as we pulled into artist parking and got a quick refresher of the grounds. Russell’s bass didn’t make it on his connecting flight in Orlando (along with a lot of other people’s checked bags), so James coordinated Russell borrowing Scott's Bass for at least Friday’s set. We spent a little time running around making sure our gear was in place, caught a few minutes of a few acts, and then reported back to the Barn stage. Our set began at 18:45 and we opened up the evening with Lonely Child. It’s one of our best performing tracks in the UK on streaming platforms. We’ve reworked it a bit to be more lively and are considering recording at more current version sometime soon. As we played the crowd gathered, we settled in and before we knew it the set was almost over! Chris Murphy Joined us on Stage for Space Folk Explorer, Thundertrain, and Quiet Moon, and we closed out the set with Rising Tides as a little foreshadowing of what’s to come for the Saturday night Psyche Set.