Pen & Page

Michael Franti in performance in Asheville, NC (Courtesy photo).

The Magic City Blues music festival lineup for 2010 has been announced, featuring the husband and wife duo Derek Trucks (of the Allman Brothers) and Susan Tedeschi as the headliners on Friday evening and the rock/reggae/funk fusion band Michael Franti & Spearhead capping the festival on Saturday.

The festival, which features two stages of blues and rock acts sprawling down Montana Avenue in downtown Billings, takes place on Aug. 13 and 14.

This year’s lineup also includes local bands on both stages. The Stillwater Stage will feature rock act the Sons of Billings on both Friday and Saturday evenings, and Billings funk band Funk in the Trunk will appear on the Main Stage on Friday evening.

Other Stillwater Stage performers include rock band Gary Small & the Coyote Brothers and solo folk-blues singer/songwriter Maria Muldaur on Friday. Blues musician Ben Prestage and southwest Louisiana blues guitarist Sonny Landreth perform on Saturday.

Headliners and locals aside, Main Stage performances on Friday include soul/blues/rock duo The Soul of John Black and Saturday’s Main Stage features The Randy Oxford Band (featuring trombone man Randy Oxford) and the blues-rock group Indigenous.

The lineup timing is as follows:

Friday, August 13

6 p.m. – The S.O.B.’s (Stillwater Stage)
6:30 p.m. – Funk in the Trunk (Main Stage)
8 p.m. – Gary Small & The Coyote Brothers (Stillwater Stage)
8:30 p.m. – The Soul of John Black (Main Stage)
10 p.m. – Maria Muldaur (Stillwater Stage)
10:30 p.m. – Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band (Main Stage)

Saturday, August 14

6 p.m. – The S.O.B.s (Stillwater Stage)
6:30 p.m. – The Randy Oxford Band (Main Stage)
8 p.m. – Ben Prestage (Stillwater Stage)
8:30 p.m. – Indigenous (Main Stage)
10 p.m. – Sonny Landreth (Stillwater Stage)
10:30 p.m. – Michael Franti & Spearhead (Main Stage)

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Attendees must be 21 to enter the festival area, occupying the 2300 to 2500 blocks of Montana Avenue. The Main Stage will be set up in front of The Depot facing west, and the Stillwater Stage will be located in the parking lot of the McCormick Cafe.

Tickets are on sale now and available by phone at (406) 670-2329, at Billings Holiday Gas Stations, the Rimrock Mall ticket kiosk, and Cactus Records in Bozeman.

The following is the interview (in whole) that originally appeared in the Billings Outpost featuring Billings-based funk band Funk in the Trunk.

Billings-based funk band Funk in the Trunk has a unique problem. Composed of nine members, the group has a difficult time just fitting on stages around town. Once they’ve collected onstage, however, and when the harmonies click and they deliver a funky blend of soul, jazz and R&B, there’s nothing quite like it.

The band is a collective mixture of performance artists, local teachers and solo performers. Percussionist Matt Devitt, bassist Robin Martinez, keyboardist Dave Green, guitarist Alex Nauman, trumpeter Jeff Long, trombonist Tony Hammond, tenor saxophonist Brent Koch, baritone sax player Paul Lechner and vocalist and Latin percussionist Gy Moody round out the band.

Three of the group’s members — Hammond, Moody and Devitt — sat down recently to discuss the band’s plans for the new year, their “Funky Valentine’s Day Party” taking place Feb. 13 at Bones Brewing Co., and their take on the upcoming romantic holiday.

Read More »