Grace Bowers Shines At Bear Shadow Festival, North Mississippi Allstars Tease 'Sorty' Sequel

Under a fingernail moon, surrounded by the silhouettes of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Highlands, North Carolina, JJ Gray & Mofro took some time to enjoy the beauty of this year's Bear Shadow Music festival.

“This song is about my love affair with the ocean,” noted Gray from his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, before launching into “The Sea,” the first tune from his latest album, Olustee. “And I know you all have a love affair with these mountains.”

In its fourth installment, Bear Shadow has established itself as one of the premier boutique-style gatherings in the Southeast. With intentionally small crowds and high amenities, the lineup in the rural depths of Southern Appalachia included Black Pumas, Futurebirds, North Mississippi Allstars, Grace Bowers, American Aquarium and more. Those were the highlights.

Grace Bowers comes to life.

17-year-old guitarist Grace Bowers and her band were the controversial highlight of the entire festival. During an early afternoon set, she paid tribute to the guitar legends who came before her, focusing not on playing as many notes as she could, but on playing the right notes to hit the right time.

“Especially because I'm so influenced by the blues, the notes you don't play are a lot more important than the ones you do,” Bowers says. Rolling rock. “You have to have that space in between, almost like you're talking, because nobody's going to care about what you played, nobody's going to remember what you did if you're just playing notes.”

While Bowers blasted Funkadelic's “Red Hot Mama” and later her own R&B-tinged creation “Tell Me Why U Do That,” comparisons were drawn from the crowd to the playing of Eddie Hazel, BB King and Derek Trucks.

“When I was 13, I heard BB King for the first time and that's what got me into the blues,” says Bowers. “I heard 'Sweet Little Angel.' When that riff starts, it's only three notes. And yet, you can hear it in your head when someone says 'Sweet Little Angel' — it's that iconic.”

Immediately returning home to Nashville following Bear Shadow, Bowers has big things on the horizon. “Wine on Venus” will be released in the coming weeks, with her self-titled debut album due in August. Until then, she's looking forward to her Grand Ole Opry debut on July 30 — which also happens to be her 18th birthday.

“When I started playing shows, I was so nervous I didn't even want to go on stage. But I pushed myself out of my comfort zone,” says Bowers. “There was a point where I was playing every night in Nashville. I was moaning. It didn't matter what kind it was, I would make myself just to practice.”

North Mississippi Allstars Experiment Short follow.

The North Mississippi Allstars ran through a set with their signature blend of swamp rock and Delta blues tunes. With the Dickinson brothers at the helm – six-string ace Luther and drummer Cody – the band itself will soon mark the 25th anniversary of its critically acclaimed 2000 debut album. Hand in Hand with Shorty.

“My brother and I started [the band] when we were kids and still going strong,” Cody says. “Every moment to be up here and play and still be in the game is a gift. The Allstars are now recording, too, very much in his vein Hand in Hand with Shorty.”

The power trio weaves through a range of Allstars material (“Up and Rolling”) and new selections from Cody's solo album Homemade (“Homemade Blues”), which hits the streets on June 21.

“'Homemade Blues' is about growing up outside of Chulahoma, Mississippi,” Cody says. “And I go down to Junior Kimbrough's [juke joint] on a Sunday night hanging out with the Burnsides and learning to play music by osmosis.”

A nod to the late, great Kimbrough surfaced with the Allstars channeling the undulating tone of “All Night Long.” Earlier, a sample of the Allman Brothers Band's “Blue Sky” appeared as a tribute to Allmans guitarist Dickey Betts, who died last month.

“We think about him all the time. He was so kind to us. He became a dear friend,” says Cody. “I grew up loving the Allman Brothers. The album At the Fillmore East changed my life And meeting Dickie was something I never in a million years would have dreamed of growing up.”

The American Aquarium has (finally) admitted that it's okay to go slow.

Kicking off their set with “Crier”, the latest single from the Shooter Jennings produced album The fear of immobility (released July 26), North Carolina-based American Aquarium remains a volatile mix of indie rock, gritty punk, and spicy folk ingredients.

“We've been taking each slow step up the ladder,” says frontman BJ Barham. “Every year is better than the year before, but there's never been this giant moonrise. And I was always afraid to take my foot off the gas pedal, afraid of losing what was in front of him by slowing down a little.”

The fear of immobility then it's not just an album title, but a fresh ethos and sense of self for Barham & Co., as the singer-songwriter embraces the “slow burn” of being an artist.

“You shouldn't be afraid of slow growth. You should only be afraid to stand still,” Barham says of the upcoming album. “Because when you stand still and don't move anymore, then you don't have a chance to go up. Slow growth is a lot better than getting hit and it really resonated with me.”

Futurebirds level up.

With their wild-n-out winter tour alongside My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel and the release of their collaborative live album …Thank you all now in the mirror, 'Birds is presin full hog' with a string of new summer dates — including two nights opening for Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats at Red Rocks Amphitheater in August — and the release of the new EP Easy Company.

“We're tightening the ship and want to take it to where we're going to be headlining bigger festivals,” says guitarist Daniel Womack.

Celebrating 15 years together in 2024, it's been a rollercoaster ride for the street dogs of Athens, Georgia. With many of its original members still in the drawer, the edgy, psychedelic/indie rock act celebrates the rocking screams of “Put Up, Keep Up” and “College Try” in the live realm.

“It's that balance between contemplation and being lost in the moment,” Womack says. “Things are good. Things are moving fast. Our frequencies have never been as aligned as they are now, and to such a great extent.”

JJ Gray & Mofro give 90's country its props.

JJ Gray & Mofro are approaching 30 years as a band. “I will continue to ride the wave,” he says. “It keeps, it keeps breaking.”

Sometimes that curls into '90s country: During the band's set, Gray segued into John Anderson's 1992 country hit “Seminole Wind,” which also appears on Olustee. Both artists hail from the Sunshine State, and Gray is a big Anderson fan.

“He has such a unique voice, and I wouldn't even try to sound like him,” Gray says. “I've played this song in every band I've ever been in. It was time to record it. It was the first thing on deck when we went into the studio and the guys just knocked it out.”