The inaugural Off North Shore Music Festival launched with performances from The Bones of JR Jones, Larkin Poe, and Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs.
The first ever Off North Shore Music Festival was initially planned to be held outside. However, as the event approached, the location was moved indoors, which, on an extremely hot day like this, likely pleased the majority of the audience (along with the artists). The first day of the two-day festival had co-headliners Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs and Larkin Poe leading the charge.
Before they took to the stage, however, The Bones of J.R. Jones entertained the crowd, a number of which had headed into the music hall to catch his set. Those who didn’t make their way there in time for this set missed out. The Bones of J.R. Jones is the brainchild of singer-songwriter and guitarist Jonathon Linaberry. Linaberry put on a performance worthy of a packed-out room and a headline slot. He blends gospel, folk, and blues but this was anything but a singer-songwriter sitting on his butt strumming on his guitar. Instead, he bounced and spun around the stage during an energetic set that invigorated everyone who saw it. The Bones of J.R. Jones is not an artist you can pigeonhole and is definitely the type of artist that you will appreciate even more once you see him perform live, so do yourself and check him out. He has dates scheduled throughout October and November so you have plenty of time to get your tickets sorted.
First up of the co-headliners was Larkin Poe. By the time they took to the stage, the audience had descended upon the music hall, filling all of the seats and packing the standing area at the front of the stage. If you’ve seen them perform before, you know what we mean when we say they came flying out of the gate meaning business. It is impossible to sit or stand still while watching these two sisters as they whip the audience up into a frenzy! They kicked off their set with “Summertime Sunset” and “Kick The Blues,” and barely came up for breath throughout their entire set.Each time we see this duo perform live, they seem to go from strength to strength. You’ve never seen two people look happier to be on stage doing what they do than Rebecca and Megan. The smiles were certainly reciprocated by the ample-sized audience. We all know Rebecca has an incredible voice, but it’s a whole other level when you hear her sing live, especially considering that she barely stands still for the duration of a set. It possesses the soul, grit, and wisdom of someone way beyond her years. Add the fact that she is an immensely talented guitarist, and it truly makes her a real force to be reckoned with. When you add another force to be reckoned with in the form of Megan to the mix (who has earned the name “Slide Queen” for a reason) you get something truly special. The chemistry between the two sisters is such a treat to witness when they perform together and the music they are writing is superb and is without doubt on an upward trajectory. They are certainly bringing the blues to a whole new generation, but man can these two rock!
Last but certainly not least, it was time for Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs. The music hall was effectively in the presence of rock and roll royalty, and the crowd responded the only way you can to situations like this, by getting on their feet and cheering their heads off the moment Mike swaggered out onto the stage. If anyone looks like they were born to be a rockstar, it’s Mike Campbell. It’s impossible to imagine him doing anything else. As with Larkin Poe, Campbell looked extremely happy to be there to kick off his latest tour which is a delight to see from someone who has been plying his trade for so many years.Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs recently released their third album, Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits, so needless to say, this tour is in support of it. The current lineup of The Dirty Knobs is made up of Chris Holt on guitar, Lance Morrison on bass, and fellow Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone on drums. It’s not every day that you get to see two Heartbreakers on the same stage, so when the opportunity comes around, you take it! Obviously, there were a lot of Heartbreakers’ fans in attendance, but this is no tribute show and it was noticeable what a great reaction all The Dirty Knobs tracks got, including the tracks from the new album which many people had clearly already listened to more than a couple of times. Of course, Mike and The Dirty Knobs respectfully honored Tom and the Heartbreakers by performing some of their songs (indeed Mike said he felt it was part of his job to play these songs and keep them alive going forward). Stating that Petty never liked to perform this song live, they added “Fault Lines” into their set. The band’s arrangement of “Refugee” (which alternates between a slowed down, almost ballad-type version before moving into the hard rocking version we all know and then closing out slow again) was also included in the set and involved a lot of audience participation on the vocal side of things.
As if the North Shore Center hadn’t already had an amazing afternoon and evening filled with incredible music, there was still room for one more treat. Before the evening was brought to a close, Campbell invited Larkin Poe and Tyler Bryant on the stage for one last hurrah as they collaborated on Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me” and “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” It was fantastic to watch the looks on Megan, Rebecca, and Tyler’s faces as they got to play two Petty classics with two real-life Heartbreakers, especially as Mike made sure to do some call and response on guitar with his guests during the solos. By the time the last chords of the night rang out it was safe to say that we had just seen a show that will live long in the memory of the audience (and definitely some of those on the stage!).
MIKE CAMPBELL & THE DIRTY KNOBS
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