10KLF Day 1

New Primitives brought the sun after a day of clouds and intermittent sprinkles. The band that sets the tone for this festival even changed the weather. Though Gold Standard and Comosapiens started things off a half hour early at the Barn Stage and the Saloon, it didn’t bode well when a rain shower hit festivalgoers gathered for New Primitives at the Field Stage. By the second song, the rain had stopped and the sun came out, and it stayed relatively clear until about four am when a brief thunderstorm hit the campgrounds.

As always New Primitives was in good form, always surprising the audience with good feeling music. Their version of “Dancin’ in the Streets” was outstanding, as well as their Latin tunes, done by Javier Trejo.

Next up was Papa Mali, the swamp king. He and his band kicked out some rock and roll, blues, and New Orleans funk. 

I caught a bit of Rhinestone Diplomats at the Saloon as I made my way up to the Barn Stage. They were doing what they do best, hot blues/rock.

But the highlight of my evening was Extra Golden. This American/African group pumped out African benga dance music that the audience lapped up. They kept their crowd until Dark Star Orchestra started cranking out Dead tunes. They were super hot! They even drew folks who wanted to see the last bit of Enchanted Ape and Redux at the Saloon, and even some who wanted to see that British hard bop/bugaloo band The New Mastersounds.

I retired early to a noisy campground and finally fell asleep when the thunderstorm drove campers to their shelters. Despite the clouds, Day 1 of the 10KLF was a great one.