AthFest 2013 Review - Day 3

Lassine Kouyate (aka Adam Klein) - Hull Street Stage

This was a refreshing change of pace. Adam Klein led a quartet through several tunes in the language and musical style of Mali, African. The rhythm was a little ragged on the first tune, but by the second, the band found its groove. The melodic tunes and syncopated beats had some fans dancing enthusiastically and most of the audience tapping their feet. The last couple of songs were in English, but fit stylistically with the rest of the set. Kudos to Klein for bringing this music to Athens.

Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds - Pulaski Street Stage

She is not much bigger than her namesake, but Sister Sparrow has a powerhouse voice with a touch of rasp and a lot of soul. Like Ruby Velle and the Stereophonics the previous day, the Dirty Birds’ sound harkens back to 70s era soul, R&B and funk. The eight-piece, including Sister Sparrow, band featured baritone sax, two more horn players and some wailing harmonica from Sister’s brother. Sparrow flitted, hopped and shimmied around the stage for the full show. The crowd began to build a couple of songs into the set, and soon much of the audience was dancing along with the band.

Bloodkin - Pulaski Street Stage

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Lera Lynn - Pulaski Street Stage

Lynn has the perfect voice for her classic and alt-country sound and songwriting chops to match. Her performance during AthFest last year at the 40 Watt  was memorable. Maybe it was the drive down from Nashville or the mid-set rain interruption, but today’s performance seemed a little lackluster. Her song Whiskey began to build some momentum, but there were only a couple songs left at that point.

Patterson Hood & the Downtown Mystic Ramblers - Pulaski Street Stage

The headlining act started off fairly low key and laid back. The crowd in front of the stage actually thinned out a bit after a few songs, about the same time as the energy level began to pick up. Unfortunately, some of the band’s efforts were lost in the mix. The Campbell sisters could only faintly be heard; the cello was completely inaudible. They would have added another layer of richness to Hood’s slice-of-Southern-life characters and songs.