Bradenton's Damon Fowler, Have Gun Will Travel to headline WMNF's Little Manatee River Jam

Damon Fowler at Blues Revue open house in Bradenton's Village of the Arts. Photo by Wade Tatangelo.

Read more here: http://heraldbuzzworthy.blogspot.com/2011/08/damon-fowler-sugar-shack-mondays.html#storylink=cpy

The Bradenton area's two greatest live music exports are joining forces to headline WMNF's 3rd annual Little Manatee River Jam.

The Tampa-based community radio station fund-raising concert is Nov. 17 at the Canoe Outpost in southern Hillsborough County features Bradenton Beach resident and international blues star Damon Fowler as well as the Bradenton natives of Have Gun Will Travel performing their equally acclaimed Americana originals. 

From WMNF:

The festival’s beginnings go back to early 2010, when the owners of the Canoe Outpost attended a friend’s wedding reception where Talk To Mark were providing the entertainment. A brief discussion with the band during a set break led to the subject of WMNF and the idea of a live music event on the Outpost’s beautiful 5-acre property. With a little coordination between the band, the station and the site owners, the concept quickly began to take shape. Brandon native Damon Fowler — whose roots in the area made him the natural choice — was tapped to headline the show, and a festival was born.

Complete schedule:

Christy Massey: 1-1:30

Ed Carter 1:40-2:20

Sarah Mac Band 2:30-3:30

Rebekah Pulley and the Reluctant Prophets 3:50-4:50

Talk To Mark 5:10-6:10

Have Gun Will Travel 6:30-7:30

Damon Fowler 8- 10 p.m.

Tickets are $20 in advance, or $25 the day of the event.

To order tickets online visit www.wmnf.org or call the station at 813-238-8001.

For camping reservations, call the Canoe Outpost at 813-634-2228 or visit www.Canoeoutpost.com.

Top 10 Election Day songs 2012

People wait in line for more than an hour and a half to cast their ballots on the last day of early voting Saturday at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office.  GRANT JEFFERIES/Bradenton Herald

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/11/05/4266758/manatee-county-sets-a-record-for.html#storylink=cpy

It's Election Eve, time to concentrate on what really matters:

Music.

There have been countless songs written with Election Day in mind.

Here are the greatest.

Top 10 Election Days songs

1. "Elected," Alice Cooper

2. "Funky President," James Brown

3. "A Apolitical Blues," Little Feat 

4. "Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)," Randy Newman

5. "Campaigner," Neil Young

6. "Political World," Bob Dylan

7. "John Lee Hooker for President," Ry Cooder

8. "Election Day," Blaze Foley

9. "Election Year Rag," Steve Goodman

10. "When I'm President," Ian Hunter And The Rant Band

Top 10 Election Day songs 2010

Glen Campbell says 'goodbye' in Sarasota: review, setlist

Glen Campbell taking a bow with his band at theVan Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Nov. 4, 2012

Glen Campbell brought his nearly completed "Goodbye Tour" to Sarasota on Sunday and said farewell with a moving performance in front of a packed house of adoring fans. The country great, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year, strolled across the Van Wezel stage in a rhinestone-encrusted shirt; smiling, thanking the audience and singing his best known songs.  

Glen Campbell brings 'goodbye tour' to Van Wezel in Sarasota: interview

He also elated the crowd with a couple more obscure numbers written by his friend and most successful collaborator. Jimmy Webb's "Galveston," "By the Times I Get to Phoenix," "Where's the Playground, Susie?" "Didn't We," "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" and Wichita Lineman" were all included with Campbell singing the bitter ballad "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" while only joined on stage by his keyboardist. It was perhaps the most impressive performance during an evening that elicited about six standing ovations.


On the rest of the songs, Campbell was backed by a commendable sextet featuring three of his children. Ashley Campbell, an exceptional banjoist, "dueled" with Dad. Still a superb guitarist at age 76, Father and Daughter engaged in some fierce, crowd-pleasing picking during a couple instrumental favorites about halfway through the evening.

Ashley, age 25,  was also the one who could be seen lovingly giving her dad a thumbs-up after a performance or helping him remember what key the next song would be in, or just grinning at him when he needed support. Campbell dropped a few lines and seemed a tad confused at times but overall he appeared happy and grateful to be on stage with his family, having a good time with a crowd that appeared equally delighted and appreciative.


I found it to be a special, emotional evening filled with joy and, yes, pathos. But Campbell, with help from his family, left the stage with dignity, having turned in what could only be called a triumph performance. Having covered countless concerts during the past decade-plus, it's the rare a show I feel truly thankful to have witnessed. 

Setlist

1. Gentle on My Mind
2. Galveston
3. By the Times I Get to Phoenix
4. Try a Little Kindness
5. Where's the Playground, Susie?
6. Didn't We
7. I Can't Stop Loving You
8. True Grit
9. Lovesick Blues
10. Dueling Banjos (w/Ashley Campbell)
11. Foggy Mountain Breakdown (w/Ashley Campbell)
12. Any Trouble
13. It's Your Amazing Grace
14. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
15. I Will Never Pass This Way Again
16. Wichita Lineman
17. Rhinestone Cowboy
18. Southern Nights
19. A Better Place

—Photo by Wade Tatangelo

To the next Bradenton mayor: Five ways to improve the city's entertainment scene

As Election Day nears, I'm asking the fundamental questions.

What will make Bradenton a better place to live, work and play?

For me, "play" is particularly important.

And I'm not talking about video games or Words with Friends.

Regardless if Bradenton's next mayor is incumbent Mayor Wayne Poston, Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey or challenger Richard O'Brien, I want to see the win

Read more of my column that originally ran Sunday.

 —Bradenton mayoral candidates Marianne Barnebey and Richard O'Brien shake hands as incumbent Wayne Poston smiles after a candidate forum hosted by the Bradenton Herald at Manatee Educational Television. TIFFANY TOMPKINS-CONDIE/Bradenton TTOMPKINS@BRADENTON.COM

Cine-World brings Oscar buzz to Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch

Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 'Hyde park on Hudson.' Daybreak Pictures.

The Sarasota Film Society's annual Cine-World Film Festival, which starts Friday, again features a fine mix of pictures generating Oscar buzz as well as surprises from around the globe.

The 50 selections are being primarily shown at Burns Court Cinemas but there are also festival screenings at Sarasota Film Society's Lakewood Ranch Cinemas.

SFS Artistic Director Michael Kayatta deems this year's Cine-World as strong as any in the festival's 23-year history.

"We have a lot of weird and interesting films this year," he said.

"One of the interesting things about this festival is people can get a pass or tickets and just go and pick 10 movies and there's a really good chance they'll enjoy what they find."

Read more.

Top 10: Glen Campbell songs

In case you missed my Glen Campbell piece that ran Thursday, or, like me, just can't get enough of the country-pop icon, here's a list of the singer's greatest songs. 

Campbell's "Goodbye Tour," which ends this month, comes to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota on Sunday.

1. "Galveston"
Although written (by Jimmy Webb) about a soldier serving in the Spanish-American War, the song struck a nerve when it was released during the conflict in Vietnam. In 2005, Campbell agreed with me that it could also be sung from the perspective of a soldier in Iraq. I'm partial to the slower version Campbell has favored in recent years. 

2. "Rhinestone Cowboy"
His signature song, it contains poignant lines about life in the spotlight and soaring, sing along chorus.

3. "Gentle On My Mind"
Written by John Hartford the song has become one of the most recorded titles in popular music, thanks, in large part, to Campbell's definitive version.

4. "Wichita Lineman" 
5. "By The Time I Get To Phoenix"
These gems written by Webb feature mature lyrics brought to life by Campbell's sonorous voice and carried by gorgeous melodies and arrangements owing equal parts to pop and country.

6. "A Better Place"
An autobiographical beauty, which Campbell co-wrote with producer Julian Raymond for last year's "Ghost on the Canvas" album, the song acknowledges the singer's current battle with memory loss as well as his past struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. But its an overriding sentiment of hope, and gratitude, is what carries the song, making it a pop masterwork as touching as anything the legend has ever recorded.

7. "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet In L.A.)"
The first track from the 1975 "The Rhinestone Cowboy" album is also about life in the limelight, with a homesick Campbell, an Arkansas native, trying to make sense of stardom in the big city.

8. "These Days"
A Jackson Browne song about regret, perhaps the greatest song ever about regret, had been famously covered by Nico (1967) and Gregg Allman (1973) before Campbell's sensitive reading came out in 2008. While owing to the arrangement by Allman, Campbell's version still sounds very much like his own personal meditation on regret.

9. "Southern Nights" 
Master New Orleans singer/songwriter Allen Toussaint's homage to backwoods Louisiana partying gets a winning country/pop makeover. 

10. "Guess I'm Dumb"
Campbell's stint with the Beach Boys started when he was hired by band leader Brian Wilson to play on five tracks that formed the nucleus of "Pet Sounds." Campbell also toured with the band.  The story goes that Wilson gave this gorgeous song to Campbell as a present for filling in for him. Campbell performs it brilliantly, showing a star in the making. 

—Publicity photo of Glen Campbell courtesy of the Van Wezel Perfroming Arts Hall.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/11/01/4261208/glen-campbell-brings-triumphant.html#storylink=cpy

WEEKEND: Taste of Manatee at Bradenton Riverwalk and so much more

Blue Marlin, a foodie favorite specializing in local seafood that operates out of a 1920s cottage on Bridge St. in Bradenton Beach, will be making its first appearance at Taste of Manatee.

Owner Adam Ellis hopes that the rough weather won't keep him from serving his delicious stone crab macaroni and cheese dish, which will go for $5 a serving at the event.

If the local crabbers can't get to their catch, the Blue Marlin booth will serve fish rolls for $4. They are made with daily cuts of fresh fish lightly held together in a classic crab cake preparation and finished with garlic aioli.

 "We just want to show people we serve the freshest fish on the island," Ellis said.

 Read entire story. 

Many more events, shows, etc. featured in today's Weekend.

—PHOTO: People stop by the Thai Lotus tent for a taste of Thai cooking at a Taste of Manatee in downtown Bradenton. PAUL VIDELA — Bradenton Herald