May 25 2025 Riverworm Stage Camp Kee Wanee Greenfield, MA
NEVER MISS A SUNDAY SHOW! Our Strangecreek weekend was wild, with craziness for our travel, accommodations, and socially. So on Sunday, to spend most of the day in the woods, near the river, at the Riverworm stage was a perfect choice. That spot is deep into the woods, so our travels started at the main stage where the sounds of “Blue Sky” by the Allman Brothers was being performed by the Band of Brothers. They sounded great.
I once had this experience in New Orleans. I was bar hopping by myself, and I was in some corner bar and there was a band on stage. This was the golden age of NOLA, pre Katrina and the drinks were cheap and every bar had a band. They were proficient, performing “Proud Mary” by CCR. I finished up my drink and wandered out the front onto Bourbon Street and the sounds of the song and band were retreating as I strolled up the central Avenue of party in America. And then something weird was happening, a reverse Doppler effect or something as the sounds of “Proud Mary” were getting louder as I was getting farther away, how can this be? I entered the new bar, and up on the stage was a band playing the same exact song as the bar I had just left. It was a once in a lifetime experience, or so I thought…
As we wandered the paths of the woods, we were approaching the Riverworm stage and the warm double guitar harmonies that exemplify the Allman Brothers band were finding their way to my ears. And sure enough, as I arrived in front of the stage my suspicions were confirmed, the band was playing “Blue Sky.” And they were no worse than the main stage band, as the Joe Jackson Band was expertly spilling out their version of the classic.
The Joe Jackson Band is a blues rock band that you may expect to see at a bar or VFW Hall anywhere in America at first glance. On second glance they are stellar players channeling the energy of the Allman Brothers, Hendrix, Stevie Ray and the greats. The second half of their set was great and the band is sharp.
Follow Joe Jackson Band: Facebook Website
Next up was rice an American Band who brought a newish lineup to Riverworm. Christopher Ellis on drums, Mike Woody Wood on bass and vocals, Brian DiMartino on guitar and Phil Simon on vocals and guitar have been the solid lineup of this band for the last few years, but for this show Kami Lahoski performed on saxophone, and Michael Wingate performed on keyboards. This made for a full sound, while maintaining a high level of energy. The set focused almost entirely on original material, and the premier of “Apeman” by the Kinks.
Follow rice an American Band: Facebook Bandcamp Spotify
Upcoming tour dates for rice an American Band
July 6 Peskeomskut Park. Avenue A. Turners Falls, MA. FREE
July 17 Ocean Mist South Kingstown RI opening for Badfish
September 05 Mount Snow Block Party! Vermont FREE
Up next was Secret Sage from central MA. They are a fun loving, family vibe jamgrass band. Their set seemed to contain originals, and covers in the Grateful Dead / Jerry Garcia / Bob Dylan world. There was even an Assembly of Dust cover, which was surprising. They were spirited, and had a great time performing for the Worms.
Follow Secret Sage: Facebook Music
Next up were Wormtown favorites the A Bombs. The band had special guest Beau Sasser on keyboards who added to the funky sound and really helped them to kick things up a notch. They played an energetic set that included an original called “Stratosphere”, a funky tune in the spirit of Funkadelic that had bassist singer Al Lucas imploring the assembled to “Give Me the Funky Stuff.” Their set otherwise had fun covers from the Steve Miller Band to ZZ Top, to the Allman Brothers and Pink Floyd.
The closer on the Riverworm stage that day was Pioneer Valley All star band Llama Lasagne. This is an ensemble captained by guitarist Dan Thomas, bassist Chris Ball, keyboardist Jason Metcalf, and is fleshed out by an array of performers from the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts who were already populating the schedule at Strangecreek with their own bands. Over the course of the set guest appearances appear at every instrument from guitarists Brian DiMartino (rice) and John Olivares (Soulkeys), guitar/vocalists Nate Martel (Outer Stylie) and Mike Woody Wood (Rebel Alliance, rice), bassist/vocalist Chrissy Howland (Valley Gals), drummers Kade Parkin (Bella’s Bartok), Dan Holmes (Nate Martel), Jimmy Robitaille, Alex Cassamiro and Tobey LaRoche on percussion, horn players like Kat Ball, Sophia Copolla, Jay Whitbeck, Steve Yarbro, vocalists Phil Simon (rice an American Band), Abigail Parrow, Anders Waringer (Bombtrack, Ders), and others including Andrea Newland, Katelyn Mast, and a whole lot of vibes!
The theme was colors and rainbows and the song selection went from the Muppets (It’s not Easy Being Green) to theme songs (Reading Rainbow, Rainbow Brite) to They Might Be Giants (Roy G Biv) to a ton of songs with colors in their titles. Selections went from the the obvious songs like Yellow by Coldplay and Orange Crush by REM to really obscure songs like Eiffel 65’s Blue (Da Ba Dee) ably handled by Anders Waringer. The crowd is an integral part of these performances and the Worms were ready to get silly, singing along, moving and dancing.
The whole Llama insanity came to a close with the entire ensemble taking the stage, probably twenty people in all, performing the biggest song of the last few years, Pink Pony Club. Nevermind that pop music is not the focus of Strangecreek, these fans were getting down and singing at the top of their lungs! Suddenly a dancer hit the stage in a full unicorn headdress and pink overalls and got the crowd even more pumped!
This show is FUN! The line between bands is blurred, the line between genres is blurred, the line between audience and performer is blurred. It is a great way to bring an exciting vibe to Strangecreek at the end of a long weekend.
Just like a Llama, the band bit off more than they could chew.. They only made it about three quarters of the way through their planned set and pledged to see us all at the next Llama Lasagne show to finish it.
Tickets for Wormtown Music festival are already for sale!
To submit an article an article or review, or to just say hello hit us at [email protected]
Also- check out the search feature in the upper right hand corner and search for your favorite artist, event, venue or genre. You’ll be surprised at what you find!
Check out the Live Music News and Review.com Facebook page for updates and announcements.
