Bella Sol Music Festival

Last year, the creative folks at Harmony Park in Geneva, MN, experimented with a new music concept. They hosted the Bella Luna Festival in the fall. It was such a great success, they decided to celebrate the sun this year with a spring music event, the Bella Sol Music Festival. This knock-out event will present fifty stellar bands on three stages over three days, Friday May 23 through Sunday May 25.  More have been added in the past few weeks.

Not only will this event showcase well-known regional artists like The White Iron Band, the Big Wu, WBPN, God Johnson, Enchanted Ape, and Down Lo, it has brought in Melvin Seals & the Jerry Garcia Band, the Memphis jazz group Pneuma Trio, and the North Mississippi Allstars. You can also catch sets by hip-hop artists (Charli 2na, Deploi, Desdamona, and the Sollilaquists of Sound), guitarists (Javier Trejo, Sean Sheil, and Buckethead), acoustic groups (Cornmeal, Pert near Sandstone, Simonett & Young, and the Johnson Family Band), and all manner of jazz, funk, rock, and reggae.

“I love playing outside,” said Luther Dickinson, guitarist for the North Mississippi Allstars, last week in a phone interview. “I think music has room to breath when it’s outside.” Dickinson, his brother Cody (drums), and good friend Chris Chew (bass) will bring their new blues rock sound to fans. Combining the influences of the hill country blues that they grew up on and the southern rock coming out of the Mississippi bluffs, the North Mississippi Allstars have solidified the evolution of the band into a new sound that is a comfortable a fit. “We just decided to direct ourselves into the direction of blues rock and just experiment more in different ways of songwriting,” Dickinson said.

Fans listening to this new turn in the music will notice a step-up in technical handling of their instruments, as well as a fresh treatment of subject matter. Though these band members could easily overshadow each other, vying for the forefront, they instead chose to complement each other. “We really edited ourselves down,” Dickinson explained.

For blues rock fans who have seen and heard the kick-ass, four-piece Chris Lager Band backing Matu Nanji in the latest incarnation of Indigenous, they can hear a lot of Hendrix in Matu’s lead guitar playing as well as in Chris Lager’s. Equally, Dickinson and his bandmates not only echo Hendrix but Clapton in the Cream years. That dynamic guitar-driven rock and blues comes through their latest work.

The North Mississippi Allstars have backed up and toured with John Hiatt. They also teamed with Robert Randolph and John Medski to form The Word, a project that comes together for a few months and separates to come back together later. Dickinson will be touring later this summer as the guitarist for the Black Crowes.

But first, you can get a taste of the North Mississippi Allstars at Bella Sol over the Memorial Day weekend.  In addition to music, festival goers can see dance performances from bellydancer, fire dancers, break dancers, and swing. They can also see a live art installation created under the leadership of Minneapolis artists Chuck U and Chuck Hues. A late night lounge featuring the music of Jack Diley, including some music dubbed films. The sun will be honored every day during the festival in special celebrations.

For a small extra fee, festival goers can catch a Pre-Party Show on Thursday, May 22, featuring Papa Mali, Nu Funk Mafia, and Mr. Sticky.

What: Bella Sol Music Festival
Where: Harmony Park, Geneva MN
When: Friday, May 23 through Sunday, May 25 (Pre-Party, Thursday, May 22)
Tickets: http://www.bellamusicfest.com. $90 in advance ($110 after May 22)