fbpx
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Legal Notices
Lagniappe Mobile
  • News
    • Cover Story
    • Latest
    • Serial Stories
    • Bay Briefs
    • Community News
    • Open Documents
    • e-Edition
  • Baldwin
  • Commentary
    • Damn the Torpedoes
    • Hidden Agenda
    • Beltway Beat
    • The Real Deal
    • Weather Things
    • The Gadfly
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Cuisine
    • The Dish
    • Word of Mouth
    • Beer and Loathing
    • Cuisine Directory
  • Arts
    • Artifice
    • Art Gallery
    • The Reel World
    • Calendar
  • Music
    • Music Feature
    • Music Briefs
    • Music Listings
    • Submissions
  • Sports
    • The Score
    • The Starting Line-Up
    • From Behind The Mic
    • Upon Further Review
  • Style
    • Media Frenzy
    • Mobile Magnified
    • Horoscopes
    • Master Gardeners
    • Style Feature
  • Lagniappe HD
  • Lagnia-POD

Select Page

Seth Walker opens Harvest Nights at Weeks Bay Plantation

Posted by Stephen Centanni | May 2, 2018 | Music Feature | 0 |

Photo |  Zack Smith

Seth Walker will open the Harvest Nights live music series at Weeks Bay Plantation Saturday, May 5.

Band: Harvest Nights featuring Seth Walker
Date: Saturday, May 5, with gates at 4 p.m.|
Venue: Weeks Bay Plantation, 12562 Mary Ann Beach Road (Fairhope),
www.weeksbayplantation.com
Tickets: $5 at the door (free for blueberry pickers)

Live music devotees are always looking for new experiences, and over the past two years Weeks Bay Plantation has featured a number of unique live music events in its beautifully agrarian setting.

This organic blueberry farm first brought music to its organic setting through the multiday Blueberry Jam Sessions. The resulting local enthusiasm led to new stages being built and the creation of The Blueberry Sessions, which hosted Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer, Griffin House and many more.

With the blueberry season in full swing, Weeks Bay Plantation is incorporating the two things for which this location is known. From May 5 to June 16, they’ll combine blueberry harvest season with live music on “Harvest Nights’.” Each Saturday the public is invited to spend the evening picking blueberries and enjoying live music. These events will also feature food trucks and a local vendors’ market.

Singer-songwriter Seth Walker will be Harvest Night’s first featured performer. The last time Lagniappe spoke with Walker, he was on tour promoting his 2016 full-length recording, “Gotta Get Back.” His momentum has not slowed.

The following year, Walker released the single “Spirits Moving.” He says this raucous culmination of funky jazz grooves came to life during the 2017 installment of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. However, the festive Crescent City march of “Spirits Moving” took form through Walker’s regular visits to the Big Easy over four years. During those visits, Walker was filled with the music of the city, both figuratively and literally.

“The whole city is syncopated, and I’m not just talking about the music,” Walker explained. “The whole place is vibrating. I’ve always felt that when I was down there, the spirit of inspiration has been on the move. So the song just kind of fell out one day. The pulse around Jazz Fest just added to that.”

As Jazz Fest brought artist after artist to the Big Easy, Walker began searching for musicians to join him in the studio for the creation of “Spirits Moving.” According to Walker, the final lineup of session musicians was a personal dream team. John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood) injected the song with a hot dose of Hammond B3. Walker says he was thrilled to have the Big Easy drumbeat of John Vidacovich included on “Spirits Moving.” Vidacovich came by way of Walker’s housemate, Doug Belote, who also provides his percussive talents on this track.

Jano Rix (The Wood Brothers) produced the single. This multi-instrumentalist’s previous work with Walker includes producing “Gotta Get Back” and performing on his album “Sky Still Blue.” Walker says Rix’s talent for both pushing and relaxing him in the studio is a big reason why he continues to work with him. Even though Rix’s impressive talent made him nervous in the studio, Walker says the group’s musical bond quickly took shape.

“We all speak a similar language,” Walker said. “So, as soon as we got in that room together, it was unspoken words that we all understood. I do remember the first take that we did of that. It all felt great, but we had to get the tune underneath us. By the second or third take, we had it all down.”

After releasing his love song to New Orleans, Walker followed with the release of his first live album, “Live at the Mauch Chunk Opera House.” Walker said this is an album both he and his fans have been anticipating for a long time, but it ultimately came to life through a “stealth, ninja recording” process. Walker recalls this particular show at this venue in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, was a “fun show with a great vibe,” but he had no idea it was being recorded.

After his performance, someone from the venue asked him to come “upstairs,” where he entered an impressive studio filled with in-house mics and pre-amplifiers that had captured the performance.

“We didn’t know [the recording] was happening,” Walker said. “That’s always the best. Sometimes when you’re recording, you can get ‘red light fever.’ This was not the case, and it came out great. It was truly a live experience with mistakes and all.”

Walker said the most vivid aspect of this impromptu recording is the way it captured the magical, symbiotic chemistry he shares with his audience. He notes this chemistry is the driving force behind his busy tour schedule and it echoes through his performance of such tracks as “Grab Ahold,” “Fire in the Belly” and “Gotta Get Back.” Walker also notes this chemistry shows itself in different ways with each performance.

With his first live album out of the way, Walker wants to add more live shows to his catalog in order to capture the diverse aural vibes that emerge from each live show.

“[Live recording] definitely worked that time,” Walker says. “I would like to put some other live music out. That was all one night. Each night is a different thing, depending on the venue and the energy of the evening and how we’re playing and how we’re acting. I would like to put more out, because each night has its own thing.”

As he maintains his rigorous tour schedule, Walker is also beginning to record his next full-length album. He hopes this as yet untitled release will be ready for public consumption in early 2019. As far as what fans can expect, Walker says he’s experimenting with new lo-fi and hi-fi recording techniques. The singer-songwriter has been collecting samples of “sound checks and grooves” during pre-show sessions and plans to use these samples as looping tracks within his songs.

Walker has also opted to track this album at home with his collection of gear. He says this aspect makes it seem like he’s “living in this record.” Hopefully he’ll be road-testing some of this new material with the blueberry pickers at Weeks Bay Plantation.

This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access. During the month of December, give (or get) a one year subscription with TWO months FREE.

Share:

Rate:

PreviousStraight outta Dixie
NextSalsa Saturday in the park

About The Author

Stephen Centanni

Stephen Centanni

With the exception of two years spent at Auburn University, Steve Centanni has spent his life in Mobile County while focusing on his two passions: music and the written word. As soon as he was issued his driver’s license, Centanni began to explore the local music scene in the early ‘90s. He filled his weekend with visits classic local venues such as the Four Strong Winds Coffee House, Vincent Van Go-Go’s and Culture Shock, all of which welcomed those who had yet to reach 18. After high school, Centanni traded Mobile for Auburn to complete his B.A. in English with an emphasis on general writing. While at Auburn, he had the honor of studying under the Pulitzer-winning poet Natasha Trethewey, who served as the nation’s Poet Laureate in 2012 and 2014. After receiving his diploma, Centanni quickly moved back to Mobile and completed the University of South Alabama’s graduate program with a M.Ed. Eventually, he was tapped by the nationally distributed Volume Entertainment Magazine to serve as the magazine’s managing editor/senior writer. His time with Volume allowed him to exercise his love for both music and writing. As Volume began to fade, Lagniappe recruited Centanni as their Music Writer and later their Music Editor, where he has remained for a little over a decade. As far as his involvement in the local music scene, Centanni organized Cess Fest at the Langan Park, which was a mini-festival focused on original local music in a time when original local music was veritably taboo in Downtown Mobile. For a short time, he brought original music to Downtown Mobile as the in-house promoter for the now deceased venue Cell Block. He managed local underground powerhouse Fry Cook, until the members parted ways. Centanni has lent his bass to bands such as Keychain Pistol and The F’n A-Holes, and he toured nationally as a member of Abstract Artimus & the Torture Children. Currently, he provides vocals for the garage blues rock outfit Johnny No. Ultimately, Centanni’s experience in the local music scene as both a participant and an observer has allowed him to witness the ever-changing persona of Mobile’s enigmatic music scene, which continues to leave him with more questions than answers.

Related Posts

Sunday Artist Bios

Sunday Artist Bios

May 14, 2014

August Burns Red’s ‘Identity’ evolution

August Burns Red’s ‘Identity’ evolution

March 9, 2016

Doobie Brothers do The Wharf ahead of new tribute album

Doobie Brothers do The Wharf ahead of new tribute album

July 16, 2014

Quin sisters explore electronic pop side of indie music

Quin sisters explore electronic pop side of indie music

May 14, 2014

Recommended Stories

Arty Awards returning to form

By Kevin Lee

Something fishy this way comes

By Andy MacDonald

New year, new Nappies

By Ashley Trice

Don’t bet on this gaming bill

By Rob Holbert

Fried chicken with ‘Hart’

By Andy MacDonald



  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contacts
  • Jobs
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

Search This Site

Browse the Archives

© Lagniappe Mobile 2021

[yop_poll id=”-1″]