of the stage, as they are both extremely inviting and
personable with the crowd.
Donkilo Afro Funk Orchestra, who perfumed at
GSMF on Sunday afternoon, is classy, cultured,
talented, and experienced, that has a band has a
unique and adventurous style as they explore music from around the world. Donkilo brings together the feeling of unity and music that acts as soul
food to the ears. The band is comprised of frontman
Dave Kobrenski on the fula flute, djembe, and kamalon’goni, Jared Steer on the drum kit, Mike Rossi
on the bass, Randy Roos wailing on his guitar, Matt
Langley and Jonathan Lorentz both pushing sound
from their saxophones. Donkilo’s music has such a
balanced and unique blend of styles ranging from
jazz, African influence, pop, and funk.
Kicking off their debut album Heavy Loader, released at GSMF, local headliner Pat & The Hats
displayed professionalism and class on the stage,
showing the true essence of why they are winning
awards for Best New Band
in New Hampshire (New
Hampshire Magazine).
“We were able to play
the entire album
during our set,”
said Solsky,
who is a
member
July• 2014
of Pat & The Hats, as well as the GSMF organizer. “We were stoked to debut it on a large stage.”
Having played together for just under two years, the
band frontman Patrik Gochez, has put together a
unique style of original tunes alongside his energetic
personality. This creates a fun and seamless assortment of songs that quickly captivates the audience.
The crowd seemed to be drawn to the stage, men,
women, and children all took part of the dancing
creating an unspoken understanding that this band,
though fairly new, is growing in popularity and moving full steam ahead.
The GSMF ended with the final regional headliner
Lucius, who are currently touring the globe performing music off their debut album Wildewoman, which
has taken the United States and Europe by storm.
From all areas of the globe Lucius is a collection of
unique characters, all with a lot of styles. The band
members all met at Berklee in Boston where they
formed the five-piece band, who became one entity
while performing their popular songs “Hey Doreen”
and “Turn it Around.” The energy is high in their
music, the crowd helped give them that energy as
they shared their attire, props, and cutting edge music style. They really stood out from the thousands
of other bands as they jumped down into the GSMF
crowd to perform with the audience, who was having
a great time cheering Lucius on.
Overall it was a successful weekend of music at
the GSMF, with perfect weather to celebrate the
summer solstice. It was a lot of fun for the whole
family, as the KidsZone provided a lot of energy release and creative inspiration for the children. The
Granite State Music Festival is certainly doing their part, above and beyond, to bring
and showcase incredible, diverse,
and talent-driven live
music in New Hampshire, for all to
enjoy.
cidermag.com • CIDER
MAG • 23