Americana West Music Fest Brings Out the Best in Cowboy Hats and Twangy Music – Day 1

Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE

LOS ANGELES – The Americana West Music Festival returned to Hotel Cafe for their annual two day event. Day one had 17 acts playing across both venue stages. It was a night of upright basses and violins. And well, you’ve got to add in a pedal steel guitar, accordion, and a rough board . . .  as well as a lot of guitars and cowboy hats. Mix that all together and you end up with a perfect night of Americana, bluegrass, and country tunes.

Stay tuned for Day 2 coverage on Tuesday.

The award for standout band of the night goes to Los Rock Angels. Their Tex-Mex, zydeco, and blues sounds hit the spot. The combination of accordion and rough board gave the band a unique spin for the night. The dedicated fans award goes to Matt Michienzie who got the post midnight slot on the Second Stage. A group of ten people or so showed up specifically for the bluegrass sounds.

Ryan Hahn gets the award for being proud about where you come from. His song “Farmer’s Son” is about growing up in a small town in Kentucky. Gilbert Louie Ray gets the awards for the quickest rapid fire lyrical singing. He sang faster than a Space X rocket launch. Silas Nello gets the award for multi-tasking as he played guitar, harmonica, and tambourine (attached to the right shoe) all at the same time. All this while singing tunes about an existential crisis and mechanical troubles.

Al Dual gets the award for cutest set of the night as they had a young child join them on the piano for their first song. After the song, the kid took a bow, left the stage, was seen leaving the venue, and perhaps right to bed. Wolf Trap gets the award for most unusual song about a friend who got gangrene. Rose’s Pawn Shop gets the award for best vocals.

Rae Isla sang, “My dad is a dreamer and so is my mom.” Shane Alexander was having a busy weekend, playing Americana West Fest on Friday, flying off to Nashville for a Saturday set, and then heading off to Birmingham for a Sunday set. That seemed appropriate with the lyrics to a song about a “caged bird born to fly.”

Francis Blume broke out the whistling while singing about a broken down van and getting his music gear stolen. It was a “bummer of a tour, but I got a song out of it.” Matt Axton closed out the night on the Main Stage with an Americana Joy set, which included various guest musicians who sang a cover and an original.