Aquarium Rescue Unit’s Col. Bruce Hampton Ret., Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Sipe, Count M’Butu, Ike Stubblefield, Papa Mali, Deep Blue Sun. The Mosier Brothers, Larry Keel, Grant Green Jr., Gaurav Malhotra and Wildman Steve all joined forces for the 2nd Annual T-Dawg’s Holiday Hootenanny at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse on December 16. The ensemble cast of musicians played in a variety of configurations for three sets of classics, covers and Christmas songs.

The show kicked off with a set from local favorites Deep Blue Son who—after an introduction by Wildman Steve—went into a rendition of Paul McCartney’s “Another Day.” The band then knocked out Little Feat’s “Skin It Back” before being joined by Jeff Mossier (banjo) and Rurik Nunan (fiddle) for “Red Tail.” The highlight of the first set came next, as Oteil Burbridge (bass), Yonrico Scott (Drums), Jimmy Hall (saxophone) and Count M’Butu (percussion) took the stage for Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up.”

The core band for the second set consisted of The Mosier Brothers, as well as Mark Van Allen, Jeff Sipe, Guarav Malhotra, Count M’Butu, Burdbridge, Scott and Nunan. The group played James Taylor’s “Nothing Like a Hundred Miles” before being joined by Larry Keel (guitar, vocals) for Doc Watson’s “Black Mountain Rag” and the Grateful Dead’s “Black Muddy River.” Keel and the core band then got some help from Wildman Steve (washboard) and Brian Powell (mandolin) on a rendition of John Hartford’s “Gentle on My Mind.” Steve and Powell were then replaced by Jimmy Hall and Eric Gant (guitar, vocals) for Brenda Lee’s “Always on My Mind”

Ike Stubblefield, Grant Green Jr., Sipe, Scott, Burbridge, Malhotra and Count M’Butu formed the core band for the third set, which took up about half of the show. The set kicked off with a jam followed by a cover of The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” with Hall on saxophone, harmonica and vocals. Papa Mali (guitar, vocals) then joined the fray for a version of Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers’ “Merry Christmas Baby” and Bobby Gentry’s “Ode to Billy Joe.” Next, John Marsh (keyboard) and Katie Moore (guitar) replaced Hall for The Grateful Dead’s “Bertha,” which was followed by an extended jam of The Grateful Dead’s “Mr. Charlie” > Bobby Bland’s “Turn On Your Lovelight” > “Drum Solo” > “Turn On Your Lovelight.”

The third set continued with a number of Christmas classics, as Hall, Papa Mali, Diane Durrett (vocals), Terry Reeves (vocals) and Mark Van Allen (pedal steel) sat in for “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night.” All the guests but Papa Mali exited the stage before Col. Bruce Hampton (vocals) came out for the old hymn “Yield Not to Temptation” > Country Joe and the Fish’s “I Feel Like I’m Fixin to Die Rag,” as well as Sun Ra’s “Space is the Place” to wrap up the set. All of the night’s performers then took the stage for encore renditions of The Band’s “The Weight,” followed by the classic hymn “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”

1st Set:

Deep Blue Sun

Introduction By Wildman Steve
Another Day
Not Wastin’ Time
Skin It Back
Red Tail*#
Move On Up@$^+
Outro By Wildman Steve

(*) With Jeff Mosier On Banjo
(#) With Rurik Nunan On Fiddle
(@) With Oteil Burbridge On BAss
($) With Yonrico Scott On Drums
(^) With Jimmy Hall On Saxophone
(+) With Count M’Butu On Percussion

2nd Set:

Core Band: Mosier Brothers With Mark Van Allen, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Sipe, Count M’Butu
Rurik Nunan, Yonrico Scott, Guarav Malhotra

Introduction By Wildman Steve
Jam
Archeology
Nothing Like A Hundred Miles
The Mountain Song*
Black Mountain Rag*
Black Muddy River*
Take The Time*#@
Forget The Past*
Gentle On My Mind*$^
Jeff Mosier Banter/Tuning
Always On My Mind*&+!
Black-Headed Woman*+

(*) With Larry Keel On Guitar And Vocals
(#) With Jenny Keel On Bass
(@) With Ralph Roddenberry On Guitar And Vocals
($) With Wildman Steve On Washboard
(^) With Brian Powell On Mandolin
(&) With Count M’Butu On Vocals
(+) With Jimmy Hall On Saxophone
(!) With Eric Gant On Acoustic Guitar And Vocals

3rd Set:

Core Band: Ike Stubblefield/Grant Green Jr./Jeff Sipe/Yonrico Scott/
Oteil Burbridge/Count M’Butu/Guarav Malhotra

Introduction By Wildman Steve
Jam
Just My Imagination*
Merry Christmas Baby*#
Ode To Billy Joe (Instrumental)*#
Bertha #@^
Mr. Charlie >#@^
Turn On Your Lovelight >#@^
Drum Solo >
Turn On Your Lovelight#@^
Joy To The World >*#
Silent Night*#+$
Keep On Smilin’*#+$!
Yield Not To Temptation >#&
Fixin’ To Die Rag >#&
Space Is The Place#&

Encore:
Introductions By Wildman Steve
The Weight > (With Everyone)
Will The Circle Be Unbroken (With Everyone)

(*) With Jimmy Hall On Saxophone, Harmonica, And Vocals
(#) With Papa Mali On Guitar And Vocals
(@) With John Marsh On Keyboards And Vocals
(^) With Katie Moore On Guitar And Vocals
(+) With Diane Durett On Vocals
($) With Mark Van Allen On Pedal Steel Guitar
(!) With Terry Reeves On Vocals
(&) With Col. Bruce Hampton On Vocals