photo by John Patrick Gatta

What a difference a day makes. The grey skies of Thursday gave way to the clear blue of Friday.And with the cleanup chaos in the rear view mirror, Lockn’ finally kicked into gear.

Due to Friday’s date, 9/11, the festival opened with a moment of remembrance as John Popper welcomed more than two dozen first responders to the stage to honor them for their efforts before playing the national anthem. A large American flag was then displayed via a fire truck’s selwing ladder next to the Ridge Stage.

photo by John Patrick Gatta

Popper’s “Star-Spangled Banner” did not represent the first notes of the day as he was preceded by a soundcheck by the Doobie Incident featuring the String Cheese Incident and five members of the Doobie Brothers. Salvaged from Thursday’s lost day, the eleven musicians stepped out a few minutes before 1:00 and then returned post-Popper to deliver classic rock radio hits such as “Rockin’ Down the Highway,” “Takin’ It to the Street,” “Black Water,” “Long Train Runnin’,” “Jesus is Just Alright,” “China Grove” and “Listen to the Music” along with SCI’s “Sometimes a River.”

Next up were the Rockn’ to Lockn’ winners Seth Stainback & Roosterfoot who delivered a rousing set that affirmed their command of the big festival stage.

Moonalice followed andbrought up Lockn’ co-founder Peter Shapiro to thank him for putting together this festival. Their set, found its root in psychedelic rock and offered plenty of interesting jams, led by the various members of the group. Moonalice later offered a nod to Jerry Garcia as Pete Sears sang lead on “Stella Blue,” while a butterfly circled the stage. The performance ended, as all Moonalice performances do, with the group offering free posters to the audience.

photo by Dean Budnick

The conclusion of the North Mississippi Allstars set was particularly striking as the band made its way off the stage and out into the field, while playing percussion. The group’s set proper featuredsome fierce guitar work by Luther Dickinson on such songs as “Sittin’ on Top of the World” and “Rollin’ and Tumblin’.” Luther and his brother Cody were joined by bassist Ron Johnson and Sharde Thomas on cane fife.

The Allstars set was complemented perfectly by Anders Osborne’s psychedelic swamp blues. His band for this mesmerizing performance included keyboard player John Gros and guitarist Scott Metzger, while John Kadlecik guested on a few songs.

Steve Earle & the Dukes took the Lockn’ crowd down to “Copperhead Road” and introduced them to numbers from his blues album, Terraplane including the set’s opener, “Baby Baby Baby (Baby). Earle also played a roots version of Donovan’s “There Is a Mountain” and a rocking cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe.”

The String Cheese Incident then returned for an animated 75-minute set that included “Come As You Are,” “Rosie” and “Colorado Bluebird Sky.”

There is always major excitement when one of the members of the Grateful Dead appear at Lockn’ and Phil Lesh & Friends matched the enthusiasm. On this night, Lesh was joined by Chris Robinson, Neal Casal, Adam MacDougall, Eric Krasno and Tony Leone. They opened with “Promised Land,” headed down to “Shakedown Street,” met some “Brown-eyed Women,” dug into the Pigpen favorite “I’m a Hog for You,” covered the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” and welcomed the “Morning Dew.”

photo by John Patrick Gatta

One of the day’s most anticipated sets then followed. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady celebrated 50 years of Jefferson Airplane with a fabulous performance that also featured Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Rachael Price (Lake Street Drive), GE Smith, Jeff Pehrson and Justin Guip. Special guest Bill Kreutzmann sat in for “Come Back Baby” “Volunteers” and set closer “Feel So Good.” The hour-long set was so good that it’s a shame that Lockn’ was the only place where this tribute will be played. Price equaled her strong singing abilities with some late ‘60s era worthy dance moves while Williams belted out a killer version of “White Rabbit.” Pehrson provided his own solid take on “Plastic Fantastic Lover,” while Casady and Kaukonen were each an active presence throughout the performance.

Music on the Oak and Ridge stages ended with Mad Dogs & Englishmen Celebrate Joe Cocker (late night sets by Umphrey’s McGee and Mickey Hart with Steve Kimock and EOTO followed). Although Cocker was from England, his singing style was influenced by Ray Charles, so the Mad Dogs material dug deep into blues, roots, soul and gospel traditions. The 100-minute performance featured Tedeschi Trucks Band with alumni from that 1970 tour including Leon Russell, Chris Stainton, Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, Pamela Polland, Matthew Moore, Daniel Moore and Bobby Jones, Chuck Blackwell and Bobby Torres.

The performance opened in fine fashion with Susan Tedeschi digging in for an electrifying version of “The Letter.” The entire set to follow was a highlight reel but notable moments included performances by the original players: “Cry Me A River” with Lennear on vocals, Coolidge’s turn on “Superstar,” Leon Russell’s take on Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country” as well as his solo encore version of “The Ballad Of Mad Dogs And Englishmen.” Guests included John Bell who sang lead on “Delta Lady,” an unexpected appearance by Warren Haynes for “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” and contributions by Chris Robinson, Anders Osborne and Doyle Bramhall II.

The spirit of the performance and the day as a whole may have been best encapsulated during Dave Mason’s appearance. The big band lit into his tune with glee and shared a common sentiment with the audience, because after a day lost to weather, Lockn’ 2015 was finally underway and everyone was indeed “Feelin’ Alright.