Southern Fried Festival line-up revealed

May 6 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

THE full line-up was confirmed yesterday for the sizzling Southern Fried Festival of American Roots Music in Perth this summer.

Four-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett tops the bill at the fourth annual celebration of all things Americana, which takes place over the weekend of July 22 to 24 – a week earlier than previous years to avoid a clash with the Rewind Festival at Scone Palace.

Also on the Southern Fried menu is a red-hot selection of top musicians from home and abroad including the legendary Stax! band, Blind Boys of Alabama, Iris Dement, Justin Townes Earle, former Mavericks front man Raul Malo and more, plus free workshops, smaller gigs and singalongs as well as a taste of Southern Fried soul food.

Festival events are in Perth Concert Hall, Perth Theatre and other venues within easy strolling distance.

Mixing up blues, country, rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, gospel, soul, Cajun, bluegrass and Western swing, festival director Andy Shearer says this year’s Southern Fried Festival features the strongest and most diverse line-up of musicians in its four year history: “Southern Fried has always aimed to present the most diverse and inclusive programme of American roots music possible, and I think we’ve excelled ourselves on that front this year.

“We have arguably the greatest gospel group of all time in the Blind Boys Of Alabama; we’re delighted that our first ever Cajun band is the Savoy Family as they are the living embodiment of this music and culture; we have truly world-class singer songwriters with Lyle Lovett, Iris Dement and Justin Townes Earle; soul legends Steve Cropper, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn and Eddie Floyd; latino, pop and country rolled into the wonderful voice of Raul Malo; groundbreaking Americana from Abigail Washburn, Samantha Crain, Star Wheel Press and Phantom Limb; plus a wealth of local and Scottish acts, free shows, open mic, workshops and wonderful food to create a great weekend festival.”

Blind Boys of Alabama open the Festival in Perth Concert Hall, and in a Southern Fried Festival exclusive, little heard Americana artist, Iris Dement joins the Blind Boys for a rare solo performance. Also on the Friday, Late and Southern Fried in Perth Theatre serves up the tasty late-night double helping of Justin Townes Earle and Abigail Washburn And The Village.

Lyle Lovett And His Acoustic Group hit the Perth Concert Hall stage on Saturday, July 23. Possessing one of the most distinctive artistic voices today, four-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Lovett’s career spans 14 albums and more than four million records sold.

Over in Perth Theatre for Saturday night’s Late and Southern Fried, there’s a chance to get up close and personal with former Mavericks frontman Raul Malo.

Solid gold soul legends Steve Cropper, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn and Eddie Floyd are joined in Perth Concert Hall on the Sunday by keyboardist Lester Snell (Isaac Hayes) and ace drummer Steve Potts to celebrate one of the great record labels. As half of Stax/Volt’s house band, Booker T and the MG’s, guitarist Cropper and bassist Dunn defined the spare, punchy sound of Memphis soul music.

Daytime gigs include The Twa Tams rocking to the sound of top UK folk/bluegrass band Southern Tenant Folk Union and Perthshire Americana group Red Pine Timber Company on Saturday and there’s another chance to see Iris Dement in Perth Theatre on the Saturday along with a solo set from Felsons frontman Dean Owens.

The full Southern Fried programme can be found on www.southernfriedfestival.co.uk, or visit or call Perth Theatre and Perth Concert Hall box offices, from where tickets are now on sale.