Two weeks before The Fort was scheduled to take place at an actual 19th Century military fort, it was determined that this historic landmark would not be able to host a concert of this magnitude. The dilemma of what to do next presented challenge after challenge in hopes to provide ticket holders with a comparable experience. A new location was immediately sought and the name of the event was changed to “Making Lemonade,” because when you get handed a lemon of this proportion, you might as well make the best of it.
This involved a considerable amount of understanding and agility from Fort ticket holders. The inconvenience of constantly changing details kept everyone on our toes from the time The Fort was obsolete to the last late night show of the weekend. But then again, doesn’t Umphrey’s always keep fans on their toes? To say they were prepared for what came next would be an understatement.
This wasn’t exactly a festival, yet a festival algorithm of sorts inspired many of the elements. Music filled the air from the moment the parking lot opened and began to fill with excited fans. Food trucks provided quality local eats and tailgating was encouraged for those who weren’t actually camping on site.
St. Augustine Amphitheater is nestled in the sandy forest of Anastasia State Park. To host this unprecedented event, they cleared out the brush that covered floor of the woods surrounding the venue in order to provide camping options for those who wished to stay on site over the two-day period.
The preamble to this event translated into a venue that was noticeably undersold, not that anyone was complaining. In fact, most attendees were thrilled to have their space and vantage point to soak it all in. Original Fort ticket holders were given an official event poster with their wristbands and were allowed to enter the venue earlier than those who purchased their tickets after the venue change.
The main event kicked off each night with Lettuce taking the stage and dousing everyone in a thick layer of funk. Guitarist Eric Krasno tapped into his inner shredding abilities, bringing the audience to attention just before Lettuce attacked us with their explosive horns. They warmed the crowd up with the type of hot funk that makes everyone erupt with energy.
Live music continued between sets near the concession stands at the top of the venue with the laid back guitarist who set up shop next to a lemonade vendor and filled the air with sweet jams to clear our musical pallet for the night’s headliners took to the stage.
Umphrey’s McGee, the orchestrators of this very special event, played two sets each night and covered plenty material off their latest studio release: The London Session. From Friday’s “Resolution” to Saturday’s “Divisions,” special setlists were curated each night to symbolize both the challenges and uniqueness of being forced to make lemonade.
Intimate late night shows took place at an Elk Lodge just across the amphitheater parking lot. Friday featured Omega Moos, which is a side project of both Umphrey’s and Jamie Shields of The NewDeal. This collaboration takes the cheesy music of the 1980’s and resuscitates their dance party elements. This special show also featured a swap of Adam Deitch with Kris Myers on the drum kit for a downright dirty take of Prince’s “Controversy.”
Sit-ins were prevalent throughout the weekend. Alecia Chakour provided a stand out performance each night, taking on vocals for multiple songs with Lettuce as her back up band. Umphrey’s Joel Cummins and Kris Myers also joined Lettuce at one point, but Nigel Hall, who recently departed Nth Power, was the surprise guest of the weekend. He joined Lettuce on keys for their whole set on Saturday, later taking the stage with Umphrey’s along with Eric Bloom and Ryan Zoidis from Lettuce’s horn section and bassist Jesus Coomes for an entertaining take of Nate Dogg’s “I Got Love.” Umph with horns always adds a special spice to their music and this was undeniably one of the standout performances of the weekend.
Making Lemonade was the first time Lettuce and Umphrey’s have ever collaborated together in this fashion. In celebration, the final late night of the weekend featured a super group that called themselves The Fort Clinch Allstars. This Elk Lodge throw-down was a non stop jam session that switched out members of both bands as they grooved through sexy R&B riffs and vibrating bass tones. The performance gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “baby making music.”
The only production elements to distract from this late night show were the icicle lights that hung from the lodge’s drop ceiling, but at 2am the room’s fluorescent lights flickered on to signal an end to our festivities, even if the musicians weren’t quite ready to quit playing.
If the goal was to provide a genuine concert experience unlike any other out there, Umphrey’s McGee undoubtedly succeeded. From the Elk Lodge to the amphitheater’s farmer’s market, the people of St. Augustine were both accommodating and friendly as UMphreaks and Lettuce Heads infiltrated their community. In the end, Making Lemonade demonstrated how passion could overcome any obstacle.