Saturday saw the grand finale of the Dallas festival offer acts that are normally headliners, such as beloved North Texas bands The Texas Gentlemen, Quaker City Nighthawks, and J. Isaiah Evans and the Boss Tweed. Also on the lineup was local favorite Matthew Logan Vasquez, who lives in Wimberly but who's put in his time in the DFW scene.
Jambaloo, a week-ong free music festival created by the Mullen & Mullen Music Project and Spune Productions, had shows in Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton with over 100 bands. Opening the night was J. Isaiah Evans and the Boss Tweed. Evans made a name for himself with the 40 Acre Mule. When Alejandro Escovedo asked him to open solo on a tour, Evans fulfilled a longtime dream of forming a power trio featuring keyboards that handle the bass lines. This project instantly blossomed into a full-time band that brings back old-time honky tonk.
A highlight of the show came with the Dallas debut of the song "Make it Out Alive," which is yet to be released. Evans said the band is working on new material and will have an album out later this summer. In case you missed it, The Tweed will be playing next on Feb. 16 at Adair's Saloon's 62nd anniversary. Next up was Matthew Logan Vasquez, who is best known for fronting the band Delta Spirit. In addition to a healthy solo career, he has also been part of two supergroups: Middle Brother with Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and the way-too-short-lived Glorietta, with Adrian Quesada and David Ramirez.
Although Vasquez has a plethora of original songs from his solo work, this show and tour feature all Delta Spirit songs. This was a popular choice with the crowd. Vasquez was easily the most energetic performer of the night, twisting and jumping, seeming barely able to contain his passion for the songs. It was awesome to watch.
Quaker City Nighthawks hit the stage with their first show since August, a break far too long for most fans. The good news is they were in the studio working on new material that will be released as singles later this year.
QCNH are famously fantastic live performers, and expectedly brought good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll. There is something so casual about the way this band carries itself onstage: It's a steady, grinding sound — suddenly, the music sneaks up and before you know it, you're fully immersed.
The band played classics including "Feed the Machine," and a blistering closing "Fox in the Henhouse." It's good to have them playing regularly again.
The night ended with The Texas Gentlemen, who have yet to disappoint live. The Gents are a mini supergroup all their own. They have been the backing band for many artists including the late Kris Kristofferson, George Strait, Leon Bridges and Joe Ely, to name a few. They broke out on their own with releases in 2017 and 2020.
The band has core members, but each has other projects so the lineup shifts to some degree. The show brought original members Nik Lee and Ryan Ake on guitars and Scott Edgar Lee on bass as well as drummer Paul Grass. Daniel Creamer, co-founder and keyboardist/singer, is currently on tour with Shaky Graves and was replaced by RC Williams, which was pretty cool.
The set scorched with guest appearances throughout. The Gents sound just like their name — truly respectable Texas country/blues with just a touch of swamp. Highlights from their show included "Charlie's House" featuring Spice and Roy on backup vocals from the band Sir Women. The Gents also played a new and unreleased tune called "Mr. Lonely." Sam Anderson from Quaker City Nighthawks jumped back onstage to lead the band in the blues-rock classic "Going Down," and Matthew Logan Vasquez came out to sing his version of Terry Allen's "Amarillo Highway."
The Gents' set was high-energy and about as Texas as you can get, the perfect climax to an outstanding new festival. Jambaloo was a huge success for the fans and musicians alike. Between great acts, locations all over DFW, and free admission, it provided an original and refreshing approach to keeping the love of live music alive. The only thing that wasn't perfect about the night was the chill in the air, but that was mostly forgotten once the show got cooking.
The bands provided the heat and energy on this chilly February evening at Ferris Wheelers.
Andrew Sherman
Matthew Logan Vasquez has been in supergroups Middle Brother and Gloretta as well as Delta Spirit.
Andrew Sherman
