Until The Sun at Woodystock Blues Festival Lake Havasu 03-25-23
Review and photos by Roc Boyum
The mesmorizing sound of Blues and Blues Rock rocked Lake Havasu, Arizona on March 25 2023, thanks to The Woodystock Blues and Brews Festival, which has been a featured event running for several years now in the Lake Havasu area and is put on by promotor John Woodard. On This beautiful day, the fine location of the 2023 Woodystock Blues and Brews Festival was at a new location right off the Arizona side of Lake Havasu and had a beautiful view of the lake and a large open lawn for everyone attending. Many people brought their own chairs, coolers, dogs and whatever else they needed to enjoy great music on a beautiful day by the lake.
This year’s event had a boat load of great artists that included; Tiffany Lynn, Kayla Von Der Heide, Catbone, Until The Sun, Jay Gordon and the Blues Venom, Kenny Williams & the Stomp Down Riders, Jon Geiger Band and Jimmy Carpenter Band.
This review will spotlight the powerful blues rock of Until The Sun, a local blues rock band out of Phoenix AZ.
Until The Sun creates its musical style by fusing together elements of blues, rock, alternative and jazz with their core sound steeped in the heart of blues/rock. UTS are a refreshingly original blues/rock band who mostly play their own music as opposed to playing a string of blues covers. This is a great thing because they’re carving out their own solid niche in an over saturated Blues Market which is really, the only way to stand out; unless you’re a tribute band. On the other hand, when you play a “Blues Festival” many people in attendance may not be familiar with your original material which can leave a festival audience a bit flat. But fortunately, Until The Sun was ready for the challenge and that wasn’t the case here at Woodystock for UTS. The band captivated and drew the crowd into their music with their strong 12 song set that rocked all the attendees on the festival lawn and beyond. The band didn’t mess around with a ton of idle banter as they kicked out the jams by rolling from one song to the next without wasting any time.
Singer Alyssa Swartz belted out each song with a vocal style that ranged from the great classic blues vocalists similar to Etta James to the modern R&B vocalists – her voice would go from clean to raspy; sometimes in one fell swoop. Her vocal and musical style effortlessly exuded grace and grit as she continually engaged the audience throughout their show.
Guitarist Brandon Teskey plays the blues with the soul of a classic blues master and when he tears into the slower blues songs he exudes his passion with a sexy feel and great emotion. Then he will spin your head around as he embraces the rockin’ faster side of blues with a powerful rockin’ edge that is full of some tasty and nasty grit, Stevie Ray Vaughn style. In whatever style Teskey is playing, it’s his solos that really draw you into that blues/rock vibe with influences of Clapton and Buddy Guy. Every instrument, when it is played well, should convey it’s own story, and Teskey’s guitar playing emotes a story that is powerful, soulful and moving, and then at other times he explodes with an aggressive passion that captivates the listener: now that’s some blues!
The rhythm section of Jay Zarecki on bass and Chris Tex, AKA Tex on drums, laid down a real solid undercurrent that kept the blues and rock vibe moving along. Drummer Tex would switch up the feel from a blues/rock groove to a more jazz influenced groove where needed and then seemingly out of nowhere, he would come at you with a Bonham style fill in just the right place which all fit the music and the band quite nicely.
L-R: Jay Zarecki-Bass_Chris Tex Drums
Until The Sun are quickly climbing up the blues/rock ladder in the music industry and making some real waves in the blues/rock arena right here in Arizona, as well. Be on the look out for these guys at a club near you in Phoenix and enjoy a night of some great rockin’ blues; you’ll be glad you did!
The full day Festival ran from about 10am to 10pm and included a fantastic raffle for a beautiful Gretsch guitar pictured above. Thanks again to John Woodard for putting on this great event; can’t wait to go next year!
Get Into Until The Sun Here! https://untilthesun.com/
Until The Sun Set List From The Stage:
