Saturday, April 28, 2018 at Double Decker Festival in Oxford, Mississippi is packed with a full day of music from 10 am–10 pm. We’ve got a quick rundown of all the bands playing that day as well as links to check out their music. Give it a read and we’ll see you at the festival.
Sharde Thomas Rising Star Fife & Drum (10:15 am)
Sharde Thomas was born in North Mississippi in 1990 and is the granddaughter of the North Mississippi Fife & Drum Master, the late Otha Turner. Sharde was her grandfather’s heir of the mastery of the Fife & Drum at a young age. Sharde released her debut album in 2010 titled “What Do I Do” and released her sophomore album in 2013 titled “Shawty Blues”. Sharde has worked with greats like Eric Clapton, Bobby Rush, Cyndi Lauper, Mavis Staples, The Wandering, The North Mississippi All-Stars, and many others. She is the lead vocalist and plays the Fife in the “Rising Stars Fife & Drum band”. The band performs a mixture of Folk, Blues, Pop, and Gospel music. The group has also traveled to Europe, Paris, New Orleans, Chicago, performed at the Blues Rules in Switzerland, performed at the 2017 Cognac Blues Passions and many, many more. The “Rising Stars Fife & Drum” released the Interlude in 2017. The “Rising Star Fife & Drum” music is featured in “Super-Size Me”, and “Gangs of New York”.
Como Mamas (11:30 am)
Born in Como, Mississippi, sisters Della and Angela and cousin Ester Mae express their passion through what’s most familiar to them. Music has filled their lives for more than 50 years, through the church and the uplifting sound of their grandfather’s guitar that pulled them through times of turmoil. “Back then you had to go to church, it wasn’t a choice you made,” says Ester Mae. “We would go and sing in the choir but they didn’t have a pianist. That’s why it comes easy for me to sing without background music. I grew up without it.”
Don Bryant (1 pm)
Don Bryant has been singing since he was 5, starting in his Memphis church. He joined his father’s family vocal group, then formed a gospel quartet for a high school radio gig. Broadcasting broadened the audience and they went secular, singing pop at WLOK on Dick “Cane” Cole’s popular show. After parting with the DJ, they took a very real step toward careers when, as the Four Kings, they began fronting Willie Mitchell’s band.
Don could also write songs. He was still in his teens when, in 1960, Willie was producing the 5 Royales and Don handed him “I Got To Know.” The 5 Royales put it on wax. Don was hot in the spotlight and in the writer’s room.
Around 1970, Willie put Don with the Hi label’s newest act, Ann Peebles, who burst on the scene with “Part Time Love.” They eventually co-wrote the hit “I Can’t Stand the Rain” in 1973 and were married the following year. Ann’s performing career continued, as did Don’s writing, and they began raising a family. Occasionally, Don returned to the microphone, dueting with his wife, sometimes releasing gospel material. Always, he continued to write songs.
Squirrel Nut Zipper (2:30 pm)
The group has spent recent years working on its sound on the road and working its way towards this Inevitable conclusion of songs. A kind of uncontrolled experiment in music on the road allowed the band to feed off audiences energy and surrender to the dancing muse, rather than trying to subscribe to a preconceived notion. An audience…a band onstage…both complicit in the desire to defy the world as we know, if only for a brief spell. “Let the music
lead,” was always Jimbo’s motto, and continues to be.
Beasts Of Burgundy is twelve original new songs from the mind of Jimbo Mathus and the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Inspired by the city of New Orleans, the poet Ron Cuccia, and a disregard for convention, the bands latest studio release will be released on March 23rd, on Southern Broadcasting.
Tank and the Bangas (4 pm)
Tank and The Bangas came together in New Orleans and it is evident in their soulful songs. With a poetic style and an upbeat sound they even ponder rollercoasters. You’ll find the Bangas to provoke a musical reference of Rhythmic Soul and Spoken word among other genres such as Rock, Gospel, Funk, and Folk. Combining the various musical techniques among the Bangas, coupled with the instilling play on lyrics from the lead vocalist; Tank and The Bangas have quilted a unique sound that singles them as one of the most distinctive groups to come out of New Orleans.
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s (5:30 pm)
Whitey Morgan, whose real name is Eric Allen, hails from Flint, Michigan where locals believe he keeps true country music alive. Most of his fans and spectators gather in bars and venues from word of mouth rather than any advertising. Whitey’s deep voice and twangy guitars remind one of an old country western film. He describes his sound as “honky-tonk” and despises Nashville for its newfound popularity of pop country. “This may be country music, but it’s dirtier and more dangerous than your average Tennessee two-step” -Rolling Stone
Houndmouth (7 pm)
In the small town of New Albany, Indiana Matt Myers (guitar, vocals), Shane Cody (drums, vocals) and Zak Appleby (bass, vocals) became Houndmouth in the summer of 2011.
In 2012, the group issued a self-titled EP on Rough Trade Records, who signed them after seeing a single gig. One of 2013’s most incandescent debuts, their From the Hills Below the City LP affirmed what label owner Geoff Travis had heard: the sounds of Americana, renewed by the youthful glow of songwriters, musicians and pals unafraid to both celebrate and desecrate them.
Recorded by Dave Cobb in Nashville, Little Neon Limelight (2016) pairs the energy and nerves of raw first takes with the accents and moods of a more contemplative, thoughtful unit. Hearts are broken and friends are exiled, love grows cold and drugs do damage, leaders make mistakes and money turns tricks. Haunted by samples of the buoyant opener and single “Sedona” and the noisy filigree of a Moog, the beautifully downcast “For No One” stalks through personal blues with conviction. Its world-weariness has been incubated by the world it surveys.
Cold War Kids (8:30 pm)
Released just last April, their sixth album LA Divine, Cold War Kids pay tribute to Los Angeles. Its title is slightly tongue-in-cheek. “In many ways LA is the least divine city, the most hedonistic and irreverent and disconnected from history,” says Cold War Kids singer/guitarist/pianist Nathan Willett. Still, LA Divine embodies the Long Beach-bred band’s endless fascination with their adopted hometown. “LA’s so massive, I feel like I’m always finding something new in it,” says bassist Matt Maust. “It’s an incredibly weird place, and I’m happy to have made a record that totally honors that weirdness.” 
