Athfest 2009: Betsy Franck is worth baking in the sun to hear

Sunday, June 28th 2009

Betsy Franck and the Bareknuckle Band

Sunday morning, just before noon, I laughed my friends awake. Yes, that's right. I woke them up with a bit of soft giggling. Try it! It totally works, and most people forgive you for waking them up because they can't be mad at somebody that cheerful. Yeah. Two hours later, we were rushing through the streets of downtown Athens, hoping to make it to the main stage in time for the opening bars of Betsy Franck's first song. Luckily, we're rather quick when music hangs in the balance, so we actually arrived with time to spare. More time in the hot sun... Yikes! We dodged under Flicker Theatre's awning for some much needed shade as Betsy and the Bareknuckle Band began their set.

Now, generally, blues and southern rock are not my genres of choice, but Betsy has one of those incredibly powerful voices that transcends genre. Her vocal talent is completely undeniable, so much so that I actually braved a few minutes out in the hot sun for a closer listen. Near the end of the set, she invited the Half Dozen Brass Band to join them onstage for a song, and they all ended up spontaneously jamming together for the remaining tunes as well even though they weren't familiar with them. Utterly awesome. This was a group of bands that was truly worth sacrificing our previously uncooked skin to hear.

Next up, the band that reunited just in time for Athfest, Dreams So Real!

For more blogs about Athfest 2009, click here! I'll be updating daily, so be sure to check back often. Also, don't forget to check out concert videos from Dreams So Real, Venice is Sinking, Dead Confederate and many more at http://www.youtube.com/echoreynofathens!