TVD Live Shots: Dreamy Draw Music Festival, 11/4

SCOTTSDALE, AZ | Day two of the inaugural Dreamy Draw Festival kicked off at 1:00 PM on Saturday November 4th. The two day Americana festival took place at the newly renovated Scottsdale Civic Center. With a lineup full of new and veteran artists, the entire bill was something special. From bands touring for decades, to artists who found their fame within the last year, the festival promotes a very unique mix of genres including rock & roll, country, Americana, folk, and blue-grass to name a few.

1:00 PM: Taylor Glasheen and her pedal steel player took to the Stampede Stage. Taylor released her first album in 2022, and notably since the pandemic has dove into music. Taylor has a beautiful voice and an old school folk sound that everyone can connect with. Taylor is a local artist, who started finding her sound in venues across the Phoenix area.

2:00 PM: American Hustler is a band of true musicians. Their lead guitar player absolutely shreds his solos, and the entire band plays with enough sound to fill a stadium. They’re a band with a bright future. Speaking of bright futures, Corey Harper is quite the talent as well. Similar to many artists on this bill, Corey found his start during the pandemic releasing his first album in 2020. The Saint Louis native has released an album in each of the last three years and most recently a single on October 13th of this year. The festival day was off to an incredible start.

3:00 PM: Steely Dead is a musical combination of the Grateful Dead and Steely Dan. A very interesting combo, the band has a ton of fun on stage and is definitely a music experience.

4:00 PM: One of my personal favorite time slots from the entire festival. JD Clayton released his first album in 2023, Long Way from Home, and described it as a way to find himself through his music. His journey with the first album was produced with a few other contributors and he had some guidance on his trek. He is working on a new album completely on his own and he feels ready for the challenge going into 2024. JD rocks out with blues and roots influences and plays alongside a full band. On another stage, Logan Halstead was performing with one of the more unique voices in music. At only 20 years old, Logan sounds like he has lived three lives. He plays a mesmerizing Americana sound complimented with a fiddle and bass player.

7:00 PM: Watchhouse played the Stampede Stage to kick off what turned out to be an unforgettable night. Watchhouse is a married couple who make a lot of noise for just two people. Andrew plays the mandolin unlike I have ever seen before—his solos and rhythm on that instrument are unparalleled. Emily on the other hand plays both guitar and the fiddle with ease as well. They switched off singing lead and harmonies and were one of the stand-out artists from the festival.

8:00 PM: Trampled By Turtles plays with more energy than most bands I have seen live and have a very creative approach to their music. As described by their fiddle player Ryan Young, they play rock music with bluegrass instruments. Fitting into the unique slate of artists on the festival lineup, Trampled by Turtles is absolutely one of a kind. At the same time on the Poncho Stage, Evan Honer, a local artist made his festival debut playing in front of his family and friends. Evan found fame and success through social media and has had a big year. Evan has released the album West and had only practiced with the band three times before the festival. He just announced his first headline tour, and has a very bright future ahead of him.

9:00 PM: Jamestown Revival has been releasing music since 2014, and most recently an album in 2022. The band has a very wide range of musical styles, playing slow tempo folk songs all the way to upbeat Americana/rock songs. They are just as advertised, and sound incredible live. They are fun, heartwarming, compelling and energetic all at the same time. Their success throughout the years puts them at the forefront of this mixed bag of Americana folk music.

10:00 PM: Lord Huron comes out tailor made in suits and rocks out the whole set. The well deserved headliner has been releasing music since 2012, and most recently the soundtrack for the movie Starling Girl in 2023. Lord Huron also has a very diverse discography but there isn’t a bad song in there. The Los Angeles american indie rock band has a euphoric sound to their music—the type of songs that can lift souls. The band’s music hits hard, and is quite the spectacle close up. It’s a good thing the Bronco stage had a lot of space because there were a lot of fans that wanted to see Lord Huron. If you are going to check out any bands from the festival I recommend Lord Huron be on the top of that list.

AMERICAN HUSTLER