Galactic and Dumpstaphunk will headline Oskar Blues’ Burning Can, July 15 and 16

PRESS RELEASE FROM OSKAR BLUES BREWERY:

Oskar Blues is bringin’ back their Burning CAN Notjusta Beer Festival (like they left something) for its third installment July 15 & 16 to their REEB Ranch at the foot of DuPont State Forest. Over fifty canning craft breweries will be pouring beers for thirsty festival goers but the stage will be just as packed with funky talent from all over the country.

This year’s stacked lineup features Galactic, Dumpstaphunk, the Nth Power, the Bright Light Social Hour, Major and the Monbacks, Porch 40, Andrew Scotchie and the River Rats, and Interstate Stash Express. Tickets can be purchased at www.burningcanbrevard.com.

“Oskar Blues has been gittin’ down to funky live music since the very beginning,”says Aaron Baker, the NC brewery’s Marketing Manager. “Our roots at the original brewpub in Lyons, CO grew out of a basement stage bringing together bluesy, rootsy music and supa-fresh craft beer. The Burning CAN NC lineup this year fits right in and is going to be a helluva thing.”

Building on 2015’s beer-soaked, New Orleans vibe, this year’s festival brings world-renowned funk jazz band, Galactic, to Western North Carolina. “It’s hard to overstate the infectious energy and thrill of a live performance by [Galactic],”said NPR Music. Called a “first rate funk band”by the New York Times, the band has garnered truckloads of praise over the last 20 years, developing a reputation for their raucous live shows. “When the song is hot, you see people dancing on cars, slapping stop signs and generally getting possessed with dance and excitement,”says Ben Ellman, the bands saxophone player. Sounds like Burning CAN to us. The band just released their ninth studio album, Into the Deep, which features guests such as Macy Gray, Mavis Staples, and JJ Grey.

Dumpstaphunk, another Crescent City icon,will be bringing their signature take on bass’d-out funk to the Burning CAN stage. The band, fronted by legendary musical hero Ivan Neville, has developed a reputation for elaborate arrangements paired with passionate melodies, dueling basslines, and a rhythm section like no other. After years of hard touring, the ensemble has taken their wild live show all across the country showing the same amount of exuberance playing clubs and festivals as house parties and Mardi Gras parades. The New York Times said it best with their exclamation: “I don’t expect to hear anything funkier this year.”

Rounding out the Louisiana contingency is the powerhouse Nth Power. The quartet boasts a genre-destroying sound of soul, gospel, funk and jam. They’ve been called “a cross between Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers and the Isley Brothers”and were brought together via a late night Jazz Fest jam sesh in 2012. Prior to their formation, female drummer and all around badass, Nikki Gillespie toured with Beyonce for five years before joining Dumpstaphunk (remember them?) and playing gigs with legends like Chaka Khan. The relatively young group was called”a gospel-funk blend of the sacred and the profane,”by the Burlington Free Press. It sounds like they’ll feel right at home at Burning CAN.

Also getting weird on the Burning CAN stage is psychedelic rock band, The Bright Light Social Hour. Hailing from OBB’s new home, Austin, Texas, the foursome have developed a sound that fuses the ambient characteristics of psychedelia with soul, funk, and a healthy dose of rock and roll. With catchy harmonies and a Beach Boys feel, the group takes on west coast groove with a distinctly gritty and southern approach. “The Bright Light Social Hour is one of Texas’ hottest next big things,”says The Tampa Bay Times. “With a sound that blends organic funk, Southern soul, indie psychedelia and plain ol’ sweaty pop. Their live shows are quickly becoming the stuff of legend. “Fresh off of a tour supporting Galactic, we’re psyched to see the two bands share a stage once again.

Retro psychedelic-soul band Major and the Monbacks will also bounce the Burning CAN stage this summer. The Norfolk, Virginia 8-piece expertly melds 60’s rock and roll with psychedelic swagger and caps it all off with the raw grit of southern soul.”The Monbacks pair their raucous, horn-drenched rock and roll and songwriting with…psychedelic and orchestral landscapes,”raves The Huffington Post, “think Chicago meets the Grateful Dead meets The Band.”

Keeping with the 60’s rock vibe, psychedelic Americana trio Interstate Stash Express will be joining us straight from Lyons, CO (birthplace of Oskar Blues itself). Comprised of drummer Thom McKee, guitarist Terry Kishiyama, and bass player James Smith, the group, though small, packs a huge sonic punch. I.S.E. have rocked out at Burning CAN Colorado many times and will bring some Rocky Mountain flavor out east this summer.

Burning CAN will also showcase some of Western North Carolina’s own raw talent. Cullowhee, NC based five-piece, Porch 40, will be back at the ranch this summer, bringing their unique brand of southern funk rock with ’em. We’re still stoked on the group’s unrestrained and engaging set from last year’s Burning CAN and we’re psyched to see what this insanely talented group has been up to musically in the past year.

Asheville native’s Andrew Scotchie & the River Rats will also be rocking the stage. “We’re high energy funk and rock ‘n roll,”says Scotchie of the group that was a street busking venture at its inception. The group was voted number one rock band in WNC by Mountain Xpress and their raw, hard-driving sound has earned them a reputation that has drifted its way up the east coast.

“Burning CAN is all about the lifestyle that comes along with putting craft beer in a can,” says Chad Melis, Oskar Blues’ Marketing Director. “Groovin’ to great music all day with a can-in-hand after riding, paddling, or running -then being able to camp out…that’s what Burning CAN brings.”

The festival gets going on Friday, July 15 with Andrew Scotchie & The River Rats kicking things off at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Bright Light Social Hour at 7:15 p.m. and Dumpstaphunk at 9:00 p.m.

Saturday brings 24 hours of action including the return of the Beer Relay run, a dirt jump competition, a dual slalom MTB race, a French Broad River group paddle, group road and mountain bike rides, sunrise yoga, and more. The main event begins early on the afternoon of July 16. Cans get cracked at 2:00 p.m. from 50 can-centric craft breweries pouring samples of over 100 different beers. Sweet jams from the stage build throughout the day culminating in an epic nighttime set from Galactic with the scenic, 140-acre REEB Ranch as the backdrop.

Tickets for Burning CAN can be purchased online at www.burningcanbrevard.com. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit the Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation and MountainTrue, a regional non-profit dedicated to the protection of WNC’s river systems. Both car and tent camping are available at REEB Ranch. For more information visit www.burningcanbrevard.com.