Roots, Freakshows, Florida Dates, and Plans for our Manhattan Project

This Update is Sappy and Sassy in Equal Measure

Backstage at the Amp

ROOTS

There are so many words and yet none at all to adequately describe where we’ve been and the memories we’re still revisiting in our dreams. How can we possibly express the enormity of our experience at Suwannee Roots Revival 23 with mere language? It’s a feeling we wish we could telegraph from our hearts straight onto yours. Electrifying. Heart pounding. High flying. Goosebump inducing. Laughter soaked. Sweat stained. Ear-to-ear grinning. Guitar screaming. Keyboard twinkling. Love infused. Kegel pumped. Taco-fueled. Squeezefest. Late night, juke joint style, dirty camp jam groovin’. Schmexy AF. Taint shakin’. Cuddle puddle vignettes. T-Rex invasion. Cheese smothered, kiss covered, and MF scattered, baby! It was kinda like that. But more.

Ian Klin, the key master.

We are so grateful to have had this opportunity and to be able to share it with people we love. Our hearts almost exploded from the sheer miracle of playing The Fighter with Mr. Jesse Hamilton. Most of you know Jesse and what he’s been through. He was our first drummer, and after his motorcycle wreck, we didn’t know if he’d ever even wake up, let alone play drums again, but he’s made a truly miraculous recovery and he jumped up to join us on our Friday night dance tent set! And, as if that wasn’t enough, he also made a very special Saturday appearance as our sexy sixteenth president, Baberaham Lincoln! OW! OW! OW!

We also had the distinct pleasure of rockin’ out with Makenna Jones! Mack got up and played some Alice in Chains with us on our Saturday set at the Amphitheater! She’s Richie’s kid, and there’s no mistaking it when she’s behind the kit. She slams!

Born with it.

Lastly, we would be remiss to not profess our endless gratitude and profound love for our official and unofficial crew. Shea Jarman-Hayes and Russ “Bonemeal Baker” Bledsoe had their kitten herding gloves on all weekend and they busted ass to keep us fed, in tune, on time (no easy feat!), and in line (nearly impossible). Bonemeal also completely melted every face off of every poor human he played for all weekend long, and we wouldn’t be surprised if there were to be a full-fledged Bonemeal set at Suwannee in the near future. Back at camp, our Merry Taintsters – led by Shelly and Tami – kept us full up on cheese, well hydrated, and entertainted. We seriously could not have asked for a more amazing weekend with more amazing humans.

Go for Bonemeal. Go for Momager. Over.

Breaker, breaker 109. We need to get a charcuterie tray to the campfire, stat.

The pictures can say what we can’t, but nothing can really convey the magic.

But the good news for those of you who missed this year’s shenanigans is… we’ll be back.

And back.

And back.

When we went to the office to settle up, we got the best news we could have imagined getting. Beth Judy has invited us to stay on as regulars for Suwannee Roots Revival! So, we’ll see you down there again next October! And the one after that! And the one after that!

Upcoming Shows

In the meantime, there are plenty of chances for you to shake that beautiful taint!

Sunday, October 29^th we return to Napoleon’s in Decatur, GA for a scary edition of Fanny Lovin’ Sunday with some very special guests. Creepy attire is strongly encouraged!

Saturday, November 4^th we’re throwing our very own Freakshow Homecoming in the grand ballroom at The Hunt House in Marietta, GA. Wear your finest and freakiest! We’ll choose a freaky homecoming court and give out prizes! And hear this! We will be joined on this momentous evening by the monster of steel himself, Steve Cunningham!

Florida Dates

November 10^th and 11^th we’ll be jamming with our Florida fam!

Friday, November 10^th we’re at Cottonmouth Southern Soul Kitchen in Bradenton, FL with The Wandering Hours and Vision Crystal for what they’re calling “Americana Night.” We hope we don’t get kicked out.

Saturday, November 11^th we’ll be at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa, FL for another night with The Wandering Hours and Vision Crystal. This one is gonna be a banger and, hopefully, some afterparty debauchery will ensue.

Last, but absolutely not least, we’ll be rounding out our November back home in the Cave at Tree Sound Studios for our second annual Scorpio Jam! Saturday, November 18^th we’ll be celebrating Donna Hopkins’ big 6-0! It’s going to be a hell of a night with performances from Cody Matlock, The Aints, Donna, our good buddy from SC, Danielle Howle, and what?!?!? COPE returns to Georgia! Oh yeah! If you wanna get down in the scorpion den, you better grab those tickets ASAP. These Tree Sound parties sell out every time!

Atomic Updates

As of this week, we’ve officially got 2/3 of the initial tracking done on our forthcoming Atomic double vinyl album! Big ups to our engineer, Ben Hernandez, at Dragonsong Productions for being so accommodating and easy to work with. We couldn’t ask for a better mastermind at the helm of this Atomic creation. Ben! You’re our Oppenheimer! As we approach the off-season, we’re getting ready to hunker down and get the rest of these tracks knocked out so we can put all the bells and whistles on them over the winter. Hopefully, we’ll have a little something, just a little taste, to share for the holidays.

New Bona Fide Mercantile!

We’re excited to announce the official opening of our brand-new bona fide online mercantile! To make sure we can always fulfill your Ain’t merch needs, we have opened a Bonfire store where your orders are printed on demand. This means that all sizes and all varieties are always available! Christmas is coming, and we’re ready for ya! Speaking of Christmas, we’ve got some very special Candles for sale, but these suckers are only available in person at our shows. Nothing says “happy holidays” like a hot anarchist lighting a blunt with a Molotov cocktail.

And for those of you with ultra, high-class taste who require very special, completely unique, and one-of-a-kind attire, fret not, more tie dyes and flannels from Bumblekitten and Heather’s Flower Patch are on the way.

Press

We were pretty tickled to see this little bit of post-Roots press, and we thought we’d share it with y’all.

“A legendary must-see” -Music Fest News

Suwannee Roots Revival: A great weekend by the river - Art & Living (artandliving.com)

And peep that picture of Trampled by Turtles right below our mention… their mandolin player (far left) bought an Ain’t Sisters shirt and wore it during their set! Barb got to chat with him afterward and he says he’s a fan!

A Few More Thoughts About Roots

It’s been exciting, wild, strange, sometimes overwhelming, and generally a ton of fun to experience whatever this is that’s been happening around our little band over the past year. We’ve had life-changing, dream-come-true moments over and over again. We’ve had to stop and look into each other’s eyes and ask, “What is even happening right now????” more times than we can count. It’s exhilarating. What we want to say next is the kind of thing that can come off trite or sappy, but let us assure you, it is not that.

Having our people with us at Spring and Roots, and equally important, having you with us at hometown shows like Napoleon’s, From the Earth, Star Bar, and the Hunt House… being surrounded with the kind of love and support that you wrap us up with is the fuel that keeps this rocket ship moving. It was an absolute trip to play the Amphitheater stage at Suwannee, but the real magic was around those campfires, late at night, snuggling with y’all, drinking spiked cider and eating cheese, laughing at random T Rex invaders, and finding out just how absolutely, stupidly, unreasonably talented our sweet little, Ian Klin actually is. The dream-like vignettes of friends piled up on blankets, loving on each other, giggling, singing along, and being free and happy is what it is truly all about for us.

Arrie likes to thank people for coming to our shows by saying that it would be kinda weird if it was just us, her mom, and the bartenders. Don’t get us wrong, we love to play, and we will play our hearts out for Lorna and the bartenders if that’s who shows up. But it’s not. Y’all come out and shake your beautiful taints with us every damn time. You smile and hug each other. You sing our freaking songs back to us, and – we’ve got to say – that freaks us out… like, in the very best possible way… so don’t judge us for fuckin up the lyrics and starting to cry. You bring your kiddos and let them see what this is all about, and that makes our hearts swell and tears flow. You bring your energy and that feeds our energy, and we all have a good damn time, every time. Together.

So, maybe it was *a little* sappy, but it’s the daggone truth. Whatever this is, it’s not just about our little band, it’s about a movement. It’s about love. It’s about being together and lifting each other up.

“Our people, they will always give us cause to carry on.” – Arrie Bozeman

Thank you for showing up. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being a part of this. We love you so very much.

Just look how cute we are…

This guy. Yes, it’s real. We love you, Jason!

Photo Credits: Melissa Goehner, Shea Jarman-Hayes, Russ Bledsoe, Shelly Smith, Tami Emory, and whoever the heck else posted to our FB - claim em if they’re yours! (The blurry ones are Shelly’s because she can’t stand still, but maybe we should love them the best because they look like dreams, and that’s how all of this feels.)