It's been over two weeks without diving into fallout and videos from this year's Rotaryfest music lineups from external sources and the performers themselves, so let's start combing through what I'm able to find from YouTube and social media today! Remember, the Thursday lineup on Stage 1 was cancelled due to that weekend's severe air quality index counts, and possibly due to the air quality, SooToday didn't send reporters down to cover the remaining bands with any depth (though a picture of Headrush's set was in this press release). Starting our coverage on the opening music lineup on Stage 1 at Clergue Park on Friday, July 17th, the local Facebook page Seldom Seen SSM was on hand to film local Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band Mellowship Slinky's opening set, specifically of them covering "Can't Stop". Not a hard rock song like early Peppers, but if you miss Anthony rapping, this fit that bill!
Of note, Mellowship Slinky (featuring Reeves frontman Brad Irwin) recruited former As It Stands drummer John Mignacca to fill in for an absent Joe Rosso that day, and it is good to see John behind a drumkit again! Unfortunately for all involved, it was raining very heavily on Friday to kick off the day, so the crowd levels weren't great, and understandably so. I hope the Seldom Seen SSM filmographer had an umbrella to protect their camera, and I hope the stage roof provided sufficient protection for their set! Seldom Seen SSM hung out to film the next band on the Friday, namely local jazz cover quartet The Jazz Cats (featuring Convegence's Jacob Valois and the first of four Rotaryfest sets this year from saxophonist Josh Norling). They played a familiar instrumental that I could not immediately identify by name, and the rain held off for this song! Alas, drummer Nick James was completely obscured by the drumkit at this angle.
The closer angle and drier skies helped the view otherwise, and this was a strong performance by a talented ensemble of true jazz cats! The 7:00 PM third set by country musicians and Way Backs alumni Jeffrey Wright and Meggy Lee was well documented, with attendee Kyle MacGinnis filming thirteen videos for this batch post shared to Jeffrey's Facebook page. Kyle helpfully labelled each video by cover, and generally filmed full songs, and you'll recognize covers of Willie Nelson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Denver, and (of course) Johnny Cash songs among the set. Kyle opted to shoot all 13 videos vertically though, which was really not ideal, both for the distantly tiny zoom on the performers (Jacob Valois among them again) and because he captured many rows of empty chairs in frame on all videos. Blame it on the rain, I get it, but why accentuate empty seats when you can just rotate your phone and zoom in to the stage?
If you like country music, Jeffrey and crew delivered a skilled and respectful set! YouTube user MistressRayvin also posted two videos to her channel of Jeffrey & Meggy, including "Fishin' In The Dark" as a "Shorts" video, and their cover of Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" (which Kyle didn't film). We'll stop for today with a video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly, who posted a highlight video of their late replacement set onto their Facebook page. The 3+ minute video sees them covering songs by Alannah Myles, The Top Notes, Wheatus, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Shania Twain, Collective Soul, and The Black Keys, among others. I'm no fan of "Teenage Dirtbag" or "Lonely Boy", and I'd far prefer full songs over sub-30 second highlights, but the performances are solid, and I would definitely rather hear Linsaey sing that Wheatus song than hear the original!
The rain looks to have held off for their set too, and the crowd levels seem good from what is visible on screen, though did the video need this much letterboxing? Give it a look below, and don't miss Quite Frankly at Outspoken Brewing and Gateway Casino this weekend!
When we pick things up on Rotaryfest 2026 music fallout (not sure how quickly given our backlog, mind you), we'll look at the closing Friday sets from Just Press Play and Headrush, the Friday Night Blues concert on Stage 2, and if space allows, the start of the Saturday lineups, so stay tuned for all of that and more on the SMS in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
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