Review Under Two is a segment of The Marinade with Jason Earle podcast where host Jason Earle reviews an artistic work he finds inspiring in under two minutes.
Our Review Under Two for Episode 101 with singer-songwriter Tennessee Jet focuses on the Orange Blossom Revue music festival.
All Photos by Jenn Ross.
Legend has it a local Indian chief once fought an alligator to the death in Lake Wales, FL. As the story goes, if you put your car in neutral at the bottom of nearby Spook Hill, as your death machine rolls backward it will appear as though you are actually travelling uphill rather than down. Make sense?
We are sitting at the foot of Spook Hill just before heading to the Orange Bloosom Revue, a two day festival boasting headliners The Wood Brothers and Blackberry Smoke, along with headline-worthy artists like Devon Gilfillian, Hayes Carll, and the Steeldrivers.
We follow the directions on the garish sign marking this hallowed spot. Pull up to the line, put the car in neutral, and marvel at the magic that ensues. My creative partner Jenn Ross drops the car in neutral, the vessel begins to roll backward, and it feels like…a car in neutral rolling backward.
Life during the COVID-19 pandemic has felt like a trip to Spook Hill- build up and excitement for what is around the corner just to feel like a car rolling downhill and back from whence it came. Truth felt like fiction and fiction closer to truth.
The Orange Blossom Revue festival in Lake Wales, FL, just about a mile from Spook Hill, bucked this trend. Rather than feeling like a car rolling downhill, Orange Blossom Revue was more akin to a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway- gorgeous scenery all around with the windows down. Not a care in the world.
The healing power of music acting as a coupler to hold frayed parts of society together for two glorious days. After a quick glance around Lake Wales, FL, one would be forgiven for thinking this was little more than the birthplace of Florida Man. There is the Endtime: Christian School of Excellence, a bevy of flags supporting the 45th president, a handful in favor of the long-defunct Confederate States of America, and more than a few indications that the messages of folks like Hayes Carll and the Steeldrivers may not be welcome around these parts. And yet, it all made so much sense.
Everyone checked their bullshit at the gate to enjoy a rush of performances by artists on top of their game. The lineup fitting within the parameters of the Americana genre while stretching from the blues-influence of Gilfillian, to the heady lyrics of Carll, jumping up against the grooves of The Wood Brothers, and venturing into the mass appeal of Blackberry Smoke.
Orange Blossom Revue was an intimate festival in a forgotten part of the world. For those two days, Lake Wales and Orange Blossom Revue allowed attendees and artists to pause and be entertained by some of the finest musicians in Americana. A strong lineup, with no scheduling conflicts, and a low bright burn of beautiful performances.
