A Family Affair: Marco Benevento Hosts 3rd Annual Follow The Arrow Festival Featuring Mike Gordon & More

The third annual Follow The Arrow Festival, hosted by Marco Benevento, took place on Saturday, June 29, at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, New York. Originally scheduled as an outdoor event at Arrowood Farms, the festival was moved indoors just days before, which proved prescient, as it rained cats and dogs throughout much of the day.

The resulting event proved more intimate, and the appreciative crowd didn’t seem to mind the weather, braving the elements to walk back and forth between the venue and the nearby Tinker Street Tavern, which makes an excellent burger.

The Benevento Family Band took the stage promptly at 2 p.m. While some have used the term “family band” to describe a close-knit group of musicians, Benevento uses the term here more literally: everyone on the stage was a relative, and the set felt as though the band were playing at a family reunion of sorts. Talent clearly runs in the Benevento family, as does a love of music and one another, and the set proved to be a charming bonus for the fans who showed up for it. (Among those in attendance was Peter Shapiro, who recently signed a long-term lease to manage and book shows at Bearsville.)

Benevento’s wife, KT Benevento, kicked things off with a vibrant cover of Father John Misty’s “I’m Writing a Novel.” His daughter, Ruby, charmed the audience as she led the group through Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour,” with KT and Christina Benevento providing backup vocals and matching dance moves, adding to the joyful energy of the set.

Marco Benevento, clad in a sparkly white tracksuit, also provided solo accompaniment when his father sang opera in Italian. (Marco introduced his dad as “Uncle Tony” (a.k.a. “Zio Tony”), and his dad referred to Marco by his pet name, “Monkey.”) The balance of the band’s set included a tune by Tom Hamilton, Benevento’s JRAD bandmate, and an original by drummer and guitarist “Uncle Eric” (“Hurricane Hank,” written about his daughter). The group closed the set hoedown style with a charming cover of “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé – not to be confused with Backwoods Barbie – that had everyone grinning from ear to ear. (Marco, whose face bore a massive smile all night, seemed to smile the most during the family band set.)

Next up was Ghost Funk Orchestra, who brought a different energy to the stage with two guitarists, three singers, and a four-piece horn/brass section, built on a rock-solid foundation from their rhythm section. They treated the growing audience to an energetic set of modern funk music that ran the gamut from electrifying psychedelic rock to dub, supplemented by tasteful guitar work and dancing, both synchronized and freestyle, by the singers. The set was tight, showcasing the band’s dedication to their craft and somebody’s penchant for arranging, and provided ample opportunities for solos by each of the horns/brass and both guitarists.

The third set of the day surely was a “first” for many in attendance: a set of Zambian rock (Zamrock) music presented by We Intend To Cause Havoc (WITCH), one of the pioneering bands of the genre. Emanuel “Jagari” Chanda, who co-founded the band in 1972, left four years later, and did not return until 2012, led two complementary lead guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a percussionist through tunes both fast and slow, supported by two hypnotic singers/dancers dressed in red and sporting gigantic blonde afro weaves, one of whom led the group through “Sugar,” one of the highlights of the set. Jagari let the crowd join in on the fun, passing a cowbell and drumstick through the audience and inviting a child onto the stage for a little call and response before wrapping their set.

By the time Marco Benevento took the stage with longtime bassist Karina Rykman and drummer Chris Corsico, the room was at its most crowded. The trio opened the set with “Dropkick,” which immediately got everyone dancing, and played a handful of staples of their live performances in recent years.

Benevento welcomed a number of guests to the stage, including guitarists Jeremy Bernstein (Burnell Pines) and Sam Cohen (formerly of Apollo Sunshine, a criminally overlooked Boston band who sadly broke up almost 15 years ago), as well as Ween bassist and Benevento’s JRAD bandmate Dave Dreiwitz, who sang lead on a cover of Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man.” The group closed out the set with Benevento’s “I Can’t See the Light” and left the crowd satisfied and ready for what was in store.

The penultimate act of the festival, the legendary Os Mutantes, delivered a signature set of Brazilian rock music, a genre that they pioneered beginning in the late 1960s. Founding singer and guitarist Sérgio Dias began the set on his 12-string Eastwood Classic 12 electric guitar and switched between that and his Strat throughout the set, wailing away, sometimes unaccompanied, and often with eyes rolled back in his head. His voice is equal parts Roy Orbison and Lyle Lovett, if raspier, and sounded excellent in both English and Portuguese as the band presented tunes in a variety of highly percussive rock modalities, from hard rock to blues to disco.

For the final set of the festival, Marco Benevento and Phish bassist Mike Gordon took the stage as a duo, something they haven’t done since Benevento’s November 2006 residency at the now-defunct Tonic, the results of which appear on his 2007 Live at Tonic. Gordon played his five-string electric bass both with and without a pick, with Benevento providing support on piano and gradually sprinkling in synths.

Their opening jam led into “Mike’s Song,” as Mike sat down next to Marco on the piano bench, a posture he’d taken in the week before the performance as the pair rehearsed. The ensuing jam was both heavy and ethereal, at times evoking the The Doors’ “L.A. Woman,” with Gordon adding heavily filtered synth bass bombs. They flirted with “NO2” before going out on an ambient note, following with a wordless Benevento singalong, “The Real Morning Party,” with Marco bearing a smile that was almost too big for his face, and Gordon singing high harmony. Mike’s style lends itself to the duo format, as he flits effortlessly between holding down the low end as part of the rhythm section, and taking a more melodic approach higher up the neck.

Gordon picked up the speed, taking the duo into another of his originals, “Tilting,” from his 2023 album Flying Games. The pair doubled each other’s notes during much of the jam, with Gordon dropping out at times to dial in his pedals, and adding bass synth octaves to further fatten up the sound. Marco teased “Walk Like an Egyptian,” as is his wont, and opened the frenetic “Atari” on piano. He played the main riff steadily, alternating between using his left and right hand, with the other hand playing piano octaves or one of his synths.

Sam Cohen joined the duo for a cover of Vince Gill’s “If I Die,” and the duo invited the Ghost Funk Orchestra horns to perform Benny Goodman’s “Breakfast Feud,” then invited Chris Corsico back to the stage to perform “Escape Horse,” another original that Marco and Mike wrote years ago when the bassist found himself in Woodstock en route to his home in Vermont.

Another highlight of the night came when Karina Rykman returned to the stage to perform Odetta’s “Hit or Miss,” which featured some friendly “bass only” jams between her and Gordon. (Their back and forth was way too friendly to be called a bass duel!) Rykman left the stage, and Sam Cohen returned, along with KT and Christina Benevento, to bring the house down with a rollicking cover of J. Geils Band’s “Give It to Me,” featuring soaring lead guitar work by Cohen. (Gordon shared that J. Geils Band played the first arena rock show he ever attended and thanked Benevento for indulging his request to play that tune.)

The group (sans Corsico) closed out the night with another semi-obscure ‘70s tune, “Sharing the Night Together” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, which somehow perfectly captured the mood as the wonderful day of music came to a close.

Marco Benevento & Mike Gordon Setlist (via Phish.net)

Set: Mike’s Song, The Real Morning Party -> Tilting, Atari, If I Die [1], Breakfast Feud [2], Escape Horse [3], Hit or Miss [4], Give It to Me [5]

Encore: Sharing the Night Together [6]

• [1] Sam Cohen on guitar.
• [2] Ghost Funk Orchestra horns.
• [3] Chris Corsico on drums.
• [4] Chris Corsico on drums and Karina Rykman on bass.
• [5] Chris Corsico on drums, Sam Cohen on guitar, KT Benevento and Christina Benevento on vocals.
• [6] Chris Corsico on drums, Sam Cohen on guitar, and KT Benevento, Christina Benevento, Karina Rykman, Maggie Salvato, and Michael Petrella on vocals.

This performance was part of Follow The Arrow Festival. It was originally scheduled to take place at Arrowhead Farms but was moved to Bearsville Theater due to a forecast of rain, wind, and thunderstorms. Marco teased Walk Like an Egyptian in Tilting. If I Die featured Sam Cohen on guitar. Breakfast Feud featured the Ghost Funk Orchestra horns. Chris Corsico joined on drums for Escape Horse and played for the rest of the set. Hit or Miss featured Karina Rykman on bass. Give It to Me featured Sam Cohen on guitar along with KT Benevento and Christina Benevento on vocals. Sharing the Night Together featured Sam Cohen on guitar and KT Benevento, Christina Benevento, Karina Rykman, Maggie Salvato, and Michael Petrella on vocals.