Zach Bryan, The Lumineers, Yola, Margo Price and More Ride High at Pilgrimage

Saturday and Sunday, Franklin’s Pilgrimage Music Festival — loved as much for its family-friendly setup as for its array of performances — returned to The Park at Harlinsdale Farm. The Watson Twins took the stage some 30 minutes late on Saturday — not their fault, as The People on the Porch stayed a bit too long — in matching floral print dresses, with matching guitars (and matching capos!), their matching red smiles cascading across the crowd along with their mesmerizing voices. Fresh off their LP Holler, the Watsons played a fine set, from the rattlesnake whip of the tambourine on “Devil in You” to the highlight of the afternoon: a swampgaze cover of “Just Like Heaven” recast, alternate-history style, as if it had been written by Neil Young.

A Nashvillian by way of Bristol (England, not Tennessee), Yola ushered in the second half of Saturday’s sets, showcasing a different side of Americana — one that is equally important, but too often overlooked by both AmericanaFest and genre fans. Her soulful voice floated over a wide range of sonic influences spanning the vast impact of Black music. Her rousing performance of “Stand for Myself” recalled the sounds of the women who pioneered rock ’n’ roll — including Sister Rosetta Tharpe, whom Yola portrayed in last year’s Elvis blockbuster. Others like “Diamond Studded Shoes” and “If I Had to Do It All Again” hailed from the rich traditions of protest songs and dance music, respectively. A few people grooved along throughout the set, but it seemed that the audience as a whole wasn’t quite ready for what Yola had to offer. She’s both a sobering reminder of talent we’ve lost in the past — imagine if we could hear Yola duet with Amy Winehouse — and an exciting preview of the future of Americana and beyond.

Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies frontman and Grammy winner Mike Farris and his current band the Fortunate Few dedicated their set to Dave Roe and Mike Henderson, two much-loved longtime figures in Nashville music who have died in recent weeks. Starting the proceedings with “Let Me Love You Baby” from Farris’ 2018 LP Silver & Stone and wrapping with a powerful rendition of Tom Petty’s deep cut “Swingin’,” the band was in stellar form. They reeled off songs infused with blues, rock and country and seemed to have a rollicking good time in the bargain.

Folks sprawled across the cool, clean grass as the temperature settled somewhere in the mid-70s near sundown — as close as Earth might ever get to the perpetual Saturday afternoon of Ursa Minor Beta — and suddenly The Black Crowes were onstage. “No Speak No Slave” segued straight into “Sting Me” as singer Chris Robinson slithered across the stage in a hot pink suit, while brother Rich Robinson conjured his signature crunchy tone through a series of classic guitars. Hits abounded. “That was our last one,” Chris said as “Jealous Again” crashed the set closed as abruptly as it had begun. “We’ll see you next time.”

Saturday headliners The Lumineers hit the stage right on time, just after an announcer asked the crowd, “Who’s on mushrooms?” with slightly too much glee. The band jumped straight into some of their biggest hits, like “Flowers in Your Hair” and the once-inescapable “Ho Hey.” The Lumineers are exactly the type of band you’d expect to see on a Pilgrimage bill, with multiple members sporting felt hats and one even wearing suspenders. The crowd ate up every word, swaying and singing to close out the first half of the festival.

As Sunday afternoon rolled on, singer-songwriter Tommy Prine (yes, son of the late, great John Prine but definitely “not John Prine Jr.”) played to a packed tent, focusing his set on songs from his debut LP This Far South. Serenading the crowd and telling stories about the record’s creation, Prine and his band were in peak shape throughout the hourlong set. The highlight: an emotional performance of "Ships in the Harbor" that received a standing ovation.

Fresh off a set at the Willie Nelson-founded Farm Aid and running on “two hours of sleep,” modern outlaw country-and-rock maven Margo Price took the stage Sunday afternoon. Her lack of sleep didn’t lead to a lack of energy, as Price bounced between the front of the stage and her own drum kit several times throughout the set, meandering between songs from her latest LP Strays like “Change of Heart'' and “Been to the Mountain” to old favorites “Four Years of Chances” and “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)” and plenty more besides. Instruments from harmonicas to cowbells played supporting roles, and Margo Price commanded the crowd in enough rhinestones and fringe to catch the eye of anyone wandering past the stage. 

Pilgrimage, it seems, abhors an introduction. One moment the stage was empty, and the next Ashley McBryde and her crack band were cranking through “Made for This” — with a riff delightfully reminiscent of “The Difference” by the Wallflowers, which set the tone for the remainder of her set. Despite having to stop during “Coldest Beer in Town” (a tune that appears on her hot-off-the-presses album The Devil I Know) to allow paramedics to reach a woman who had fainted — pausing the show to let folks get help when they need it is thankfully becoming de rigueur at festivals — McBryde handled the break in stride. After confirming that the woman was OK, McBryde & Co. resumed their crash course in the hard ways of heartbreak.

Charlie Worsham made his Pilgrimage debut with a powerhouse performance, which was also the closing act for the weekend in the Americana Music Triangle tent. Featuring guest appearances by country songsmiths including Dierks Bentley, Jaren Johnston, Ian Munsick and more, Worsham's set was a nonstop musical showcase for everyone involved. Deftly maneuvering between country, classic rock and gospel, longtime standout songsmith Worsham and friends delivered foot-stomping good vibes.

Zach Bryan, continuing the tradition of country stars with two first names, is a man of the people — and his people were out in force ahead of his headlining set on Sunday evening, when it seemed that every other shirt in the crowd bore his mugshot from a recent arrest. A roving band of young men sporting tangerine shirts declared themselves the “Something in the Orange Crew,” guzzling Michelob Ultra and chucking empties everywhere, while other fans sat solemnly roasting B.O.U.S. (for those who haven’t seen The Princess Bride lately, that’s “blunts of unusual size”). Bryan, whose eponymous album debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart in August, appeared to raucous applause, and capped the festival with a two-hour set peppered with special guests.