The 2023 Music at the Intersection is a wrap, and the festival was by all measurements a triumph in its third year. A head-spinningly incredible lineup, perfect weather, a wonderful audience of 12,000, and a terrific arrangement and assortment of food, beverage and vendors. I saw all 35 acts on the three main stages, plus six acts on the DJ stage, making for over 40 different performances.
Now that I have caught my breath, here are my awards for the best of Music at the Intersection in 2023.
Best Old-School Beats: DJ Mahf. After a 10-year hiatus, St. Louis hip-hop group Earthworms are back, down now to skilled verbalists Mathias and Black Patrick. The group knocked the dust off some vintage tracks on the Field Stage like they’d never left, with Mahf scratching and cutting on jams old (“Medicine Man”) and new (“Dancehall Crasher”).
Best Jazz Tribute: Willie Akins Celebration. Nobody covers more double-bass fret ground than local hero Bob DeBoo, and the bassist had a blast leading a tribute to Willie Akins, the St. Louis sax legend who died in 2015. It was a set that should have St. Louisans bursting with pride at the soaring talent of local soloists, including saxophonists Kendrick Smith, Scooter Brown and Jeff Anderson; trumpeters Anthony Wiggins and Danny Campbell; pianist Matt Villinger; and guitarist Eric Slaughter.
Best Varsity Jacket: Sir Eddie C. The weather was gorgeous all weekend, a sign that St. Festivaria loves us. Blazing sunshine, however, did not stop Belleville native Sir Eddie C from rocking a red-and-white letter jacket on stage and in the crowd. His set on Saturday kicked off the whole festival with an enthusiastic journey through his musical history (shout out to Black Space) with a DJ and live band on what he called “that new St. Louis.”
Best Backup Dancers: Mai Lee. Tough call here, since Angela Winbush, Smino and Paige Alyssa brought strong contenders, but the sports-bra-and-biker-shorts-wearing foursome behind St. Louis-born R&B singer Mai Lee brought dizzying imagery and delirious choreography to Lee’s set of tunes from last year’s Friendz.
Best Return From the Islands: Big Mike Aguirre. It was a Blu City All-Stars reunion as singer-guitarist Aguirre returned to town from the Virgin Islands for the first time in over three years to play with his old pals, including the colossal rhythm section of drummer Kevin Bowers and bassist Andy Coco. The Lou crew opened, appropriately, with local folklore (“Stagger Lee”) before bringing on Miz Renee Smith, who really cleaned up in the Big Top, proving why she’s the Queen of St. Louis Soul. Bonus: Smith’s 93-year-old mother, in an outfit matching her daughter’s all-white ensemble, danced along from her wheelchair in the front row.
Best Fan Art: Phony Ppl. During Phony Ppl’s main stage set, lanky, dreadlocked, bespectacled frontman Elbee Thrie pulled up a painting of the Brooklyn quintet from the crowd that a fan had prepared for the occasion. It was part of an amiable set of sunny lovers’ grooves undergirded by funk-flexing bassist Bari Bass. Nothing phony about that, ppl.
Best-Dressed Life Coach: The Suffers’ Kam Franklin. You could see Franklin a mile away during the Suffers’ excellent set on the Field Stage, decked out as she was in motley — multicolor tights and cape, animal print bra and gloves and a giant bright-purple Afro. Horn-drenched and percussion drunk, the band was on fire, as Franklin held forth in story and song, offering bits of wisdom on matters of life and love, all set to sparkling musical arrangements.
Best Nina Simone Cover: Denise Thimes. Thimes is a poised, nuanced jazz singer who exudes star power, and she closed her set with a ravishing rendition of Simone’s “Four Women” featuring a beautiful arrangement played by pianist Pops Jackson. Second-best cover: Thimes’ gorgeous reworking of Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why.”
Best Noisemakers: Nate Smith Trio. World-class drummer/composer Nate Smith brought mad scientists Jason Lindner on keys and Tim Lefebvre on bass for a set of skronky spaceship electronica on the Washington Ave. stage that ended up as a sound-hogging set that threatened to overwhelm the other nearby stages. The set did, however, pair well with the cannabis-infused seltzer from Mighty Kind, which had its own booth. Fave flave: the Banana Kush.
Best Crowd Dancers: Mo Egeston All-Stars. During a lovable set on the smaller City Wide Stage, keyboard commander Egeston led a scintillating combo of singers and players, including Duane “Jingo” Williams on percussion, the ultra-cool Robert Nelson on vocals and David Lazaroff on guitar. During the apropos final song, Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day,” a rotating group of male breakdancers tore it up, providing an impromptu electric boogaloo in front of the stage.
Best Melisma: Ravyn Lenae. A big crowd gathered at the Field Stage for Lenae, the buzzy neo-soul singer from Chicago, who drew from last year’s acclaimed album Hypnos. Performing to a show track, she got the biggest rise out of the audience with the single “Skin Tight,” but her set was otherwise defined by her proficiency for sky-high vocal runs that danced all over the scale before falling gently back to earth.
Best Pianist: Peter Martin. How do you pick just one in a fest that includes Herbie Hancock, Pops Jackson, Matt Vilinger, Shedrick Mitchell, Daniel Herrera, Dave Grelle and so many others? But I’m giving the gold this year to Peter Martin, who worked exquisite magic for an hour, both with his amazing quartet (featuring saxophone crippler Sarah Hanahan) and with the great Diane Reeves, who once again proved herself one of the greatest living jazz scatters.
Best Powering Through: Blvck Spvde & the Cosmos. With a 10-piece band, dizzy with horns, keys and guitars, Blvck Spvde presented a hybrid of jazz, soul and spoken word that managed to bring ancient sound into the avant-garde. Plus, Precious Brown was stellar on the handheld fan. Even though sound problems marred much of the set, nothing was going to dampen the Cosmos’ big vision.
Best Drummer: Charles Haynes. Again, impossible to pick, with some of the world’s greatest drummers on stage throughout the weekend. But, lord, Haynes was an absolute monster in Keyon Harrold’s group on Saturday and with Shedrick Mitchell on Sunday. Haynes was a driving powerhouse, finding new rhythmic possibilities at every moment of every song, all with astounding technique and precision.
Best Seated Funk: Cameo. Larry Blackmon, at 67, appeared very frail, needing two assistants to help him onto the stage and into a chair. Attempts were made at the old hair and silver-suit magic, and Blackmon did his best to count the band in a time or two. These old funk pros still hit, and Blackmon’s trademark nasally tenor was still audible, but just barely. By the time they played “Word Up!” — the moment everyone was waiting for — the hit received a strangely muted reaction.
Best Original Godfather: Larry Shepard. For the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Music at the Intersection, courtesy of DJ G.Wiz, curated tributes to St. Louis contributions to the beginning of the form. Best of those was East St. Louis’ Larry Shepard, who appeared on Saturday between sets to lay down his older-than-old-school sing-song verses, reminding us over and over that he is “the Original Godfather” of rap.
Best Party: Andy Frasco & the U.N. Taking pulls from both a Bud Light and a bottle of Jameson, Andy Frasco was in a mood to let it rip, an energy that spilled out into the crowd. Frasco stood on his piano, brought out the Suffers’ Kam Franklin for a duet, added our very own Funky Butt horns to a tune and jumped into the crowd to teach everyone to hold hands and dance the Horah.
Best Yo MTV Raps: Arrested Development. There were some elements missing: Dionne Farris is no longer in the band, and Baba Oje, the old man who sat in the rocking chair in their videos, died in 2018. But Arrested Development leader Speech made up for it, spreading nostalgic hip-hop love all over Washington Ave. with a great vocal performance, tight takes on the hits (“Tennessee,” “Mr. Wendal,” “People Everyday”) and a cameo from his mama so he could tell everyone how much he loves her.
Best Flute Loops: DJ Alexis Tucci. Tucci throws great parties as one of our scene's most reliable and smiliest house DJs and was joined on Saturday by horns-about-towners Adam Hucke (trumpet) and Ben Reece (sax). Coolest moment: Reece picked up the flute to place funk-sick percolating pops and peeps over Tucci’s beats.
Best Saxy Slow Jams: Masego. Jamaican-American R&B man Masego laid his smooth trap-house jazz onto the Washington Ave. stage as the sun went down, a scene ideal for Masego’s easy-funk grooves like “Yamz” and “Veg Out (Wasting Thyme)” and even better on “Tadow,” when Masego reached for the saxophone for some bedroom-jazz bliss.
Best Trippy: Umami. As night fell, minds expanded over at the City Wide Stage as the stage lights and video intermingled with Umami’s live-saxophone-enhanced beats and Michael Miller’s keytar. Crowds were starting to thin out by this time, but the dude carrying the decorative umbrella in the dark was getting it.
Best Space Violin: Snarky Puppy. Instrumental rock dweebs and jam jiggers packed the Field Stage for the fusion funk of Snarky Puppy. With three horns, two keyboards, two drummers and more, the Snarks pumped out the sound. It’s a rotating collective, but this version was first rate, particularly the effects-drenched violin of Zach Brock, which added a layer of sonic modernism that at times felt downright scary.
Best Mayoral Endorsement: Angela Winbush. Even as the 67-year-old Larry Blackmon had trouble standing over on the Field Stage, the 68-year-old Angela Winbush was a dancing, singing dynamo in the Big Top. “I’m 68 and doing great!” she told the crowd. To celebrate, St. Louis mayor Tishaura Jones showed up on stage to proclaim Angela Winbush Day in St. Louis.
Best Flying the Colors: Smino. The Hazelwood Central alum brought the weekend’s best sports pandering, first wearing Cardinals red (and a 314 medallion), then with a Wayne Gretzky Blues jersey. With a Phalanx of singers, dancers, DJs and musicians, Smino brought the big homecoming show, scoring with his fast, high-pitched flow on fan favorites like “Rice & Gravy” and “Pro Freak” while flanked by large inflatable mushrooms. Then Smino really stole the fest with a drone-powered light show that threw a giant Arch into the sky above the stage.
Best Pop Breakout: Paige Alyssa. Wearing a blue baseball jersey that read “Beneficial,” the title of Alyssa’s latest single, the St. Louis singer was all pop action and attitude on the Field Stage to start Sunday. The three dancers from the “Beneficial” video showed up too, and with singles like “The Plug” and “What’s the Move,” Alyssa proved that they are not only one of the area’s best vocalists, but that they are ready for their pop-star closeup.
Best Sibling Revelry: Root Mod. The Fitzpatricks — Bianca (vocals) and Daniel (keys) — have built the creative collective Root Mod out of their love of soul, R&B, gospel and hip-hop, and with an hour-long mainstage set, the band was able to cover a lot of ground, flashing all kinds of vocal, compositional and instrumental fire. Highlight: a slamming cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together.”
Best Tipped Bell Bent Neck Soprano Sax: Kendrick Smith Quartet. Nobody manhandles a soprano sax quite like Smith, and his excellent quartet plays with intense velocity and vibrant melodic expression. With the terrific Daniel Herrera on piano, this set in the Big Top on Sunday was a frenetic mindblower of improvisational bop.
Best Star Turn: Christie Dashiell. The Shedrick Mitchell Collective’s rafter-raising showcase was one of Sunday’s highlights, a show that kept finding new peaks, led by Mitchell’s virtuosic piano and powered by Charles Haynes’ charging drums. Vocalist Christie Dashiell took things even higher, making like Aretha with gospel-jazz fireworks that turned the Big Top into a holy revival.
Best Sophie’s Spin: Mark Lewis. A perk for VIP passholders was access to Sophie’s Artist Lounge within the festival grounds, offering A/C, comfy seating, excellent (albeit expensive) drinks and DJ spins all day and night. Mark Lewis’ smooth, chilled-but-vibrant track selection soundtracked a vibe-rich respite from the sun and crowds outside.
Best Bonus: Jesse Drayton and Samantha Fish. Fish got the main billing, and her versatile SG-slinging blues-rock singer-songwriterism is easy on the ears and eyes alike. Then add the Texas-steeped rockabilly blues of Jesse Drayton, playing his big King hollowbody, trading licks and vocals with Fish on tunes from their great new album, Death Wish Blues.
Best Music a Trois: Say She She. The discodelic show of the year was a sexy, filthy-grooved, melody-shimmering affair with singers Piya Malik, Nya Gazelle Brown and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham leading a 10-piece band. The Brooklyn bunch structured a delightfully danceable 1980s-style sonic pastiche, and the trio’s pristine harmonies and girl-group choreography made this one of the most fun shows of the weekend.
Best Holy Shit There’s Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal. The legend — in beard, hat, kerchief and his Rock and Roll Circus sunglasses — sat and fingerpicked his copper Recording King tricone resonator, his vocals still nimble and filled with the old personality. The set was a best-of-Taj blues set featuring standards and Taj faves like “Fishin’ Blues,” “Corinna” and “Lovin’ in My Baby’s Arms” with plenty of ramshackle picking from Taj and smiles all around. Ain't that a lot of love?
Best Dork Jazz: The Bad Plus. The Big Top got crowded for the Bad Plus’ set, filled with David King’s excitable snare work and the busy bass of Reid Anderson, who is always full of surprises. It’s a different Bad Plus now — gone is the piano, replaced by the mostly inaudible guitar of Ben Monder, leaving new member Chris Speed’s tenor saxophone to carry the melodic load, much of which failed to reach liftoff on Sunday.
Best Rock and Roll Hall of Famer: Grandmaster Flash. Also Best Inventor and purveyor of the biggest crowd at the CityWide stage all weekend. It was dark by the time Flash hit the wheels, and he aimed to please — quick-mixing and playing a selection of his favorite “Midwest hits,” as he called them, spinning tracks from Nelly and Chance the Rapper. Best bit: the Master’s scratching solo over “Play That Funky Music.”
Best Should Be a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer: Herbie Hancock Any time you get a jazz giant like trumpeter Terence Blanchard as an unbilled sideman, you know you are in the presence of jazz greatness. Hancock, looking and moving like a man much younger than his 83 years, was phenomenal on piano and keytar, hitting a number of classics, including “Footprints,” “Actual Proof,” “Secret Sauce” and “Chameleon” during a set for the ages.
Best Epic Ballad: The Teskey Brothers. These long-haired Australian brothers — Josh on vocals, Sam on lead guitar — sure sound older and more American than they are. With saxophone and trumpet and the bros playing tandem Telecasters, the Brothers tore off a ten-minute version of “Paint My Heart,” highlighted by Josh’s slow-burn chainsaw-soul vocals and Sam’s guitar freakout in the middle.
Best Anything Goes: Tank & the Bangas. Tank fans know that Bangas shows are part carnival, part therapy session, part wild rumpus, part dance party, part comic show and part musical showdown. So the Big Top was the perfect setting as Tank held the crowd rapt with her biggest singalong ballads and soul-boogie rockers, entreating everyone at one point to call out their best animal noises. Andy Fraso, out in the crowd, went with elephant trumpeting.
Best Avant-Jazz: Thundercat. One of the most highly anticipated shows of the weekend was Thundercat’s headlining set on Sunday, and the darkness and stage lights played games with Thundercat’s astral funk and acid jazz as he sped through impossible lines on that jumbo six-string bass. Nobody can follow what he’s doing, of course, but gold braids, matching tattered maroon pants and robe, and the hectic coupling of Cat’s bass with Justin Brown’s constant drum soloing made a dazzling feast for the senses.
Best Guitar Stands: Fearless Flyers. The Flyers’ two guitarists and bassist wore matching blue jumpsuits, played with their axes on performance stands and displayed freakishly precise and seriously fast runs, starts and stops, all while beach balls bounced around the Field Stage crowd and Nate Smith slammed his drums. It was all Vulfpecky fun, and, for Smith, a miracle of minimalism, as he was working with only snare, kick and hi-hat.
Best Local Love: Marquise Knox w/ the Funky Butt Brass Band. It was appropriate that the festival closed the way it opened — with St. Louis musicians celebrating the city. One of our favorite sons, singer/guitarist Marquise Knox, brought closing fire to the Big Top with the help of the Funky Butt Brass Band, who played some of their own tunes and backed Knox on whatever he called out. Three Funky Butters wore broken-hearted KDHX shirts just across the street from the troubled station, a sign that, for better or worse, our musical community always comes together, and that now more than ever, St. Louis has so much music to be proud of and so much to protect.
Best Crowds: St. Louisans. Everyone knows that St. Louis always shows up for art, but Music at the Intersection crowds were some of the best in memory. The audience gets all the top awards and superlatives: most knowledgeable, most supportive, best-behaved, most tireless, best-dressed and more. And the mix of racial and generational diversity in the streets was a truly beautiful thing to see during an overall beautiful weekend in St. Louis.
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