Fort Frances- Festa Italiana, US Celluar Stage 7/21/19

It's been a minute since we've seen Fort Frances perform. Ailo, the group's last LP released in 2016 took the Chicago quartet around the country and beyond. Since that tour wrapped up, life has gotten busy with band members getting married and having kids, all while working on a dynamic follow-up record to Ailo which is set for release this fall. 

Fort Frances took a brief tour of America's Dairyland with a run of shows here in Wisconsin this weekend, taking them to Neenah, Door County, Green Bay, and finally here in Milwaukee for an evening set at Festa Italiana, one of Milwaukee's many summer celebrations held on the Summerfest grounds. The group even created drink Koozies for the occasion! 

Playing an ethnically-themed festival is not an easy task for a band that focuses on original singer-songwriter driven material. David McMillin and the crew brought their A-game however, and engaged the crowd with a retrospective mix of originals spanning the band's nearly decade-long career along with a smattering of well-placed covers inserted as well.  Highlights included classic numbers like "Ghosts of California," and "Losing You," from 2011's Atlas LP, alongside a well-done rendition of "These Are the Mountains Moving," (a song McMillin penned while riding on a train from Chicago to Colorado), and "Best of Luck" from Ailo. Two brand new tunes released as singles from Fort Frances's forthcoming record drew some of the best reactions from the crowd. "A Thousand Years From Now," is one of McMillin's best songs in terms of themes and lyrics, and was very well-received.  "Double-Take," a song that deals with the modern parlance of our times, is another new number that garnered a great reaction from the crowd and featured tremendous energy from the group. 

While Fort Frances is known for original numbers, they sprinkled in enough covers to draw listeners unfamiliar with the band to their stage to enjoy their gelato and check out their performance.  McMilllin did a soulful rendition of Bill Wither's "Lovely Day." Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" prompted some impromptu dancing from fest goers, and for longtime Fort Frances fans from around the globe, they nailed "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, a song they're well-known for covering and that prompted lots of dancing and fun in the crowd.

One thing that is well-noticed with Fort Frances is how the band has improved their chops over the past several years. McMillin alternates from guitar to keyboard and his soulful vocals soared over the large festival stage. Jason Ryan, the multi-instrumentalist of the band, was equally impressive on guitar and keyboard. Aaron Kiser, the band's drummer, has really developed a unique style of his own with heavily nuanced drumming licks. Kiser also has started a new band, "Steal My Phace" which focuses on reinterpreting material from the catalog of the Grateful Dead and Phish. Kiser provided lots of backing vocal harmonies throughout the evening as well and is widely entertaining as a performer.  While founding bass player, Jeff Piper was not with Fort Frances for this show (as his wife and he welcomed their beautiful son to the world this past week), Dennis Furr did a great job filling in on bass and back-up vocals as well.

Fort Frances is a superb live act, one that has the power to engage fans of all ages. We can't wait to see them perform new material when they return to the Dairy State this fall in support of their new release. They are a super-fun, and must see act for sure!