(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- The Wellmont Theater presents Little Feat on Friday, May 9, 2025 with support by Cris Jacobs. Doors are at 7:00pm, showtime is 8:00pm.
The members of Little Feat emerged from the pandemic with their sense of humor, chops, and collective joy in playing intact. Over the past few years, they’ve focused tours on their epic live album Waiting for Columbus and re-issues of their second through fourth albums (Sailin’ Shoes, Dixie Chicken, and Feats Don’t Fail Me Now). Audience response has been rapturous.
The band builds on a deep, over 50-year history. Little Feat used a combination of elite musicianship and brilliant, idiosyncratic songwriting to create a repertoire that transcends all boundaries. California rock, funk, folk, jazz, country and rockabilly mixed with New Orleans swamp boogie led to a powerful sound that has kept the audience dancing for decades.
Tickets are available for purchase online. The Wellmont Theater is located at 5 Seymour Street in Montclair, New Jersey.
Little Feat's groove – in songs like “Dixie Chicken,” “Spanish Moon,” “Fat Man in the Bathtub,” and “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” – was so infectious it allowed them to endure and press on even when losing their founder, Lowell George, and founding drummer, Richie Hayward. They’re in top form now with Scott Sharrard on lead/vox and Tony Leone on drums/vox, and with founder Bill Payne on keys/vox, Fred Tackett on guitars/vox, Kenny Gradney on bass, and Sam Clayton on percussion/vox.
Now it’s time for something new. Their creativity has been renewed, and 2024 saw the release of the brand-new Sam’s Place, in which Feat backs their linchpin conga player, Sam Clayton, on vocals. The album features a new song, “Milk Man,” by Sam, Scott, and Fred. There’s a live version of “Got My Mojo Working.” Sam and Bonnie Raitt duet on Muddy’s “Long Distance Call.”
Sam’s Place scratches a deep itch. Sam added, “I’m very happy because I was never expecting anything like that. I mean, I have wanted to, but I just wasn’t expecting it to come to the fruition. It was a long wait, but it’s satisfying.”
For Cris Jacobs, the last several years have been hard––and transformative. With a vote of confidence from a legend, a no. 2 pencil and scratchpad, and his acoustic guitar, he went into his barn to write. He emerged with his finest album to date.
Produced by Jerry Douglas, One of These Days is a stunning collection of storytelling and song, rooted in bluegrass, folk, and blues, but unencumbered by rules and expectations. The Infamous Stringdusters serve as the album’s rollicking house band, joined by friends including Billy Strings, Sam Bush, Lee Ann Womack, the McCrary Sisters, Lindsay Lou, and more. The result is unfettered, joyful virtuosity, swirling around Jacobs’ powerful voice, gut-check meditations, and close-up character sketches.
“I’ve always found so much comfort in roots music––in string band music,” Jacobs says. “There’s just something about the sound of all those instruments together that resonates with me to my core and brings me grounding and peace.”
