Dave Matthews Band Caravan, Saturday: Bombino + Vieux Farka Toure + Dumpstaphunk + Yonder Mountain String Band | Live review + photo gallery

Bombino kicked off Saturday at the Caravan with a set of chilled-out African guitar rock, a great choice for the groggy early crowd. Tuareg guitarist Omara "Bombino" Moctar can certainly noodle his way around a fretboard. He peppered his set with several multi-minute improvised solos—always backed by a tight, punchy band. However, he didn't seem to find his footing until the end of the set, just as the audience swelled in size. He hit a few interesting grooves just as the band's time was up.

But where Bombino noodles, Malian guitarist and band leader Vieux Farka Touré shreds. He picked up where Bombino left off with tightly arranged African bluesy psych that simply flew. The solos were devastating, punctuated with a few drops of reverb. His chemistry and much bigger sound was right to attract a much bigger crowd. One wonders if the appearance of a certain Dave Matthews on Vieux's latest album, The Secret, might have helped raise his profile in America. The one-two punch of jam-friendly African acts on the Lakeside stage was a great way to start off this scorching hot day.

Veterans of the jam-band circuit then had a tough choice to make, between Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk and Yonder Mountain String Band, booked on opposing stages. Dumpstaphunk brought bass-driven psychedelic soul to the main stage with gusto. It couldn't get the sparse crowd to move, however—an more prodigious crowd was hoeing-down over at Yonder Mountain, whose fast-paced bluegrass had the audience hooting and hollering. Those guys sparked more dancing and foot-stomping than any act of the fest so far. Both bands are institutions in the scene, and while one makes you move, the other moves you with sheer force of bass. Whichever you'd prefer, both performed admirably tight sets. You couldn't go wrong either way.