Saturday started off with a soulful mix of blues, r & b and old fashioned rock n’ roll. Sean Hayes, whose new album comes out September 11, entered the stage in a white suit that was a cross between “Imagine” John Lennon and “Hungry Like the Wolf” Duran Duran. He even had a white brimmed hat to go with it, making the outfit suitable for summer, but maybe not what Mark Twain called “the coldest winter ever spent is a summer in San Francisco.”  He introduced the audience to many of his new songs including the single “Miss Her When I’m Gone” which made the hipsters girls groove and the douche bags recoil and really what more can you ask from an emerging older artist? 

That’s the rub, isn’t it? Sean Hayes is a bit older, but don’t let his 42 years fool you. This man can jam with the best of ‘em. The three back up singers bring a ’60′s flare to the act as it grooves and moves you from song to song. The mellow vibe was a perfect way to start off on  Saturday as Neil Young blew the ear drums out of those expecting “Harvest Moon” and getting the “Needle and the Damage Done”. The early, hungover crowd was in no  mood for a  raucous start and Hayes provides just enough energy to get the party started, but not too  much too early to burn you out in anticipation of the day’s festivities. After watching the crowd sway and move to this new brand of soul music, there is no other conclusion to be made than Sean Hayes is doing things no other artist is doing and for being so original he deserves our attention.