If the signature mood of the Wednesday’s SunFest kickoff was fusion-flavored jam, Thursday’s was chill. Peaceful easy feeling chill. Occasionally “I need some caffeine to perk up, because I’m ’bout to chill myself into a trance” chill. But mostly the good kind of chill.

The four artists that preceded headliner James Taylor’s low-key show set the tone, beginning with Black Finger, Lake Worth’s Petty-flavored rockers whose odd stream-of-consciousness
lyrics punctuate a delicious Wallflowers-esque groove. My favorite was a verse about a guy asking his beloved what moments she remembered from their time together, like feeding a stray cat, or her skimpy outfit, or “about that time I bought that ring.” Man, I love interesting writing, that hook you and keep you going until the pay-off. And for those of us who love a humourous, self-conscious lyric about misery, that paid off BIG.

Over on the Tire Kingdom Stage, Griffin Anthony was practicing his brand of acoustic soul, which is exactly what it sounds like – a cute curly-headed guy with obvious Stevie Wonder tendencies singing about his feelings. I like him, but there was something uneven about the performance. A friend who saw the very beginning of the set (I missed the first couple minutes) said it took a while to pick up. Just when I was thinking he was a Gavin DeGraw clone, he busted out with this riff that spun into a bit of “Twist and Shout.” It was delicious, and the dozen or so fans in front wearing Griffin Anthony T-shirts were sweet.

Risa Binder is also sweet, with influences that range from Donny Hathaway to Martina McBride and Barbara Streisand. Babs isn’t an obvious part of her country/pop/soul style, “but I’m sure she’s in there somewhere,” she told me. She’s proof that you can’t tell a book by her bright, blond, Cobie/Natasha cover. She looks all peppy, and when she opens her mouth, Roberta Flack comes out. It’s awesome. She’s also a University of Maryland grad, like myself, and a native of Columbia, Maryland, a racially diverse planned community planned by the Hulk’s grandfather. Seriously. Look it up.

My biggest regret Thursday was that I missed Citizen Cope, almost completely, because of my duties at the pbpulse.com stage and the timing of James Taylor. The snippet I heard was great. Anybody see it? What did you think?

James Taylor, as I said in the review that runs today, was the cap on the very chill tube of musical toothpaste (did I just actually write that?). My only complaint about the show is that it was really hard to hear – the wind obscured his soft-spoken stage patter, and he was apparently saying something hilarious that everybody up front laughed at. I missed it. But the singing, especially “Carolina In My Mind,” was sublime.

Later today I’m interviewing Randy Bachman, without whom there would be no beer commercials. Think about it.