WesFest Marks 10th Anniversary

Launched in the spring of 2005, WesFest began about a year after the passing of talented bassist, composer, and photographer Wes Wehmiller ’92. It was planned as a night of music, bringing together many of Wehmiller’s friends to honor and remember him both as a gifted musician and an extraordinary human being.

That first WesFest took place in a small Hollywood club called the Gig, and was headlined by the remarkable avant-garde rock guitarist Mike Keneally. In subsequent years the WesFest concert series has featured memorable headliners, including Stu Hamm ’80, Pino Palladino, Jimmy Haslip, Alan Holdsworth, Tal Wilkenfeld, the Aristocrats (with Bryan Beller ’92), Brendon Small ’97 and Galaktikon, and John Patitucci. This year’s 10th anniversary event added another iconic name to that list: Victor Wooten, who was accompanied by Berklee Bass Department chair Steve Bailey and Joel Taylor ’83.

Over the past decade, WesFest has grown into an annual fund-raising campaign in support of the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship Fund at Berklee. During this time, the annual event has raised more than $200,000. The Wes Wehmiller Scholarship is awarded annually to a bass student at Berklee who best exemplifies the values that Wehmiller represented and, as an endowed scholarship, it will honor his legacy for decades to come. For more on the Wes Wehmiller and the scholarship, visit http://weswehmiller.net.

The 10th Anniversary concert, held at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA, launched with a set by the WesFest All-Stars. This group of Wehmiller’s closest friends included alumni Griff Peters ’93, Bryan Beller, Joe Travers ’91, and Colin Keenan ’93, all of whom have performed in every WesFest concert to date. They embodied the clear sense that Wehmiller was in the room.

Mike Keneally and his band, Beer for Dolphins, then performed a set of his tunes that featured Keneally performing on guitar, keyboards, and vocals. His presence was meaningful, not only because of his prodigious talent as both a player and composer, but because he was the inaugural WesFest headliner.

Danny Mo’ & the Exciters delivered a high-energy, soulful set driven by a band that included alumni Danny Morris ’78, John “JR” Robinson ’75, Scott Gilman ’80, Steve Stout ’08, Kira Small ’93, Krysta Youngs ’05, Kevin Wood ’99, Ben Jarrad ’04, and assistant professor Marty Walsh (guitar.) This year’s winner of the Wehmiller Scholarship, Stefan Sandman ’16, joined in on bass and showcased his abilities in fine fashion. Previous scholarship winner, bassist and vocalist Hayley Jane Batt ’08, then joined the group for a set that was all about the groove.

This year’s headliner Victor Wooten opened his set with an amazing solo bass performance. Wehmiller’s image as the backdrop was particularly poignant as Wooten dazzled the audience. Steve Bailey and Joel Taylor then joined Wooten for several high-energy trio pieces before wrapping up the set with a bass jam, providing a perfect end to the evening. Wooten and Bailey were joined by Morris, Beller, and Sandman in an exciting exchange of solos to close what most felt was the best WesFest yet.

—Peter Gordon