Festivals
The music began early on the final day of the Skull and Roses Festival in Ventura. A hot offshore wind heated up the day by the time the drum circle started at 10 am. Overhead waves from a late spring storm exploded across Ventura point buffeted by the strong sideshow winds sending long plumes of salt spray high int the air. The strong winds stirred up a cloud of dust that helped turn the sunny day into an eerie orange haze.
The sun came out bathing the Ventura fairgrounds in a beautiful orange glow as sleepy festival goers woke from a long night of music and partying. The noontime drum circle was the wake-up call for many. But it wasn’t until about 3 PM, when Northern California’s premiere Grateful Dead cover band, the China Cats took the stage, that most people finally gathered together for a dance jam. The group formed in 2008 in Santa Cruz California and has garnered a loyal following since.
Now that MerleFest, presented by Window World, is only one week away, annual festival-goers have surely begun planning their weekends. For those who have not, however, here are five sure-to-be epic experiences that shouldn’t be missed. Make a note or two and join a welcoming legion of music fans in Wilkesboro, N.C., from April 25th to 28th at MerleFest.
Shoe Fest is proud to announce the first round lineup for the 9th annual festival. Shoe Fest will once again be held at the beautiful and scenic Camp Shaw-Waw-Nas-See in Manteno, IL (less than 1 hour south of Chicago), Labor Day weekend (August 30-September 1). Tickets are on sale now with a price increase this Friday, April 19th. Highlights of this year’s initial lineup are multi-Grammy winner and the king of newgrass, Sam Bush and the incomparable singer-songwriter Todd Snider.
For the third year in a row generation of Deadheads flocked to the Ventura County Fairgrounds for the Skull and Roses Festival. Over 25 bands played cover songs from the vast Grateful Dead catalog as well as original material and other classic rock songs for three long days and nights. The campground was full by early Friday afternoon, April 5th with as many as four generations of family and friends gathered in the comradery of the intimate festival.
There's something intangible about a first-time festival, and the community it brings together to celebrate the universal love language -- music. Suwannee Rising did just that last week, April 4-6, gifting roughly 3,500 visitors to the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park with a brand new experience under the trees of Live Oak, FL.
High Sierra Music Festival’s famed late night venues will be filled with music fans once again for this year’s late-night shows from July 4th to July 7th in Quincy, CA. Ticketed separately from the main festival, High Sierra late
Esteemed headliners Bob Weir and Wolf Brothers, Willie Nelson & Family, and Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, are among the biggest names to perform at the inaugural BeachLife Festival, set for May 3 to 5 at Seaside Lagoon, Redondo Beach, a city of about 67,000, nestled nicely in the south end of Los Angeles County’s Santa Monica Bay.
Cloud 9 Adventures announces the return of Strings & Sol, the annual bluegrass-centric tropical concert vacation, to the beautiful coastline in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Venturing into its eighth year, the event will take place at the beloved all-inclusive Now Sapphire and Dreams Resort & Spa from December 12-16, 2019. The live music performances are highly anticipated and coveted by guests for their uniqueness, set in a variety of intimate venues – beach main stage, poolside gazebo, and an open-air palapa – all steps away from guests’ suites and all-inclusive amenities.
Sunset Music Festival announces the second phase of its spectacular lineup for its eighth consecutive celebration in Tampa, Florida on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-26. The lineup showcases styles across electronic music, from groundbreaking bass music to euphoric tech-house, giving Sunset Music Festival fans a sonic experience unlike any other on the circuit.
