Performing together since 1980 and consisting of two sets of brothers, Venice’s music is a reflection of growing up in the California beach town for which the group is named. With sounds at once familiar and fresh, their music is a winning hybrid of folk/rock/soul. Venice’s trademarks are their beautiful harmonies, personal lyrics, and high-energy ...
A smash hit at last year’s festival, the Pine Leaf Boys have been described by the New York Times as “the best new, energetic, and fun Cajun band in a very long time.” Four-time Grammy-nominated and hailing from southwest Louisiana, they are known for their own inimitable brand of music, blending the sounds of Cajun, ...
If you’re out and about Mendocino on Friday afternoon July 19 during the Festival you may happen upon a little Bach, some bossa nova, or even a classic pop song ...
Featured wines at this performanceHailing from rural Texas, Foster is a singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. Mixing a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to ...
Featured wines at this performance. A musical force equipped with the soulful vocals of Janis and the guitar slinging skills of Stevie Ray, Carolyn Wonderland reaches into the depths of ...
Featured wines at this event Grammy-award winner Peter Rowan is a singer-songwriter who started his career as a Blue Grass Boy in 1964. By Bill Monroe's own admission, Peter sounded ...
Featured wines at this performanceSweet Honey is a well-known Grammy Award-winning (and many times nominated) a cappella ensemble that expresses their history as African American women through song, dance, and ...
Bay Area vocal band Business Casual explores a wide range of genres including pop, jazz, soul, folk and swing to produce fresh a cappella versions of vintage chart toppers, today's ...
Opening Night, on July 11: With some scenic aerial footage of the tent site and fun discussions with Festival Orchestra musicians and the makers and shakers of the July season, ...
On July 16, spend some time with Lucia Micarelli. Audience members begged us to bring her back after her stunning concert in 2018. She is an unbelievably talented, eclectic musician ...
A smash hit at past Festivals, four-time Grammy-nominated Pine Leaf Boys began as a group of friends getting kicked off the college campus for busking in Lafayette and have made ...
The Hattie & Joe Craven Show is a duo project celebrating the value of music making and artful living within, and shared by, families. The presentation features a show curated ...
Super-group Hills to Hollers (Barbara Higbie, Vicki Randle, Laurie Lewis) explores the rich history and intertwined roots of the African-American and white musical traditions of the American south. Vicki Randle, of Mavis Staples, “Tonight Show” and Skip the Needle fame joins Laurie Lewis, two-time bluegrass female vocalist of the year and Barbara Higbie, a Grammy-nominated, ...
Bay Area vocal band Business Casual explores a wide range of genres including pop, jazz, soul, folk and swing to produce fresh a cappella versions of vintage chart toppers, today's top 40 hits, and award-winning original songs. In 2020, their album, Voices Only Volume 2, hit the airwaves and in 2021, Business Casual won a ...
Bay Area vocal band Business Casual explores a wide range of genres including pop, jazz, soul, folk and swing to produce fresh a cappella versions of vintage chart toppers, today's top 40 hits, and award-winning original songs. In 2020, their album, Voices Only Volume 2, hit the airwaves and in 2021, Business Casual won a ...
Classical composers have always been inspired by animals. Think of orchestral works like Carnival of the Animals by St. Saens or Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev. In the field of vocal music, the great lieder composers found inspiration in bird flight, the galloping of horses, or the tranquility of the gazelle. The Italian madrigal, ...
CJ Chenier, “The Crown Prince of Zydeco,” was born into an indigenous American culture with a distinctive language and music. The Creole son of Clifton Chenier, he started playing in his father’s band shortly before Clifton died. CJ delivers soulful vocals along with masterful accordion-driven Zydeco and blues. A Grammy-nominated musician and recording artist, CJ ...
Over the past 20 years, Foxglove has established itself as a Mendocino County favorite. The band’s selection of heartfelt originals and carefully curated covers have featured tight harmonies and tasty ...
From their base in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, this acoustic roots music collective has played the most prestigious festivals, listening rooms, and clubs in the world, cementing a reputation as one of the top independent bands. The Steel Wheels give folk, folk rock and Appalachian roots music a modern twist. Their records and performances are ...
Over the past 20 years, Foxglove has established itself as a Mendocino County favorite. The band’s selection of heartfelt originals and carefully curated covers have featured tight harmonies and tasty string-band instrumentation. Gwyneth Moreland, a Mendocino County native, was a teenager when the band was formed. She was immediately adored by Foxglove fans for her ...
The Blind Boys of Alabama have the rare distinction of being recognized around the world as both living legends and modern-day innovators. They are not just gospel singers borrowing from old traditions; the group helped to define those traditions in 20th century and almost single-handedly created a new gospel sound for the 21st. Since the ...
Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, blues singer/composer Otis Taylor is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, and harmonic. Capable of exploring any musical mood at any given time, Taylor lets his audience experience the unexpected. While his music, an amalgamation of root styles in their rawest form, discusses heavyweight issues like murder, homelessness, ...
Every year since 2012, banjo master Bill Evans brought together a stellar collection of banjo players from all over the world and joined them with an all-star California-based band to present his California Banjo Extravaganza. In 2021, Bill changed the format to a gathering of well-loved bluegrass musicians with strong California connections. These musicians have ...
A flatpicking bluegrass guitar legend with an international reputation for innovation, taste and brilliance, Dan Crary is one of the founding fathers of the flatpicking and “newgrass” movements in Americana ...
A flatpicking bluegrass guitar legend with an international reputation for innovation, taste and brilliance, Dan Crary is one of the founding fathers of the flatpicking and “newgrass” movements in Americana and Bluegrass music. He is joined by Bill Evans, one of the most celebrated virtuosos in the history of the banjo, and their soulful-singing partner ...
This new project finds Alicia and Michael Olatuja reuniting in music. OLATUJA blends Afro-Beat, Jazz, Funk, and Soul. Praised by the New York Times as “a singer with a strong and luscious tone and an amiably regal presence on stage,” Alicia Olatuja has been captivating audiences with her exquisite vocals and artistic versatility. She first ...
Celebrate and support the Festival by enjoying a mouthwatering family-style lobster-boil dinner at the enchanting Mendocino Grove. Enjoy fine Mendocino County wines from Baxter, Bon Pari, Drew, Handley, Lichen, Scharffenberger and Toulouse. Another hot dish being served up, CZ and the Bon Vivants, will provide "infectious Cajun/Zydeco dance music." Generously sponsored by Fedele and Linda ...
Miko Marks is one of the Bay Area’s most visible country music singers, but recently her role as a Black, woman country music pioneer has gained attention. Marks, who lives in Oakland, was named one of CMT’s Next Women of Country in 2022 and recently made her third appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. The ...
Solstice is an a cappella vocal ensemble specializing in music written for women's voices. Their music spans different genres, with an emphasis on world, pop, and jazz. The group has performed in many Bay Area and Northern California venues: Freight and Salvage, La Pena, Music on the Hill, the Berkeley Arts Center, Villa Montalvo, and ...
Mr Sun is made up of some of the most original musicians to apply themselves to the American string band genre. Legendary fiddler Darol Anger is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent, and is a member of the original "nuclear" generation of pickers who extended bluegrass, ...
Born and raised in Mendocino, Gwyneth Moreland has toured with her Folksy Americana tunes from coast to coast and has released five solo albums. Her songs have ranked as high as the top five on the Americana and Roots Radio Airplay charts and she was hosted on NPRs Music City Roots: Live at the Loveless ...
When virtuoso Irish playing jumps the pond and runs naked through the wide open fields of bluegrass/Americana, JigJam is born. Bluegrass and American Folk music originated from the group’s home, and now JigJam is here to take it back! Described as “The best Irish band in bluegrass,” JigJam has been hailed as “Ireland’s answer to ...
With its fusion of bluegrass instrumentation and folk-rock amplification, Rose’s Pawn Shop has spent the better part of two decades perfecting a sound that’s as diverse as the band’s native Los Angeles. Their past releases offer modern day roots music shot through with electric guitar, fiddle, raw percussive stomp, and stacked vocal harmonies. It’s a ...
A singer’s talent is complete when they can bring a crowded dive bar to a collective hush and also get one of the biggest audiences on the planet to a collective standing ovation. Stephanie Anne Johnson is that special singer. Stephanie can don a cowboy hat and sing over a slide as old timers weep. ...
In their early days, Brooklyn-based Damn Tall Buildings didn’t rehearse; they busked. Now, whether live or on record, the band still radiates the energy of a ragtag crew of music students playing bluegrass on the street. But anchoring that energy are their instrumental chops, their strong songwriting, and their varied influences that stretch beyond bluegrass, ...
Enjoy a brilliant meal with friends as Fedele and Linda Bauccio (creators of Sostenuto, the Festival's legendary annual culinary event) bring us an evening of color and culinary exploration dedicated to New Orleans cuisine and the art of good food and fine dining. In a spacious and secluded area on the Mendocino Grove property, party ...
This country singer and songwriter was raised in Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky. Waldon's family roots in the Bluegrass State date back over ten generations. She has performed with with artists of note within the country and Americana genres, including Willie Nelson, John Prine and Tanya Tucker, and she made her Grand Ole Opry debut in 2016, ...
Heralded as one of “Austin’s rising stars” by Rolling Stone and called “an Austin legend in the making” by Forbes, Jackie Venson has established herself as one of the most commanding R&B performers to come out of Texas. An Austin native, Venson has shared the stage with icons like Gary Clark, Jr. and Melissa Etheridge ...
Twenty-three years ago, three members of what would soon be Foxglove gathered on stage at the Caspar Community Center to record a live album in front of a capacity crowd. This trio of multitalented musicians—Morgan Daniel, Gwyneth Moreland, and John Bush—had been building a following at small, local venues, showcasing Gwyneth’s lovely voice, Morgan’s songwriting, ...
Siblings Jasper Manning on mandolin and Jayna Manning on guitar are joined by their fiddler father, Chad Manning, an alum of Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands and the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. They will be accompanied by Tyler Stegall, a versatile Bay Area banjo player, and either Mark Schatz or Paul Knight. Schatz has ...
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Foghorn Stringband is considered one of the finest old-time string bands on the West Coast. Noted for "intense dedication to the sources" of the tradition, their music is billed as "a blend of high-spirited Appalachian dance music tying in sounds of traditional mountain fiddle tunes.” Their interpretation of “old time” is ...
American blues harmonica player and bandleader who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago Blues movement of the 1960s, Musselwhite has often been called a "white bluesman.” He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010. At the ...
Exploring a wide range of genres, Bay Area vocal band Business Casual is celebrated for their smart and surprising covers of popular songs. What would Mozart sound like as performed by a salsa band? What if Justin Timberlake were a jazz quartet? Taking inspiration from artists like Postmodern Jukebox and Scary Pockets, Business Casual delights ...
With her dynamic guitar playing, formidable songwriting and pure vocals, Carolyn Wonderland hits the stage with an unmatched presence, mixing the depths of the Texas blues tradition with the wit of a poet. Wonderland plays original, bluesified, cosmic soul music, mixed with heavy doses of Tex-Mex and riff-fueled rock 'n' roll. Performing professionally since the ...
For Brittany Davis, sound is three-dimensional. It is size, shape, and color. It is language. Blind since birth, Davis discovered a world of vivid, vibrant color in music. A childhood appreciation for gospel and jazz gave way to a teenage obsession with hip-hop and R&B. Later, Davis crossed paths with Afro-punk musicians, rock artists, and ...
Cuban-American artist and musican John Fonseca Fatum is the solo creator of Jacksonport, named for the small Wisconsin town where he spent summers growing up. Now a Los Angeles-based songwriter, session drummer, record producer, and performer, with four studio records as Jacksonport and two more under his own name, he's also worked with artists Sarah ...
Virginia-based folk-rock band The Steel Wheels have spent almost 20 years writing, recording, and touring, all the while constantly honing their evolving brand of American roots music. Additionally, they are the founders and hosts of the Red Wing Roots Music Festival, a beloved staple of the Shenandoah Valley. Through the years, The Steel Wheels have ...
The polyrhythmic heat of Evie Ladin’s clawhammer banjo, resonant voice, real stories, and rhythmic dance have been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Lincoln Center, Celtic Connections to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Brazil to Bali. A prolific creator and gracious facilitator, Ladin grew up steeped in traditional folk music/dance throughout the East Coast. She brings ...
Tom Rush is a gifted musician and performer whose shows offer a musical journey into the tradition and spectrum of what music has been, can be, and will become. His distinctive guitar style, wry humor, and warm, expressive voice have made him a legend to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the ...
Originally from Canada, Sue Foley is a multi-award-winning blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. A five-time winner of the Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist, Foley has won a Juno Award among other honors. Touring internationally, she has shared stages with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Billy F Gibbons (ZZ Top), earning ...