Members of Della Mae, including Kimber Ludiker, left, Maddie Witler, Celia Woodsmith, Avril Smith and Vickie Vaughn, will host the Father’s Day Festival June 16-19 at Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley.
With all the love to our good friends who produce great music events like Aftershock and BottleRock, we’re also big fans of the area’s smaller DIY festivals and block parties. The same goes, it seems, for the city of Sacramento. The city has grants available for event organizers through the City of Festivals 2022-2023 Citywide Special Events Support Program. The deadline to apply is Friday, June 3 – check out sacramentofestivals.com.
We’re watching a ton of local festivals and events in June (many returning from pandemic breaks), and of course some good old-fashioned gigs. Local artists, message me on Instagram if you have any upcoming shows, @adavis_threetosee.
Riverside Jazz Festival sports an indoor stage and an outdoor stage, and the eight groups of the program will each do a set (nice format!). You got alt-country outlaw’s Geoffrey Millercroon Todd Morganthe revivalist brilliance of Sun Records Dyana and the Cherry Kings, Katz Crescent and more (10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 4 at the Sacramento Yacht Club. $65. jazzfestbytheriver.org).
Nevada City’s Miners smelter hosts the second installment of the Deer Creek Music Festival at Pioneer Park (3-10 p.m. Saturday, June 4, 421 Nimrod St., Nevada City. $25 adv./$30 door. minersfoundry.org) with performances by Tim High and The Mighty with Bob Woods, Jay Tausig, Tyler Foote Walkers, Majik Band and Caltucky.
The loved one Davis Music Festival finds a cast of familiar faces spread across nine stages, including a who’s-who of local stalwarts from Fête De Chien, Band of Coyotes, Element Brass Band, Gold Souls, Ideateam, Jessica Malone, Boot Juice and more. Outsiders (we’ll safely call many of them Davis regulars) include run-down indie rockers Foxtail Brigadefunk-laden vaudevillian troupe Royal jelly juicepsychic act king dream and the junkyard street soul collective Wolf Jett (June 17-19. $40 adv./$50 gate. davismusicfest.com).
The Cosmic Family’s Summer Solstice Celebration offers a psychedelic getaway out of that spinning blue rock with seven bands and two DJs over two days, including a swirling soul jazz troupe mookatitefunk juggernaut Smokey the Groove, butter pump (members of Big Sticky Mess), KNUF, love mischief and more (June 17-18 at Sacramento Rehearsal Studios. Free. https://www.facebook.com/events/748584876394037).
The beloved of the California’ Bluegrass Association Fathers Day (June 16-19 at Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley. californiabluegrass.org) was Grammy-nominated Della Mae at the top of a range that also includes the indelible Peter Rowansound historian Dom Flemons (formerly of Carolina Chocolate Drops) and lovely “emerging artist” AJ Lee and the Blue Top. Do yourself a favor and watch Lee’s nearly offensively perfect cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” recorded with Brothers Comatose.
party in the park, Auburn’s free summer tradition, offers favorite Americana-blues barnstormers from Sonoma County and the foothills poor man’s whiskey coming out of retirement (rather) with the support of Hacksaw Boys (5 p.m. Fri. Jun. 17 at the regional park. partyinthepark.net)
Walnut jam is a one-day hootenanny at Two Rivers Cider (1 p.m. Saturday, June 18. $25. www.tworiverscider.com) featuring the likes of Soundtracks ACME, Forever Goldrush, Skyler’s Pool, Watt Ave Soul Giants, Loose Engines and Drupo Biko (you may know them by their old name, Sexrat!).
The two days of Oroville Harambee Festival – harambee means “all together” – boasts renowned effervescent reggae stars Anthony B and Don Carlos leading a dozen live performers on Saturday with a platoon of DJs hosting a Friday dance party (June 17-18 at the Sunset River Resort. www.harambeemusicfestival.com.
The Mountain Vibes Music Festival will take place in a new venue (Robbs Resort at Crystal Basin) and has reggae-rock titans the Expendables headlining a multi-band slate that includes local standouts such as Roots of Arden Park, Ghost Town Rebellion and black and white island (June 23-26. mountainvibemusic.com).
Finally, the Flamingo House (née True Love Coffee House) crew spill out into the block outside their neon-drenched K Street haunt for banana sundaes, a two-day electronic music festival with Francesca Lombardo and ivy lab headlining nearly two dozen acts (June 25-26 at K and 24th St. $45. www.instagram.com/bananasundaes916).
Phew! Alright, let’s move on to some “regular” gigs:
by Bozeman Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs clearly likes to sneak out the back door, find a rough hooch lounge, and do some hell on a Saturday night. But the catalog they pull out seems born from the comfort of kiddie pools and sun loungers in the afternoon sun before leaving the yard – a cool chill never out of reach (9 p.m. Thursday, June 2 at the Torch Club. $8. www.torchclub.net).
Grateful Dead Acts – there’s too many already, right? Don’t tell that to the guys Grateful Shredding. They’ve become an unlikely sensation as a faithful, crisp rendition of Dead behind a revamped lineup that includes “second drummer” Alex Koford of Phil Lesh and Friends and Circles Around the Sun’s Adam MacDougall (June 2-3 at Center for the Arts, Grass Valley. $28-$36. thecenterforthearts.org). Plus, former Shreders Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci are now fully geared up for their delightfully woven folk-rock project with Gram Parsons. Mapachereleasing the titillating “Roscoe’s Dream” on June 10 and partying at the Starlet Room (8 p.m. Sunday, June 19. $20 adv/$25 door. www.harlows.com)
Just trying to figure out exactly which veteran indie/alt-rock trio from Sonoma County The Velvet Teenager is in fact. Go ahead, we dare you. Your mind will get stuck in a frenzied spiral of gravity, spinning frantically amid time shifts and riffs while trying to find the ground, lest you fall through space, stuck for eternity – which is probably what they had in mind from the start (7:30 am Thursday, June 16 at the Russ Room, with Tomo Nakayama. $15. www.solomons.co). If you miss tickets for this one, they’re back in town on October 5 opening for Girls Against Boys at Harlow’s.
It’s not a league game, Smokey, it’s a revival of the country-rock collaboration ax wizard David Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. The latter is best known in cult film circles as the most famous conscientious objector of “The Big Lebowski” and in cult music circles as an inexplicably misunderstood singer-songwriter. The duo bring their chiseled 2018 record “Downey to Lubbock” to life, a meticulous historical journey through the music of the American West, nearly an uncharted square mile (mark it 8 p.m. man! Wednesday, June 22 at Harlow’s. $30 adv / $35 door. www.harlows.com)
Wednesday night Blues & Bourbon the series (yeah, that’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like) at Starlet Room is back with the spanish harpist Quique Gomez (June 1), electric groovers the orphans (June 8), jump blues from Two Tone Steiny & Danny Sandoval (June 16), the indestructible Mark Hummel and the Deep Basement Shakers (June 22) and aforementioned returning crooner Todd Morgan and the emblems (June 29). www.harlows.com.
Camino’s Delfino Farms brings back their lavish and cozy Saturday”People on the farm” series, kick off with funk/soul act charities June 4. spitfire country Whitney Rose is June 11. (You can also see her at the Folsom Hotel on June 9.) Rose is followed by Lilly Hiatt (John’s daughter) on June 18 and wild blue June 25. delfinofarms.com/folkonthefarm.
Take bag: electro funk hell Joytime Pimps comes to Harlow’s (Jun 10. $20/$25. www.harlows.com); Harpist and frequent collaborator of Kurt Vile Marie Lattimore appears at Starlet Room (June 12 with Flowertown. $16/$20. www.harlow’s.com); Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John McCutcheon raises funds for beloved radio station KVMR (June 12 at the Center for the Arts. $30-$40. thecenterforthearts.org); indie/electro-rock titans STRFKR at Ace of Spades (Jun. 15. $22.50. www.aceofspadessac.com); Billy Howerdel of A perfect circle lands at Goldfield Roseville (Thursday, June 16. $30. www.goldfieldtradingpost.com); electro funk hell Joytime Pimps hits Harlow’s (June 10 with Lantz Laswell and the Vibe Tribe. $20/$25. www.harlows.com).
This story was originally published May 26, 2022 9:14 a.m.
