The 26th annual lineup for High Sierra Music Festival is off the charts. Hold on to your hats and tiaras for some outrageous fun. The festival was originally held in Bear Mountain, but after a 5-foot snowstorm one Memorial Day, the event found its home in Quincy and has been there ever since. Rebecca Sparks along with business partners, Roy Carter, also an original founder, and Dave Margulies, have been part of the festival since its inception.
Turkuaz
“We love our location. It’s the best of all worlds: rustic, scenic, it has permanent facilities, a natural food co-op nearby and a 24-hour grocery store and is close to the Tahoe-Reno area,” explains Sparks.
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“The musical lineup is the hallmark of the festival,
offering different styles of music with everything
from blues to jazz to zydeco, funk and rock.”
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Get a sneak peek of California Honeydrops performing with Grace Love and the True Loves at TheTahoeWeekly.com
Daytime, nighttime and late night, the beat goes on. The musical lineup is the hallmark of the festival, offering different styles of music with everything from blues to jazz to zydeco, funk and rock. The organizers keep the sounds as diverse as possible. Sparks says that over the years she’s witnessed how often people end up listening to their next favorite band.
California Honeydrops | Keith Berson
“We like to target bands that people don’t know anything about,” she says.
After spending this past year touring with Bonnie Raitt, the California Honeydrops make their fourth appearance at High Sierra. Ben Malament, drummer for the band, met lead singer, guitarist and trumpet player, Lech Wierzynski, in the Bay Area. They began playing together on the streets and at BART stations.
“We were a jug band, soul band, old-style blues band and have had many transformations over the years,” explains Malament. The band draws its sound from R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues and New Orleans second line.
“Johnny Bones (tenor sax and clarinet) brings an old-style jazz sound, while Lorenzo Loera (keyboardist) and Beau Bradbury (bass) offer a modern perspective. Both are young members, but old souls. Lech had a deep love for blues and jazz, and I had a background in Caribbean and African music and we connected on different levels. We pushed toward the music we believed in,” explains Malament.
Grace Love and Jimmy James (guitarist) of Grave Love & the True Loves, will be the guest performers with the Honeydrops this year. In addition to playing a late-night set and the main stage, the band will also celebrate the musical genius of Allen Toussaint, along with lots of other Honeydrop activities. Malament is grateful for his journey and speaks with excitement and love about their upcoming festival performance. “ I am a very thankful guy and honored to be doing this,” he says.
With their new album release, “Digitonium,” Brooklyn-based band, Turkuaz, performs for a third time at the festival. Dave Brandwein, guitarist and vocals for the band, says, “This is one of our favorites shows to play.”
The band coined the term “power funk” for their high-energy sound. It’s been said their music sounds like the love child of Sly & the Family Stone and Talking Heads. With their lighthearted vibe, they are conscious of as much having fun with their visuals as their audio. The nine-member band performs a powerful, groove-heavy, catchy and fun show.
“We’ll be going to San Francisco to work on a mystery project before heading up to the festival to perform,” says Brandwein, who leaks that the band plans a surprise for their High Sierra performance. Turkuaz plays two sets, a late-night and daytime set. Brandwein is a fan of the abstract, “I love word play, what sounds good coming off the tongue, what feels good and is not too conversational,” he explains of the songs’ lyrics and his writing process. Turkuaz will also be part of Artists’ Playhouse, offering “Funkify Your Life” with members of The New Mastersounds and The Main Squeeze to play covers of classic funk songs.
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals | Danny Clinch
With funk, rock jam bands, psychedelic sounds and everything in between, expect more dancing, moving and grooving than you can imagine. The Motet rocks the sounds of the 1970s with the “The Motet: Mix Tape 1977” set on Saturday night. Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals headline the event. And, there are a number of bands that have passed through Tahoe recently and are not to be missed: Gipsy Moon and Horseshoes & Hand Grenades bring their dynamic alt-bluegrass sound, while The Record Company throws down a classic blues, rock sound and World’s Finest blends ska, Americana and alt-bluegrass. Rob Garza and Thievery Corporation take the stage Friday night.
Artists-at-large will be on hand offering Artist Playshops, which provide opportunities for fans to see musicians in one-of-a-kind musical settings while the Troubadour Sessions present songsmith performances in an intimate, late-night setting.
High Sierra Music Festival is a family event. It’s a place for kids to engage and have a fun time. The festival hosts puppet shows, parades and music geared for the young. There is also childcare and slumber parties with movie nights for children with licensed, trained sitters. Yoga, Pilates and dance are offered, including Truckee yoga instructor Ann Marie Sheridan, owner of Namaste Holistic Healing and Yoga Center, who will be teaching yoga on site.
Costumes, camping and endless dancing fun, High Sierra is a great way to spend the holiday weekend. Day passes are available, as well.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit highsierramusic.com.
June 30-July 3 | Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds | Quincy
