A Redwood Coast Musical Extravaganza
Demonstrating admirable reinvention skills over the decades since its “Dixieland Jazz” start in 1990, this year’s 34th annual Redwood Coast Music Festival (RCMF) in Eureka now offers a wide spectrum of American roots music at eight different venues from Oct. 1-4. (See Lynn McKenna, “RCMF — 34 Years … ,” page 20.)
It’s “a musician’s festival where players collaborate with each other,” said Festival President Mark Jansen. “Blues musicians sitting in with jazz musicians, jazz musicians sitting in with Western swing musicians — band and musician combinations you won’t see or hear anywhere else.”
The festival still includes traditional and hot jazz and has added swing, blues, zydeco, rockabilly, Americana, Western swing, country and Cajun. Choose from 120 performances by amazing talent, including a few local bands, over four days.
And this year, the RCMF has added a free live-music special event called Old Town Rhythm & Roots on Saturday night, Oct. 3, during Arts Alive. It will feature 16 bands at 10 locations (including the Gazebo and Fallen Firefighter Memorial plaza at 3rd & E) and 24 sets of live music by a mix of local and out-of-area headliners. It’s a collaboration between the RCMF and Eureka Main Street and supported by The Ink People, Humboldt Creative Alliance and Humboldt County Measure J.
Jansen also said to watch for latebreaking details about Sunday’s (10/4) special Greaseland Allstars show featuring a RCMF collaboration with Little Village Recording artists, Kid Andersen’s Greaseland Recording Studio and the Little Village Foundation.
The RCMF also enjoys a reputation as an all-ages “dancer’s festival,” so bring your dancing shoes. This year features a second expanded dance floor at the Adorni Center and plenty more dancing room at the Eagle House, the Eureka Theater, the Eureka Veteran’s Memorial, the Sequoia Conference Center, the Morris Graves Museum of Art, the Red Lion Hotel and the expanded free Old Town event during Saturday’s Arts Alive!
The festival has also partnered up with the Humboldt Folklife Festival to offer a fiddle, guitar and vocal workshop with Elana James and Whit Smith of Hot Club of Cowtown and a guitar master class with Jonathan Stout on Saturday at the Eagle House.
If you have time, check out artist Matt Beard while he paints next year’s festival poster during live music on the second floor of the Eagle House overlooking the stage. His artwork from prior festivals is featured at some of the venues. Jansen said Beard’s art perfectly captures the spirit of the festival and our North Coast location.
Having so many interesting festival sets across varied and distant locations over four days creates a fun challenge for attendees. You will end up wanting to go to competing shows offered at the same time, but don’t get frustrated — the artists repeat their sets at different times on different days. You’ll also see your favorite singers and musicians as collaborators in sets formed with other groups. Their unrehearsed interactions on stage and entertaining performances are fun to watch.
If you’re worried about getting from one venue to the next, use the free shuttle service to avoid having to drive and search for parking.
My last recommendation is to review the schedule ahead of time and plan to see your favorite musicians as many times as you want. But don’t stop there. Check out musicians you know little about. Last year, for example, I was amazed to discover the singing of lead vocalist Valerie Kirchhoff with Miss Jubilee and the extraordinary trombone playing of Charlie Halloran with The Tropicales.
For the full schedule, a complete list of the artists and to purchase tickets for one day or the whole four-day event, go online to rcmfest.org/.
Mark Larson is a music lover living in Arcata.
