Showing good reinvention skills over the decades since its “Dixieland Jazz” start in 1990, the 32nd annual Redwood Coast Music Festival in Eureka last week showcased more than 100 sets of American roots music, including blues, swing, jazz, Zydeco, rockabilly, Western swing and country over four days. (See the slideshow below for highlights.)
“This year’s festival was a tremendous success,” said Mark Jansen, a member of the festival board of directors and director of bands. “Our patrons were thrilled with the performances, and the musicians were all excited about their shows and moving around to guest into other sets. It’s turning into a showcase for fantastic musicianship. Crowds were bigger, the weather was perfect and there was nothing but smiles all around.”
The stages at the Eureka Theater and Adorni venues got makeovers with “artwork that our fantastic local artist Matt Beard has done for us since we began our association,” said Jansen. “His artwork perfectly captures the spirit of our festival and our beautiful north Coast location.”
The event has also developed a reputation as a “dancer’s festival.” And indeed, a large number of attendees were on the dance floors at all hours in every venue, including the Adorni Center, the Eagle House, the Morris Graves Museum, the Sequoia Center, the Veterans Memorial Building, the Red Lion Hotel Pacific Room and the Eureka Theater.
The festival began with Thursday evening’s free “Kick Off Dance” at the Adorni Center with musician sailors in service dress whites from the Navy Band Northwest New Orleans Brass Band performing first, followed by Dave Stuckey & the Hot House Gang, and Carl Sunny Leyland & the Boogie Woogie Boys. Thursday’s other free opening dance night at the Red Lion Hotel featured local musicians including Nice & Easy, the Freshwater Jazz Band and Redwood Dixie Gators.
The festival also partnered with the City of Eureka for a new stage at the Old Town gazebo with festival headliners performing free sets for the community during Saturday night’s Arts Alive! Festival headliner bands at the gazebo began with Gino and the Lone Gunmen, followed by Two Tone Steiny & the Cadillacs with Danny Sandoval. The Navy Band Northwest New Orleans Brass Band closed out the night with its New Orleans funk, rhythm and blues, jazz and soul. The Morris Graves Museum of Art also offered free music to the public during Arts Alive! with sets by the SoHum Girls and Clint Baker’s Jazz Band.
Saturday featured a new festival collaboration with the Humboldt Folklife Society’s Folk School. Saturday’s workshops with headline performers from the festival included a blues guitar master class with Grammy-nominated Jontavious Willis, a twin fiddle master class with Ridge Roberts of The Western Flyers and Sherry McKenzie, and a Western swing rhythm guitar master class with Joey McKenzie of The Western Flyers.
“I’m always amazed that we are able to stage an event of this size and scope in our local community,” said Jansen. “These festivals are a huge undertaking that requires the coordination and resources of nearly every available venue in town, the majority of our local sound techs and backline, all of our major hotels and over 200 volunteers. Most festivals of this size occur in one location and we don’t have that available here. The ability to showcase our community with many of its most beautiful venues and locations is unique compared to other major music festivals.”
Jansen said the organizers are pleased by the popularity of the festival among musicians, too. “The musicians talk about the Redwood Coast all year and come excited and enthusiastic to collaborate with each other in combinations that you will never witness again. It’s not just another 90-minute show and then off to a new city, but instead they spend the weekend performing with their peers and idols in different combinations and genres which sparks their enthusiasm and creativity. It is indeed a truly creative and inspiring musical experience for everyone.”
This article appears in Combating the Barred Owl Invasion.