Live Oak Music Festival

| 06 May 2010

Showcases Emerging Talent Alongside Veteran Performers

Get your tickets and make your camping plans now for the 22nd annual Live Oak Music Festival, June 18, 19, and 20. A benefit for KCBX Public Radio. the popular outdoor concert and camping festival will take place in the hills above Santa Barbara on Fathers’ Day weekend. Headline performers for 2010 include Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band, blues greats The Chicago Blues Reunion, and “deep funk and super soul” group The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker.
Along side the veteran headliners, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, Red Skunk Jipzee Swing Band, Sparrows Gate, and Jade Jackson, young musicians with serious talent and not widely-known (yet), will be the featured emerging talent of the Live Oak Music Festival.
With rollicking arrangements and bold, brassy vocals inspired by the likes of Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Etta James, Sallie Ford is “pure retro sass and class” with a modern twist. Sallie Ford and her 3-piece band, The Sound Outside, from Portland, Oregon recently opened for a string of sold-out Avett Brothers shows, but this band’s future is much bigger than its past. There’s no doubt you’ll be hearing more from them.
Red Skunk Jipzee Swing Band is a group of young Central Coast musicians with a surprisingly mature sound drawing from Django Reinhardt, 30s European jazz, and American roots traditions. Mixing the traditional styles of Dixieland with the sweet sounds of gypsy swing and the driving rhythms of Balkan music, these talented players are fresh, spontaneous, spunky, and exceedingly entertaining.
Drawing inspiration from John Steinbeck and the Western landscape, Central Coast alt-country quartet Sparrow’s Gate makes music that feels like today, but will remind you of yesterday. When 20-something front man Zebedee Zaitz sings in his raspy tenor, “Most of the time I’m livin’ in 1961,” you believe him. The twangy slide guitar, tight harmonies, soulful organ and the occasional jingle jangle sound are reminiscent of 60s folk rock like the Grateful Dead, the Byrds or Crosby Stills and Nash, but delivered with fresh, young energy and style.
Seventeen-year-old Jade Jackson has only been playing guitar for 3 years, but in that time she has written more than 75 original songs. Passionate about music and inspired by artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Mazzy Star, she recently opened for Merle Haggard at the Pozo Stampede.
Nestled in the oak trees of the quiet Santa Ynez Valley, the Live Oak Music Festival showcases some of the finest musicians from around the world in genres ranging from traditional, folk, bluegrass and gospel, to blues, jazz, classical, and world music.  All of the festival proceeds go to support KCBX Public Radio.
For 2010 Live Oak Music Festival tickets, the full entertainment lineup, and complete festival information visit the website: www.liveoakfest.org or  call 805-781-3030