Meadow Stage
6:00pm Matt Costa (Folk / Indie)
5:00pm Jaymes Reunion (Pop / Rock)
3:45pm Snail (Rock)
2:15pm Moonalice (Pop / Rock / Roots Music)
1:15pm Sharon Allen & Friends (Blues)
12:00pm Brothers Comatose (Americana / Folk / Concrete )
11:00am Take 1 (Reggae)
Creekside Stage
5:30pm Mary McCaslin (Acoustic)
4:15pm Jay Lingo (Americana / Other)
3:00pm Patti Maxine (Rock)
2:00pm Harmony Grits (Bluegrass / Folk / Psychobilly)
12:45pm Michael Gaither (Americana / Bluegrass / Folk)
11:30am Taylor Rae (Acoustic / Pop / Alternative)
Check out videos of the artists on YouTube!
Meadow Stage
From spunky piano-driven opener “Mr. Pitiful” and the country-tinged acoustic “Never Looking Back” to the textured “Bound” and jangly power-pop of “Emergency Call,” Unfamiliar Faces finds Costa wrapping his appealing melodies in increasingly ambitious packages that recall the Shins, Spoon and Ben Folds. Though Costa’s sound has a sunny, bouncy vibe, he’s not afraid to get introspective: “Trying to Lose My Mind” is based on a dark period during his recovery from surgery when he faced crippling panic attacks that he only later found out were brought on by pain-killer withdrawal after a friend mentioned his parents had undergone the exact same experience. He says the title track summarizes how he felt while writing the album. “I’m always feeling like I’m suspicious of what people are really thinking. Everyone has another side that maybe you don’t know: their unfamiliar face.” More...
Together, the members of Jaymes Reunion “want to encourage people, to give them the feeling I felt when I heard that Paul McCartney record for the first time,” Jaymes says. “I’m driven by the idea of connecting people with songs.” Born in August 1984 in Bakersfield, Calif., Jaymes started singing while in elementary school. His mother enrolled him and his brother in an after-school choir program, but it wasn’t until he was 15 that Jaymes focused seriously on singing and songwriting, penning his first piece for a girl he wanted to impress. More...
From time to time, the Moonalice hippies and bands would gather in pow wows that were known as gigs. A precursor to modern county fairs, these celebrations brought together the best agriculture and music. More Woodstock than livestock, Moonalice gigs were quintessentially American, combining the vibes of New York, San Francisco and all points in between. More...
SNAIL
Anyone around in the late ‘60’s in Santa Cruz – or since – has probably heard SNAIL! Formed by Bob O’Neill, they were a “Cream-style power trio.” SNAIL played the club circuit in the San Francisco bay area and released two albums in the 1970’s and played their signature song, “The Joker,” on American Bandstand. In 2009, back rockin’ on the scene, Renaissance Records has rereleased the Snail/Flow albums together on CD, and SNAIL is again performing, with both old and new tunes, featuring Bob O’Neill and Ron Fillmore along with Guido Valverde. More...
Sharon Allen
Sleepy John Sandidge says Sharon Allen “is way up high in the list of sweet voiced singers… (with) music that is beautiful and lasting.” Sharon's musical path started “amongst a family of fireside musicians. The calling was in her blood, and she found her way, dancing, singing, clogging and picking to California, where, for many years, she fronted a blues-rock band with then-husband Allen Frank and The Firebirds.” Working with B.B. King, Etta James, and Elvin Bishop “honed Sharon's musical chops,” and she has now come out with a solo album and is catching raves from everyone. More...
Take two brothers who’ve played music on guitar and banjo “since birth,” add two high school friends who know the mandolin and bass, stir in travel and exploration, make a stop in San Francisco to come together to perform, and pick up a brilliant fiddler, and you’ve got the powerful talent of The Brothers Comatose. Ben and Alex Morrison, Joe Pacini and Gio Benedetti, and Philip Brezina have the “foot-stomping, shout-along,” dance-compelling Olde Tyme and Bluegrass music that will have the entire meadow of people sharing in the joy of real music played really well. More...
Take One
There’s nothing like a reggae sound to get people moving, and Take 1, featuring San Lorenzo Valley natives, Yeshe Jackson, Jon Golling, Brian Valdevia and Santa Cruz’s Marcus Thayer, has the muscle to open the Faire with excitement and great sound. Yeshe is well known for his limber lead guitar and Jon for a steady, powerful base. Marcus’ percussion provides as much melody as rhythm, and Brian’s strong saxophone winds it all up together into breathtaking high notes. They are praised for their “calm confidence and true passion … (with) super danceable old school roots reggae, combined with upbeat ska tunes.” More...
Creekside Stage
Mary McCaslin
Singer Mary McCaslin, was a major draw many times at the original Faire. McCaslin brings a special touch to traditional folk songs and has led the way to today’s “new folk” singer-songwriters with her distinctive voice and her skill on guitar or banjo. Her performance is studded with ballads from the old west or songs with her own moving lyrics. McCaslin has a distinctive vocal style creating poignant renditions of pop standards and rock classics, from "Ghost Riders In The Sky,” or the Beatles' "Things We Said Today,” to the Supremes' "My World Is Empty.” Her own songs, "Prairie In The Sky." “Circle Of Friends,” or "Down The Road” are her own, and their lyrics ring true. More...
Jay Lingo
Jay Lingo’s voice has the quality of Johnny Cash, with a special feel of its own. His songs, like “She Won’t Have Me,” or “Little Devil,” have the classic themes of country-western, but are unique whether fast-paced and energetic or sorrowful sad. Along with vocals, Jay plays rhythm guitar, and his band, featuring Jeff Cruse, lead guitar, Charlie Wallace on lap steel, pedal steel, lead guitar and dobro, Jerry Bradley handles Bass guitar and vocals, with Jim Norris on drums, trash can lids, pots and pans and egg beaters, is tight and creative. With our without cowboy boots, listeners will not want to be sitting down while Lingo plays. More...
Patti Maxine
Patti Maxine is a lap steel virtuoso and is renowned as one of the hardest working musicians in Santa Cruz, California. “A session player in constant demand, Patti plays most nights of the week. A musical Swiss army knife, Patti handles a wide variety of styles with ease, sliding gracefully from Hawaiian to swing, from R&B and rock, from blues to jazz and back again.” And she’ll be on the Creekside Stage with some special guest musicians, to bring her remarkable talent to a bit of rock ‘n roll, Western, Blues, R&B, Swing and Jazz. -- with steel.More...
Harmony Grits
Harmony Grits have played the acoustic music circuit for 20 years. Known for their traditional bluegrass instrumentation within a freeform musical style, they show a deep respect for hard core bluegrass, and include elements of blues, folk, rock, and more. All five members, Mike McKinley, an itinerant bluegrass mandolin player from Michigan, Jim Lewin (guitar), Jeff Baldwin (dobro) and Doug Marcus (bass), sing and write songs, and any fundamental Grit-esque experience would include their great originals, many well-chosen old chestnuts, and epic instrumental jams. More...
Michael Gaither
Michael Gaither is a singer/songwriter, whose music is described as, "warm, often hilarious Americana folk tinged with the occasional country beat.” Gaither favors songs with stories and tales of day-to-day life: Big cars. Bad drivers. A baby's first steps. Dogs and horses, with a definite sense of humor. Gaither has been a journalist, teacher, even a joke writer for Jay Leno, so his performance mixing folk, Americana, and even a little gospel to tell funny and poignant stories of everyday life, will be a highlight of the Faire. More...
Taylor Rae
You’ll want to arrive early to the Faire, to be sure to catch Taylor Rae, whose whole, sweet voice is the perfect compliment to her lyrics. Love songs that grab the heart, and an optimism that shines through the painful parts of life bring an honesty to her lyrics, a bit like Cat Stevens. She’ll be bringing a few friends on stage with her, so there will surely be some pleasant surprises in her performance. We’re hoping she’ll play “Stay Away,” “Let’s Go,” and “Company” from her new CD. More...
