Photo Credit David Vann
The 29th annual Harmony Music festival in Santa Rosa, CA is a quintessential
California festival. Located at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, it had a vibe
similar to the High Sierra Music Festival, although smaller in scope. The
weekend was billed as promoting global cooling; there were many exhibitors
teaching green and sustainable living in the Eco-Village, where one could take
workshops on converting diesel car to biodiesel, or learn about permaculture
and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.
There were many other non-musical attractions including
presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich
and liberal pundit Arianna Huffington.
The Culinary Showcase featured cooking demonstrations by local and visiting
chefs, who emphasized natural, non-processed whole foods. The colorful parades
with people in full burning-man regalia, dancing on stilts and followed by drum
troupes, circled the festival grounds throughout the weekend. You knew you
weren’t in Kansas
anymore.
There was music from noon until the wee hours every day. San Francisco natives New Monsoon played on Friday afternoon and
featured Miles Davis alum Mike Stern
ripping it up on guitar. Banyan also
had an amazing afternoon set with a version of Stephen Perkins’ band that included Steve Kimock, Rob Wasserman
and Melvin Seals. The evening’s
headliner, Brian Wilson, delivered
many of his greatest hits, including “Surfin’ USA” and “Good Vibrations,” though
he often seemed a bit off-key and off otherwise.
The late-night sets throughout the weekend were not as
good as one might have hoped, with the exception of moe., which had a great
energy on Friday night. The next day, Umphrey’s
McGee made a powerful appearance with the festival’s most enthusiastic
fans. Still, Saturday’s headliner, Erykah
Badu, was the highlight of the weekend. Her regal presence captivated the
crowd as she sang many of her down-tempo ballads. Later in the set the energy
changed and she began Hula Hooping, which was quite a sight. All in all it was
a unique few days and a festival experience that one imagines could only happen
in Northern California.
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