Same festival, same location. Well, kinda-sorta. It’s been 5 years since the annual OC Music Festival at Irvine Lake in Silverado, CA last took place. The, originally, two day camping fest by the lake featured the best of the local Orange County jambands. But then one day, it stopped.
As they say in real estate…location, location, location, and the OC Music Festival had a great one. A beautiful lake, a huge grass lawn with a big permanent stage. Ample camping, general store…perfect spot for a music fest. Then it happened. The great spot by the lake got out of the special event business.
Five years later, the OC Music Festival has found a new location with a view of the old location. They just moved around the lake a bit. The new spot, a privately owned park called “Lakeview Park” is WAY better than the old location which, if you feel like it, you can look down upon the old spot from! Natural grass amphitheater, ample parking, close by camping, shade trees…sounds perfect, right? It was damn close to it.
Highlights from the Weekend
FRIDAY…and the hits keep coming!
Kicking off on Friday night was a powerhouse of familiar So Cal jambands, GrooveSession. Having recently parted ways with their long time guitarist, Sarven Manguiat, the “Brothers Sanchez”, Ronnie and Manny, recruited Marcus Rezak to fill in on the guitar. But wait, there’s more. They brought in a percussion player and a sax player to add to the power trio and took the GrooveSession sound to new levels.
OC natives, Strawberry Moon, took the first slot on the Hilltop Stage and warmed up the early evening crowd who were anxiously awaiting the weekend’s headliners, Cubensis. Strawberry Moon would come back and do another short set on the Hilltop during Cubensis’ set break. Cubensis performed 2 sets.
The Friday night closers were a name that has grown exponentially since their last appearance at the OCMF…The Higgs. Kicking off their set at 10pm to a crowd of nearly 200 people jammed into the dance space in and around the Hilltop Stage, The Higgs took the crowd on an hour long musical journey of one of their more popular songs, “Rain and Thunder”. That’s right…one song, 60 minutes. They welcomed Marcus Rezak up to the stage without missing a beat to jam out with them for a section of the single song set. The band encored with “Dude Wears Socks” sending the Friday festival crowd back to their tents with giant smiles on their faces. What would day two do to match this?
MORE PICS FROM FRIDAY AT OCMF HERE!
SATURDAY…not just the weather was hot!
The hottest day of the festival both in amount of music and temperature outside, Saturday brought music from 11am until 11pm. There was not a lull in talent all day long. Marble Blue was an early in the day surprise and those young guys rocked out Hilltop Stage. The Wheeland Brothers brought their Jack Johnson island vibe with a Cinco de Mayo themed set. SpiralEye delighted the crowd at the Hilltop Stage during the lunch hour to some acoustic Hot Tuna music.
The surprise of the weekend was Rose’s Pawn Shop bringing that Mumford & Sons vibe on the main stage. I really enjoyed them and will certainly keep an eye out for them in the future. Old favorites, Quactus, came out of hiatus to deliver a 4 song powerhouse set on the Hilltop. Lead singer Seth Gordon apparently got lost en route to the festival and the band began without him. He came in halfway through the opening song and, sans pedal board, plugged in and blended in without missing a beat.
Grampas Grass followed Quactus on the Hilltop and delivered as usual a rockin’s set of soulful jam led by lead vocal powerhouse, Lisa Malsberger. With a bluesy raspy voice, ala Janis Joplin, Lisa and the GG crew brought more of the heat. The Alpine Camp, who performed later in the evening on the Hilltop Stage were great as well. I’d seen them a few times before and they continue to evolve musically to the delight of the crowd.
Main Stage from then on was like a Top 40 radio station…the hits just kept coming. Phish tribute, The Great Divide, got the, now substantial crowd, moving and grooving. Then Simpkin Project got irie with their So Cal Reggae music. WTFB blew what little minds were left intact with a deep cut Prog Rock cornucopia and finally, Cubensis delivered a fest worthy 90 minute set.
Late night on the Hilltop was GrooveSession with Mark Masson of Shaky Feelin’ on guitar. A rippin’ hour of GS music layered with the Phish-esque guitarwork of Masson made for a next level musical journey for the, seemingly whole festival, crowd that had gathered in front of the Hilltop Stage. Guest LD, Leith Duvall, deserves some credit as he took over the lighting work for GS and blew it up!
MORE PICS FROM DAY 2 OF OCMF HERE!
SUNDAY…we’re going to church!
Blues, Jams and a good ol’ Jerry Garcia Band music. That was the sermon for Sunday at the OCMF. The Brett Davis Experience brought an early morning set of rock n’ blues tunes to blow away the early clouds and set the tone for an afternoon of music filled with Hempstring Orchestra, improv jams from the OC JamStars on Hilltop Stage and the much anticipated Jerry’s Middle Finger to close out the festival.
Like going to church, JMF brought the music of the Jerry Garcia Band to the, still ample, crowd at OCMF. Led by “Jerry”, Garrett Deloian, JMF is pretty damn close to the real deal. Deloian’s guitar tone and vocal delivery, backed by singers Lisa Malsberger and Jalina Janusz is signature Garcia. Close your eyes and you’d swear you’ve been swept back to the early 80’s and a small bar just outside SF where Jerry and his band are on stage.
Attention must be payed to the Hempstring Orchestra who followed Brett Davis and company. Guitarist and singer of Hempstring, Ted Tesoriero, is the reason for the whole OCMF. He and his company, DJE Sound & Lighting, delivered a praise-worthy event packed with great music, great vibes, delicious food and a comfort level unusual for a So Cal camping fest. Usually plagued with more dirt than grass, more sun than shade, the OCMF was the complete opposite. Let’s hope there’s many more OCMF’s to come!
MORE DAY 3 OCMF PICS HERE
For more information on the OCMF and upcoming events, check out www.oc-musicfest.com.
