A collective sigh of relief washes over me, as I hear the band strike up a jam-filled Memorial Day weekend. In celebration of their 8th year of music, OC Music Fest decided to temporarily re-package their fun filled festival weekend into an online streaming format. Certain times call for certain measures, and even if we are stuck at home, we can still dance.
In the face of a current global crisis, we thank OC Music Fest for declaring music be essential.
The weekend was filled with notable Southern California jam bands offering a selection of restreams, a Facebook live set, and pre-recorded live shows filmed specifically for this event. The re-streams from 2019’s OC Music Fest included: Cubensis, Shaky Feelin. Mestizo Beat, Hempstring Orchestra, West Coast Strayz, Dubb Brothers, Brothers Gow, and the 2018 set of Jerry’s Middle Finger.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE WHOLE WEEKEND ON THE OC MUSIC FEST WEBSITE
Friday night was a special Facebook live set by Nate LaPointe of Cubensis. It was presented in collaboration with Shakedown News as part of the new Shakedown News LIVE! sessions hosted by Billy Sunday.
For the pre-recorded livestreams made specifically for this year’s “So…Over Covid” Music Fest, we saw Robert Jon & The Wreck, GrooveSession, The Higgs, The Storytellers, Grampas Grass, SM3, and Dawgful Dead. The festival poster art was created by treasured California artist Darrin Brenner.
In necessity we find the beauty of invention, and that’s where DJE Sound & Lighting Studio steps in. The Orange County-based events production company is owned and operated by the president of OC Music Fest, Ted Tesoriero, and thus a live-stream partnership was born. DJE was able to build a full stage in the safety of their warehouse. From here, bands like The Higgs were brought into the make-shift studio to play at properly socially-distanced lengths on the stage. Regulations and pre-cautions of sanitizing the equipment and staggering scheduling were maintained.
The Higgs on Memorial Day
With a headlining set on Monday, May 25, The Higgs, an up-and-coming SoCal jam-band took the stage to rock us through a patriotic weekend and into an amazing week. I have had the treat of experiencing The Higgs music a few times live at venues like Cervante’s Masterpiece Ballroom and The Troubadour when they opened for Twiddle earlier this year. They’ve got a full and unique sound to their style. Listening to The Higgs is a journey through modern decor on the wall of yesterday’s classic rock. With a progressive jam-band essence, the group thrives on melodic intermodal changes, improvisation, and original presentation in performance. They’re a great group of musicians, making waves on west coast stages and further into the country.
Consisting of John Lovero (Guitar/Vocals), Garrett Morris (Drums), David Barsky (Bass/Vocals), and Jesse August Jennings (Keys/Organ/Synth), The Higgs stands in time with one another, sharing a captivating sense of communication throughout their music. Entertaining us with a mostly original set, The Higgs kicked off the show with “Gotta Gnow” off of their recent “Rose Will Fall – Mixtape” released in early 2020.
The band then grooved into “Long Ago”, another original song. The band has a great way of creating a story through their sonic landscape. It’s full and yet not overwhelming. For their third song, the band touched on Billy Strings with “Dust in a Baggie”, adding a bit of unleashed alt-rock flair wherever they go. From there, they transitioned into an original song, “Icy Walls of Fate”, followed by the pleasantly different “Kung Fu You”. Of note in “Kung Fu You” are oriental touches on the guitar and later church bell sounds on the piano and drums. To round out their set, The Higgs presented us with a new take on a classic, “Maggie’s Farm”. Written by Bob Dylan and often covered by the Grateful Dead, “Maggie’s Farm” really showed a lot of breadth for this SoCal and nationally touring band.
They have a solidified style all their own while also paying homage to the original cats that helped form the current shakedown scene. Hope to see you all soon on lot!
