COMPILED BY SHARON CUMMINGS
& MEIA MATSUDA
»MAY 23-28
Lightning in a Bottle
Lake San Antonio, Bradley, CA
LightningInABottle.org
Featuring:
Anderson Paak and the Free Nationals // Zhu // Tokimonsta // Griz // Tipper // Clozee // Beats Antique Lightning Orchestra // Emancipator // Random Rab // Phutureprimitive // The Glitch Mob // Stimming // Lyrics Born // The California Honeydrops
Vibe and Venue:
Journey to San Antonio Recreation Park—conveniently located halfway between The Bay and LA—to participate in a festival full of interactive art and immersive adventure. Attendees are invited to swim in the lake during the heat of the day, or hear music round the clock at seven main spaces with many other theatrical experiences to be found, largely shaded under the iconically artful structures made by the Do Lab. The intention of education is widespread with wellness workshops, yoga and meditation spaces, and creative content partnerships bringing worldrenowned thought leaders together on a range of subjects like earth wisdom, astrology, democracy, alchemy, and energy practices.
»MAY 25-27
California Roots Festival
Monterey County Fair and Event Center,
Monterey, CA
CaliforniaRootsFestival.com
Featuring:
Stephen Marley // Iration // Atmosphere // Slightly Stoopid // 311 // Dispatch // J Boog // Steel Pulse // Chronixx // Alpha Blondy // Mike Love // Hirie // Ozomatli // Trevor Hall // Xavier Rudd // The Holdup // Sammy J // Raging Fyah // New Kingston // The Ries Brothers // Tash Sultana
Vibe and Venue:
The Marley brothers bring the good vibes to Monterey County along with Australia’s Tash Sultana and the local E-40. Expect a wide array of energizing dance tunes along with yoga, art, and after-parties. Don’t forget your reusable water container for their free water stations so you can do your part to green the event.
»MAY 25-27
BottleRock Napa Valley
Napa, CA
BottleRockNapaValley.com
Featuring:
Bruno Mars // Muse // The Chainsmokers // Incubus // Earth, Wind & Fire // The Killers // Snoop Dogg // The Head and the Heart // Billy Idol // Bleachers // E-40 // Michael Franti & Spearhead // Halsey // Thievery Corporation // Phantogram // The Revivalists // Soja
Vibe and Venue:
In its sixth year, BottleRock has established itself as a showcase of musical and culinary stardom. This being Napa expect spas, wine, beer, craft cocktails, and, of course, decadent meals. It’s technically sold out, but there’s still opportunity in the after-market.
»JUNE 7-10
SoulPlay Festival
Pinecrest, CA
Soulplay.co
Featuring:
Maesyn // Sol Norda // AfriCali ft. Az. RedSmoke & Aceyalone // Alia // Sharu // Pascal de Lacaze // Sky Makai // Kai Mata
Vibe and Venue:
Gaze at the stars and travel into the depths of your soul at Camp Blue, just three hours from the Bay Area. As the name implies, SoulPlay is more than a music festival but is primarily centered on dance and movement, wisdom sharing, touch and sensuality, intimacy and communication, with live music and DJs holding the container for workshops. Be open to heart connections.
»JUNE 8-11
Enchanted Forest Gathering
Black Oak Ranch, Laytonville
EnchantedForestMendo.com
Featuring:
Beats Antique // Truth // Ozomatli // Dumpstaphunk // Liberation Movement // High Step Society // Del the Funky Homosapien // Mark Farina // Phutureprimitive // DNA // Dirtwire // Zach Deputy // Lyrics Born // Monophonics // Graves // Truth // Ill-Esha // China Cats // Andreillian // Manatee Commune // Motion Potion
Vibe and Venue:
Ground yourself in a magical realm of silliness and sauciness on the dancefloor for a transformative experience at this lovely and popular 4 days, 3 nights popular boutique festival. Complete with all the goodies of great headliners, this conscious music festival also offers kidslandia, yoga and dance workshops, and glamping. Like the name implies, Enchanted Forest is a spellbinding gathering at the mythical Black Oak Ranch, where you can enjoy live performances and hypnotizing beats, including heavy bass.
»JUNE 22-24
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival
Mendocino County Fairgrounds,
Boonville, CA
SNWMFF.com
Featuring:
Beres Hammond // Steel Pulse // Tarrus Riley // Teddy Afro // Dread Mar I // Cocoa Tea // Protoje // Max Romeo // Romain Virgo // The Mighty Diamonds // Half Pint // Culture w/ Kenyatta Hill // Flavia Coelho // Jah9 // Nattali Rize // Randy Valentine // The NoMaddz // Kingston Rudieska // Wayne Wade // David Hillyard & RockSteady7 // Natty
Vibe and Venue:
Celebrate summer solstice weekend and world beats in Anderson Valley. With one central stage and surrounding world foods and cultural marketplace, this festival is family-friendly and easy to navigate. Reggae and roots rule the music lineup while the late-night dancehall sessions are an annual highlight. Join in the fun with live drumming, dancing, and colorful world music instruments.
»JUNE 28-JULY 1
Kate Wolf Music Festival
Black Oak Ranch, Laytonville, CA
KateWolfMusicFestival.com
Featuring:
Indigo Girls // Keb’ Mo’ // Los Lobos // Ani DiFranco // Baby Gramps // Joan Osborne // Joe Craven // Laurie Lewis // Martha Reeves & The Vandellas // Tom Paxton & The Don Juans // Leftover Salmon // David Bromberg Quintet // The Infamous Stringdusters // Mandolin Orange // Eileen Jewell // Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters
Vibe and Venue:
Folks who love folk music know this little gem on the NorCal festival circuit for its laid-back summer camp vibes where acoustic music, bluegrass, and the sweet sounds of yesteryear merge together within a sea of tie-dyed attendees. Summertime traditions such as campfire sing-alongs, ukulele jam sessions, riverside swims, gospel Sundays, and plenty of other outdoor activities are available for fans of all ages. Added incentives include extra shade at the main music bowl where your $5 donation helps Mendocino County fire victims.
»JULY 5-8
High Sierra Music Festival
Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds,
Quincy, CA
HighSierraMusic.com
Featuring:
The String Cheese Incident // Sturgill Simpson // Grace Potter // Chris Robinson Brotherhood // Lettuce // The Wood Brothers // Foundation of Funk // The California Honeydrops // Lotus // The Floozies // Turkuaz // Margo Price // The Motet // Antibalas // Ernest Ranglin // Pigeons Playing Ping Pong // Birds of Chicago // Y La Bamba // The Barr Brothers
Vibe and Venue:
Where jam band, jazz, bluegrass, and new grass music are served in abundance. The flat grassy fields of the fairgrounds complete with paved pathways make this High Sierra a family-friendly favorite. Daily costume themes, colorful parades, artist playshops, sunrise kickball, silent disco, and late-night campsite renegade shows are mainstays. The hot days may have you seeking shade and indoor areas but wherever you turn improvisational musical alchemy will be there.
»JULY 12-15
California Worldfest
Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley, CA
Worldfest.net
Featuring:
Galactic // Trevor Hall // Anoushka Shankar // Samantha Fish // Mike Love // Teskey Brothers // Dustin Thomas // Niyaz ft. Azam Ali // Huun Huur Tu // Joanne Shenandoah // Battle of Santiago // Ranky Tanky // Moshav // Noreum Machi // MaMuse // Fula Brothers // Saritah // Mélisande // Raye Zaragoza // Achilles Wheel // David Luning
Vibe and Venue:
Worldfest is staged in the tall pines and grassy green hillsides of the Sierra Foothills, in the artistic town of Grass Valley. The local producers of Worldfest are known for curating incredibly talented up-and-coming world music acts with added emphasis on women artists. Little ones love the wide-open meadow where they play together in the highly reputable (and supervised) kidzone. Artists and attendees alike appreciate the fresh air and relaxed, intimate atmosphere of Worldfest, now in its 21st year.
Redwood Ramble
Camp Navarro, Mendocino, CA
RedwoodRamble.com
Featuring:
Sam Bush // Keller Williams’ Petty Grass // The Ramble Jam // Mike Farris & The Rosalind Rhythm Revue // Achilles Wheel // New Monsoon // Steve Poltz // Tony Furtado // Dirty Revival // Dead Horses // Rita Hosking // Hannah Jane Kile // Rusty Stringfield // The Dolly Mamas
Vibe and Venue:
Bring your kids to Redwood Ramble and have fun splashing in the river at Camp Navarro. This intimate family festival features innovative summer camp-like activities like tye-dying T-shirts, Qi Gong, and Tai Chi, as well as family jam sessions and juggling lessons. Scarce tickets make the Ramble something of a close-knit invitational with improvisational jams going well into the night by the firesides.
»JULY 13-15
Oregon Country Fair
Veneta, Oregon
Vibe and Venue:
The oldest running festival in our lineup began in 1969, and given its Ken Kesey–Springfield Creamery heritage, famously hosted The Grateful Dead in 1972. Decades later, OCF masterfully presents a kaleidoscope of vibrant expression and colorful creativity for all ages and every orientation on 20 official stages and with a meticulously vetted artisan market that is second to none.
»JULY 19-22
Wanderlust Festival
Squaw Valley, North Lake Tahoe, CA
Wanderlust.com/festivals/squaw-valley/
Featuring:
DJ Drez // Garth Stevenson // Ron Artis + The Truth // Jesse Blake // Sol Rising // October’s Child // RootHub // SuperTallPaul // DJ Taz Rashid // Allen Stone // Beautiful Chorus // Desert Rhythm Project // Little Hurricane // Jacqueline Radha Rosen // Stevon Artis
Vibe and Venue:
Wanderlust festivals and events have grown to international proportions, proving that the yoga + music + nature formula works. We NorCal folks can luxuriate at the premiere Squaw Valley location where expansive mountaintop meditations, first-rate musical lineups, and big-name teachers make for a primo holistic experience. You don’t need a ticket to skip through the marketplace into a village of hundreds of free samples by yogafriendly wellness lifestyle brands. One popular highlight—the DJ poolside parties at 8,000 feet.
»JULY 26-29
Guitarfish Music Festival
Cisco Grove Campground, Truckee, CA
GuitarfishFestival.com
Featuring:
Con Brio // Pimps of Joytime // Or-gōne // Dynohunter // Dead Winter Carpenters // DJ Williams’ Shots Fired // Todo Mundo // Steve Poltz // Royal Jelly Jive // Achilles Wheel // Handmade Moments // Midtown Social
Vibe and Venue:
Find the 300-acre Cisco Grove Campgrounds on the glimmering Yuba River just beyond Truckee. A nature-lover’s ideal grounds for hiking, mountain biking, climbing, swimming, birdwatching, and more. Bridging that environmental awareness with entertainment is at the crux of Guitarfish’s non-profit partnerships. Where funk, bluegrass, and jam bands weave into nature conservancy.
»AUGUST 10–13
Beloved Festival
Tidewater, OR
BelovedFestival.com
Featuring:
Lineup TBD
Vibe & Venue:
Beloved Festival imagines an all-inclusive container of heart-centered conscious culture from the moment you are greeted at the whimsical forested entrance to what feels like a fairy tale. A “no booze or shoes on the dance floor” rule creates an exemplary flow around the main stage, and the producer goes to determined lengths to program an eclectic lineup, which is often kept secret. Attendees are encouraged to come more for the vibe than the acts. Caring for your neighbors, constant cooperation, active engagement, authentic smiles, and embodied eye contact—just some of the reasons you’ll see the beloved in everyone you meet at Beloved.
»AUGUST 10-12
Outside Lands
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
SFOutsideLands.com
Featuring:
Janet Jackson // Odesza // The Weekend // Florence + The Machine // Portugal.The Man // N.E.R.D. // Future // Beck // Bon Iver // DJ Snake // Mac Demarco // Tycho // Daniel Caesar // Big Gigantic // James Blake // Chvrches // Jamie XX // Father John Misty // Illenium
Vibe and Venue:
Known by some as the Coachella of the Bay, Outside Lands has folks buying tickets before the lineup drops, trusting the music at Outside Lands will always be topnotch. The Bay Area’s biggest backyard party returns with epic bites, drinks, and a music lineup for all tastes. Outside Lands caters the hippest festival food menu with special treats from local eateries, food trucks, and breweries pouring equally for foodies and music enthusiasts.
»AUGUST 26 – SEPTEMBER 3
Burning Man
Black Rock City, Nevada
This issue contains a recent interview with deceased founder Larry Harvey, whom we mourn. What can we say? Larry really started something and we’re curious as to how his passing will affect the vibe on the playa this time. Common Ground will provide its annual preview in our subsequent Summer issue.
»SEPTEMBER 12-17
Bhakti Fest West
Joshua Tree, CA
Featuring:
Jai Uttal // Krishna Das // MC Yogi/Amanda // Sean Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band // Donna De Lory // Govind Das & Radha // Larisa Stow // Fannah Fi Allah // Kirtaniiyas // Girish // Fantuzzi // Prajna Vieira // Nina Rao // Gaura Vani & Visvambhar: Juggernauts // David Newman // Jaya Lakshmi & Ananda // Gina Sala // Arjun Baba // Prema Hara // Joss Jaffee // Ananda Rasa // Sita Devi
Vibe & Venue:
The end-of-summer destination for activating yourself into higher levels of awakening; join the migration of fellow seekers in the sacred Joshua Tree desert. With the mantra “be in the bhava” (i.e., the mood of feeling embraced by devotion), this festival nurtures loving-kindness for humanity as a refuge from its disarray, with offerings of prayer in a multitude of forms, including kirtan, dance, and breath work.