Return To Big Sur: Mini Festival

In The Pines: Dungen, Wooden Shjips, Kurt Vile, Gang Gang Dance, VietNam and others will be frammin' on the jim-jam.

By Fred Mills

While everyone is going all glassy-eyed over the impending 40^th anniversary of Woodstock, another festival that went down in 1969 is seemingly being overlooked: the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, which featured Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Flying Burrito Brothers, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, John Sebastian and other mainstays of the counterculture. It took place September 13 and 14 and subsequently spawned a 1971 film, Celebration at Big Sur, along with a very cool soundtrack album, but of course Woodstock overshadowed it. (Brush up on your Big Sur lore HERE.) Just the same, good vibes were had by all, and attendees came away with fond memories.

Now, the good folks at Kemado Records have announced a kind of return to Big Sur, with an affordable, one-day mini-festival slated for August 29 that's intended to bring things down to a manageable level - as anybody who, like us, is frankly kind of exhausted from all the mega-festivals this year. Among the acts signed up to perform: Gang Gang Dance, Dungen, VietNam, Kurt Vile and Wooden Shjips. Here's the official press release from Kemado:

Over the past 7 years, NYC's Kemado Records has been home to a variety of bands and artists ranging from Metal to Psych Rock to Folk. In this time of growth, we as a label have proven lasting worth and stand as a destination for acts strong, stoner, and sunny. In conjunction with the signing of a slew of new exciting artists, a limited edition vinyl-only imprint named Mexican Summer was born and embraced with amazing response.

Though the label is based in NY, our love for the West coast is quite apparent with the artists we work with within the bands, album art, music videos, and events we host and produce. It's always been a dream and goal for us to curate a day in the magical space of Big Sur, California where a special community of patrons drink, flirt, and happily commune to a slew of great musical performances. What could be better then a weekend of amazing jams and good friends in one of the most beautiful venues in North America?  Sold!

To warmly counter act the wave of blockbuster festivals occurring all summer, we decided it would be a fine opportunity to collaborate with the lovely people at Folk Yeah! to produce a mini-festival with bands we work with plus some we love. (((folkYEAH!))) have been promoting festivals in Big Sur for years now. The festival will be held Saturday, August 29th, tickets are $29 and available via http://www.henrymiller.org/ .

The talent for the festival is already nothing short of splendid including Dungen, the newly reunited VietNam, Kurt Vile, Wooden Shjips, and Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. With tons of great bands from our label, the lineup also includes bands that we've grown to know and love over the years.  Most feel like family.  The styles run the gamut from hard rock to folk, and a bunch of everything in between, including some of the most talked about bands this year.

CONFIRMED TALENT

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Dungen

Farmer Dave Scher

Gang Gang Dance

Kurt Vile

Saviours

VietNam

Wooden Shjips

Woods