Highlights From High Sierra Music Festival 2016 – Review & Photos

Words by: Eric Podolsky

Images by: Sterling Munksgard

High Sierra Music Festival :: 6.30-7.3.16 :: Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds :: Quincy, CA

View Sterling’s photo gallery after Eric’s recap.

“This might be the best festival in the country.” – Ben Harper, Saturday Night, Grandstand Stage

After a record attendance for High Sierra Music Festival’s 25th anniversary in 2015, the 2016 edition of this beloved music lover retreat in the pines of Quincy, California was a more laidback affair, and a more manageable one as a result. With no high-caliber headliners to draw big crowds this year, HSMF was free to be itself through and through: elaborate camps, costumes, parades, secret stages, widespread musician collaborations, marathon late-night sets and sloppy sunrise kickball games define this intimate festival and keep people coming back year after year. Unlike previous installments, there was plenty of space to camp, dance and flow from stage to stage, and it all added up to an effortless, blissful weekend in the sun bursting at the seams with incredible music.

HSMF is one of the few festivals where the line between audience and performers is constantly blurred, and it was common to stumble upon a band you just saw playing the Grandstand stage rocking a set for 20 or so people at a camp a few hours later. Scenes like that make HSMF like no other festival, and it was apparent from many onstage comments and reactions that the musicians realize this as well. For working bands making a living at their craft touring the country, HSMF offers an incredibly receptive audience in an idyllic setting like no other, and when musicians play here, there’s clearly a little extra zing in their performances.

This year featured a fantastic, well-curated lineup of everything from Americana, afrobeat, rock, electronica and jazz to ample funk and bluegrass. With so much non-stop good music packed into four days from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m., we were bound to miss some epic music, but I tried to keep my FOMO in check and enjoy every moment. As usual, fantastic bands were discovered (Industrial Revelation, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, The Main Squeeze) and the HSMF veterans (ALO, Leftover Salmon, Scott Law, The California Honeydrops) all delivered. The musicians left it all on stage and we danced until our knees ached and our feet were sore, because we only get to do this once a year.

2016 High Sierra Music Festival Highlights

Tedeschi Trucks Band Close Out The Grandstand Stage

After four days of incredible performances, this huge Sunday night set from the husband-and-wife team of Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi felt like the crown on top of the festival. Simply put, these guys came in and conquered, showing everyone how it’s done with unparalleled musicianship, professionalism and patience. Featuring a double drummer groove attack, this 12-piece band may be the best soul revue in the country right now, led by the best slide guitarist in the world. Trading bluesy and gruff lead vocals with Mike Mattison, Tedeschi’s rave-up vocal workouts led the band through inspired climaxes and near-silent breakdowns on originals like “Bound For Glory” and “Never Gonna Let You Go,” while every one of Trucks’s dirty, virtuosic solos pushed the songs to huge heights (a broken string on “Keep On Growing” proved how much the reserved Trucks was feeling “it”). The ace in the hole for this band is unquestionably Kofi Burbridge, whose organ keyboard and flue solos stole the show. A festival-appropriate encore sing-along of “Let’s Go Get Stoned” brought everyone up one final time before we wandered into the night, buzzing from the surge of energy and soul that these guys poured out.

DRKWAV Scare The Hippies At Big Meadow

I had been waiting patiently to see John Medeski, Skerik and Adam Deitch’s side project again ever since I caught their mind-altering late-night set at HSMF in 2014 when they played to a practically empty room. Two years and a new album later and the word is out – this band explores the worm-hole depths of music that few dare to explore. DRKWAV took the Big Meadow stage at twilight and ushered in the night with a set of shape-shifting, abstract soundscapes that got progressively weirder as the sun disappeared. Nothing is off limits in this band, and these guys took every opportunity to take the music to deep, dark places of rhythmic and melodic dissonance. With unparalleled listening skills and intimacy, Deitch picked up on each new idea suggested by Medeski or Skerik, morphed the groove accordingly, and everyone followed into a new sonic space.

As far as I could tell, the set was one long improvisation. Skerik was in full-on demon mode blowing evil sax through modulators, Medeski switched between organ, distorted Rhodes, and a full-on Moog assault, and the freewheeling music morphed from twisted soul-jazz to a breakbeat alien freakout before you knew what happened. Some had to bail on this set as it got so dark and intensely freaky, but those who stuck it out were rewarded with the most unique and rewarding set of the weekend. Truly otherworldly.

Lettuce & The Motet Throwdown A Huge Saturday Night Funk Party

Saturday night at HSMF is when the party truly drops, and there was no better way to kick it off than with a heavy-hitting set at Big Meadow from funk veterans Lettuce, who have found ways to evolve and deliver in new and unexpected ways over the years. Filling in on keys for the weekend was old friend Nigel Hall, whose playing brings an old-school soul flavor to the band’s New York City street swagger. The band dropped into the set with a spacious, thick and sticky groove that let the music really breathe, a different type of approach than in years past that allows Erick “Jesus” Coomes room to step up and drive the funk to new places. The band proceeded to stretch things out, making old songs sound new with patient and psychedelic playing. By the end of their set, the energy in the air was so thick you could touch it.

The night segued seamlessly with a two minute walk over to the packed Vaudeville Tent where The Motet was starting up what turned out to be the rowdiest dance party of the weekend. Vaudeville was in full-on disco-get-down mode as the band had put together an entire set comprised of songs from 1977. For two hours there was no better place to be as we shook our asses and got freaky to tunes like Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” Steely Dan’s “Peg,” and P-Funk’s “Bop Gun.” This was HSMF at its best, with everyone grooving on everyone else and nothing to be seen but smiles at every turn.

North Mississippi Allstars Surprise Late Night Jam

Twiddle were scheduled to open for the North Mississippi Allstars in the High Sierra Music Hall Sunday night, but they didn’t make it to the festival. So Luther and Cody Dickinson went ahead and invited Medeski last minute to help them jam out old blues standards for nearly three hours straight. Playing to a nearly empty room – most were unaware that this was going down – Luther & Co. treated us to an insanely fun, dirty blues jam session, the likes of which can only happen at HSMF. The Allstars were supported by Danielle Nicole on bass and vocals this time out, who took the lead a few times and blew us away. Of course anything Medeski touches turns to gold, and his gospel-tinged organ work brought the set to a higher level. Artist-at-large Eric McFadden joined in on the swampy action, getting grungy on tunes like “Stealin’” and “Got My Mojo Workin’.” This unexpected treat of a set was the perfect way to end the festival, and we stumbled to our tents utterly contented.

Greensky Bluegrass Goes Deep Into The Night

There’s no current bluegrass band that can stretch things out as masterfully as Greensky, and these guys seized the opportunity on Saturday night to jam as long and as deep as they pleased. With every member of the band a true bluegrass virtuoso, the pickin’ was fast, sharp and clean, the energy was high and the crowd was game to follow the band wherever they chose to go. Special guests like Vince Herman and Billy Strings came and went, and things eventually got weird with some reverb-laced vocal workouts from mandolinist Paul Hoffman. Tunes like “Jaywalking” featured some funky breakdowns with masterful work from guitarist Dave Bruzza and dobro player Anders Beck. Some choice covers were dropped, including Prince’s “1999” in the middle of an exploratory “Don’t Lie,” and “Into The Mystic,” which beautifully segued into a good old-timey hill music breakdown. Things got pretty hazy, but I recall being amazed at the sounds being created by five acoustic instruments. This was true late-night revelry at its finest.

Cross-Pollination At The Funkify Your Life Playshop

HSMF 2016 was lucky to have some of the funkiest touring bands around on its lineup – The New Mastersounds, Turkuaz, The Motet, and up-and-comers The Main Squeeze – and this mid-day set on Friday provided a rare opportunity for these world-class musicians to collaborate on some classic funk tunes. The results were electrifying and gave us a taste of what was to come from these bands over the course of the weekend. The Playshop appeared to be organized by Turkuaz guitarst Craig Brodhead, who stayed onstage the whole set filling in licks while others came and went. With 11 musicians or more on stage at any given moment and rhythm sections tag-teaming each song, these pros dug deep to bring new life to funk classics like “Sex Machine,” “Higher,” “Sir Duke,” and “Move On Up,” the last two sung by The Main Squeeze’s incredible Corey Frye. The funk got especially thick and dirty in the Turkuaz-based jam on “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” with everyone on stage clicking into a multi-headed, polyrhythmic groove. It’s collaborative sets like this that make HSMF so special.

The Del McCoury Band Takes Requests At Grandstand

It’s always a joy to catch a set from Del McCoury and his band of consummate pros (which includes two of his sons), some of the best bluegrass pickers on the planet. Del carries the old-time bluegrass tradition with grace, and his stage banter and laugh are almost as entertaining as his distinctive tenor. His mid-day set at the Grandstand Stage was not well-attended due to the heat, but it was a breath of fresh air and a real treat. The band was on-point, clean and sharp, and Del was in fine form, telling stories and playing a large number of audience requests, including many tunes that he hadn’t played in years. This was a testament to the man’s repertoire, he pulled requests like “Sweet Appalachia” and “Prison Song” out of his back pocket, delivering the lyrics in that sweet, high, lonesome voice of his. A gorgeous take on “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” gave me chills.

Billy Strings & Sierra Hull Bring Authentic Bluegrass To California

These two young, up-and-coming pickers each brought their own brand of professional bluegrass music to HSMF with a number of sets over the weekend. Both Bill Strings and Sierra Hull have been picking guitar and mandolin, respectively, since childhood, and their effortless dexterity was a joy to experience. Strings’ trio delivered a couple of shit-kicking sets of lighting-fast picking, his lonesome, husky voice sounding wise beyond his years. I got my John Hartford fix for the weekend with a take on “Steam Powered Aeroplane,” and Strings even gave a nod to jamgrass with a rollicking cover of The String Cheese Incident’s “Black Clouds.”

Hull’s sweet and clear voice matches her impeccable, crystalline mandolin tone. Her pure songs were delivered in a trio or duo format, and her band’s on-point and complicated jazzy instrumental tunes were on par with the finest newgrass, a la Sam Bush or David Grisman. There was even a “Bach Invention” thrown in for good measur, perhaps inspired or suggested by Bela Fleck, who produced her latest album. A sweet take on the Django Reinhardt tune “After You’ve Gone” was a highlight, showcasing her jazz mandolin chops in a swingin’ jam. Perfect sunny day music.

Elephant Revival Knocks Us Out At The Vaudeville Tent

I wasn’t familiar with the roots music of Elephant Revival before catching their captivating set on Saturday. The five-piece acoustic group gets its identity from the otherworldly, haunting voice of Bonnie Paine, who also plays washboard, djembe, theremin(!), and more. The group’s sound is hard to define due to a melting pot of influences and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Rose, who plays everything from banjo and pedal steel to cello and trumpet. But regardless of the instrumentation, the band’s heartfelt delivery evokes the wide-open rural spaces of their home state of Colorado. The fantastic, history-steeped tunes were the main focus of the set, with the instruments always serving the lyrics first and foremost. This feel-good, early afternoon set sucked me in and kept me there—whether it was a down-home, rowdy sing-along or a hushed, sparse piece punctuated by gorgeous harmonies like “Old Rogue River,” I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day.

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