Folk fest to metal fest
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
High at the top of my list of things to do over the next few weeks is the Topa Topa Folk Fest being held at the beautiful Libbey Bowl in Ojai on Saturday, October 1. Ticket sales have been brisk, which is great because I’d love to see this one sell out as it also helps to benefit the Turning Point Foundation. Headlining the folk fest will be Jake Smith better known as The White Buffalo whose music has been featured on such TV shows as “Sons of Anarchy” and “Californication.” I’m also excited to see Grizfolk after watching local talent Brendon Willing share his adventures via social media after joining the band over a year ago. Actually, the whole lineup is pretty cool with Jaime Wyatt, Todd Hannigan, Shane Alexander, Lee Koch, Bryan Titus and so many more talented folks. Find out more at www.OnesToWatchProductions.com. You can help make a difference while enjoying a great day of music, hope to see you there!
Another Turning Point Foundation fundraising was held at the Traveler’s Café on Thursday, September 22 when Shawn Jones entertained the room. It was the perfect opportunity for people to check out one of Ventura’s newest restaurants offering up live acoustic music on select days. Shawn by the way heads back to Europe the first week in October for about a month with shows in Italy and Ireland.
The highly anticipated return of Cirth Ungol (their first show in 25 years) is finally upon us as they headline Frost and Fire II at the Ventura Theater on October 8, and to sweeten the deal even further, Metal Blade Records released the band’s classic “Paradise Lost” on CD and vinyl. Frost and Fire II actually spans three days (October 7-9) and three venues (Bombay’s, Sans Souci and the Ventura Theater). This heavy metal festival isn’t for the light of heart and will most likely sell out (Day one already sold out at press time). To get the full line up of bands and schedules go to www.FrostAndFireFest.com.
Plan B will be celebrating their 4th anniversary with their popular Second Sunday Supper for October (on the 9th), featuring The Vonettes. The venue is also working on Friday nights for live music on a regular basis.
Squashed Grapes is excited to welcome Ronnie Hudson on Saturday, October 8. Hudson is most notable for his hit song “West Coast Poplock” which would later appear on Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur’s song, “California Love” and Snoop Dogg’s “Poplock 2”. Hudson also played bass on the legendary Grammy-winning soundtrack “Shaft” by Isaac Hayes, and his work is featured in other films including “The Social Network”, “Iron Man II” and “South Central.”
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