High Sierra Music Festival returned to Plumas County Fairgrounds in Quincy, CA June 29th–July 2nd for a long weekend of unforgettable music and once-in-a-lifetime collaborations.
Many weekend festivals treat Thursday as a “soft opening,” with just a few artists to entertain those who arrive early, but High Sierra cut right to the chase with sets from festival favorites Lebo & Friends and first-timers Eggy, who welcomed one of the MVPs of the weekend, Sierra Hull, for her first of many sit-ins. Thursday also saw performances by S.G. Goodman, The Infamous Stringdusters, Circles Around the Sun, and a headlining set by moe., plus local legends John Craigie and TK & the Holy Know-Nothings, and late-night sets by Jerry’s Middle Finger and Polyrhythmics with Galactic.
Friday featured midday sets from Holly Bowling, Boot Juice, TK & the Holy Know-Nothings, and Eggy, who hosted a “Carry On” playshop in tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The festivities continued with afternoon performances by John Craigie, Katie Pruitt, and Celisse, plus a Wake of the Flood playshop celebrating the iconic Grateful Dead album’s 50th anniversary. Galactic elevated the party on the main stage, kicking off a series of evening performances that included Sierra Hull, a “Randy for Randy” Randy Newman playshop featuring Handmade Moments, and another Eggy set. Headlining sets from Cory Wong and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit closed down the main stage as Jerry’s Middle Finger raged the Vaudeville stage with special guests Sierra Hull, Mei Lin Hierendt (Broken Compass Bluegrass), and Jake Brownstein (Eggy), followed by a set from Polyrhythmics. Late-night offerings included The Travelin’ McCourys, moe. with Big Something, and New Monsoon with Lebo & Friends.
Those able to rise and shine by 11 a.m. on Saturday could enjoy a “Nashville Skyline” playshop led by festival bard Steve Poltz. The Canadian-born singer-songwriter played some of the many songs he’s co-written with other songwriters since moving to Nashville from San Diego, including Billy Strings, Lindsay Lou, Molly Tuttle, The Wood Brothers, and Jim Lauderdale.
Fruition got the day started on the main stage ahead of sets by Shira Elias (Cool Cool Cool), Sierra Hull, and Steve Poltz. Festivalgoers then had to make some tough choices, first between overlapping sets by Ron Artis II & The Truth, Neal Francis, and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, and then between The Del McCoury Band, Celisse, and Octave Cat (featuring Jesse Miller of Lotus and Eli Winderman of Dopapod).
The night was still young as Marcus King took over the main stage while The Nth Power and Dumpstaphunk hosted their tribute to The Gap Band on the Big Meadow stage. Big Something kept the party going into the wee hours alongside late-night pairings of Dopapod with Lotus and Boot Juice with Diggin Dirt, a California funk outfit that has risen to the top of High Sierra favorites since winning a contest to play at the festival in 2018.
The festival wound down on Sunday with a midday gospel set by Steve Potlz, followed by New Monsoon, Will Bernard and Freelance Subversives, and Octave Cat. With help from special guest Sierra Hull, Broken Compass Bluegrass ushered the festival into its final evening, which featured twilight performances by Shira Elias, Dumpstaphunk, and Fruition. Meanwhile, festival house band Mescalito hosted a special Guitarmageddon playshop featuring the Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy in its entirety.
On deck to close down the three main festival stages were beloved bands Lotus, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Diggin Dirt, Thievery Corporation, Dopapod, and Neal Francis. Those with enough gas left in the tank capped off the weekend with late-night performances by soul-rock band Con Brio and The Nth Power.
Click below to view fan-shot videos and photos from High Sierra Music Festival 2023 courtesy of photographer Jason Steger.
Lebo & Friends – “Take Me To The River” – 6/29/23
[Video: Chicopelli]
The post Jason Isbell, Del McCoury, More Revel In The Spirit Of Collaboration At High Sierra Music Festival [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
