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Arts & Entertainment

What Bands are Playing Sunday at the Novato Festival?

Moonalice, a clan of jam band virtuosos, headlines the main stage starting at 4:15 p.m.

To music lovers, the Novato Festival of Art, Wine & Music is all about the tunes — what band or entertainer is playing on which stage and when.

One day down, one day to go.

Sunday  offers you full and diverse lineups on two stages: the Main Stage at the intersection of Redwood Boulevard and Grant Avenue, and the Seventh Street Stage at the other end of the festival at Seventh Street, keeping festival-goers on the move. This year the second stage has been expanded and features more North Bay performers and hometown boys and girls singing and entertaining.

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Featured on Sunday is Moonalice, a band of seasoned musicians who deliver live music as a communal experience with the listeners and musicians deriving inspiration from each other. Their songs try to speak to everyone, mixing a variety of genres with extended musical improvisations evoking a sense of adventure and exploration.

Moonalice is a band of hippie musicians from California with no label, no manager, no publicist, no problems, and a lot of fans. Moonalice is committed to taking the business out of music. T Bone Burnett produced the band’s first album. Its second album Free is available only on the web and only for free. The single from that album, It's 4:20 Somewhere has now been downloaded more than two million times.

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Moonalice invented the Twittercast concert, where it shares links to songs for an entire show, either live or after the fact. The band has done more than 100 Twittercasts (and Facecasts, as the Facebook equivalent is known) and also broadcasts a song an hour over Twitter via Moonalice Radio.  The band also commissions a poster for every gig and gives them away for free.

The band includes: John Molo, drums, vocals (John Fogerty, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Other Ones, David Nelson Band); Barry Sless, lead guitar, pedal steel guitar, bass (Phil Lesh & Friends, David Nelson Band, Kingfish, Cowboy Jazz); Roger McNamee, rhythm guitar, vocals, bass. (Guff, The Engineers, Random Axes, Flying Other Brothers); Ann McNamee, keyboards, vocals (Flying Other Brothers, Ann Atomic); Pete Sears, bass, keyboards, guitar, vocals, (Rod Stewart, Jefferson Starship, Jerry Garcia, Hot Tuna, John Lee Hooker, David Nelson Band, Phil Lesh & Friends) and Big Steve Parish, road scholar/medicine man/storyteller (Grateful Dead crew for 26 years, co-founder of Jerry Garcia Band).

Moonalice can be found on the Main Stage from 4:15 to 5:45 p.m.

Sunday, June 10

Main Stage Acts

 

Novato Milestones Wind Ensemble (10 to 10:50 a.m.) Benedetta Dalbesio, a Novato instrumental teacher, helped form the Novato Milestones Wind Ensemble in 2010. “I wanted to establish a true community band where younger and older players could interact, inspire, and learn from each other,” he said. “My experiences in teaching and conducting have convinced me that music can be a powerful tool for good in any community. Young musicians learn from the more seasoned ones, and older musicians are motivated to rise to the fullest musical potential.” The band now has more than 30 members including middle and high school students and an octogenarian who once was a member of the Barnum and Bailey Circus Band. The majority of the musicians are Novato residents. 

The String Rays (11:15 to 12:10 p.m.). The String Rays are a North Bay quintet that performs Americana rock and soul with rich three-part harmonies and violin-guitar interplay. The band blends cover songs from a range of great recording artists with original work. In 2011, The String Rays released the four-song EP American Made. Each band member plays multiple roles with writing, arranging and performing. Singer-songwriters Dave Monterey (Ruby Moon), Tim Sheehan (Phoenix) and Jeff Suits (The Tickets) are joined by violinist extraordinaire Rick Loheyde (assistant conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony) and drummer Dan Ransford (Flatt Lonesome).  The band has played at the Sonoma County Fair, Rancho Nicasio and more.

Jaime Kyle (12:30 to 1:20 p.m.) Jaime Kyle is Kentucky born and Nashville raised, and singing and writing rock music since she first hit the scene, with hits like Stranded, recorded by Heart, and the cover of Wild One, sung by Faith Hill.  Joining Kyle are: Dave Jenkins, guitarist and vocalist for Pablo Cruise; Bay Area guitarist/vocalist Tal Morris; Steve Price, drummer/percussionist for Pablo Cruise; and Taylor Cutcomb,on keys and bass.

Kevin Russell (1:20 to 2:40 p.m.) The Motor City-born and raised Kevin Russell has a unique blend of rock and soul. Russell says: "It's a Motor City thing!" The contemporary artist known in hip musical circles and by fans worldwide, moved to Hollywood to follow his dream, forming the now classic rock band 707 in the ‘80s with hits such as I Could Be Good For You and Megaforce. Later he formed Kokomo with Billy Kreutzman and Brent Midland (Grateful Dead). He then joined Stray Cats members Slim Jim Phantom & Lee Rocker .The band scored an MTV & rock radio favorite Men Without Shame. Russell and Clarence "The Big Man" Clemons became good pals in the Bay Area and put a touring band together The Red Bank Rockers and hit the road. Playing to sold-out crowds, their shows would often feature special guests such as Joe Walsh, Ringo, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Brown, Jon Bon Jovi, Ritchie Sambora and more. Russell also completed more than 600 Broadway shows with Jersey Boys.

Chrome Johnson (2:45 to 3:45 p.m.) This band is well known locally, especially in the Fairfax music scene (they're practically the house band at 19 Broadway) and regularly appears at The Mystic in Petaluma. Performing since 1999, the band’s sound is a blend of Americana, alternative country, and rock with some pop songs and gypsy swing and psycho-billy mixed in. Members include: Danny Uzi, songwriter, lead vocals and guitar; Jonathan Korty, keyboards, organ and harmonica; Ben Pfeiffer, upright bass, guitar and vocals; and Dana Miller, drums and vocals.

Seventh Street Stage Acts

Project Messenger  (10:30 to 11:25 a.m.). The jazz-fusion band Project Messenger was organized in 2008 to record and play original music. Keyboardist Kenneth Roy Berry is the primary composer for the group with saxophonist Pete Balestrieri providing some of the co-writing. The group also includes drummer and percussionist Michael Prichard and bassist Baron Chase. All of the band members are Novato residents except Chase, who lives in Petaluma. In the past two years, the band has recorded 10 songs that became the record Project Messenger, released last year. The music is true vintage jazz-fusion, drawing influences from other styles including Latin, wing, rock, funk and blues. The Novato festival gig will be the first live appearance for the band.

Miracle Mule (11:50 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.). Miracle Mule calls itself “a fun band to watch.” Take seven band members, add in an accordion, a rub board, a pedal steel guitar, and toss in some interesting harmonies and the band always has something happening. Their sound is a mixture of Americana, country and blues with a bit of Zydeco. All of the songs are covers, with many more than 50 years old, mixed with more recent songs swirled together in the acts’ time machine. Miracle Mule plays regularly at local events including the Napa Earth Day Festival and Corte Madera’s 4th of July celebration. Band members include: Geoff Mack, vocals and guitars; Amy Wolgomott, vocals and percussion; Elvis Johnson, drums; Brian Dettor, percussion, harmonica and vocals; Andrew Chilson, pedal steel, lap slide and electric guitars; Andrew Perrins, bass guitar and vocals; and Dick Bay, accordion and piano.

Brewnel (1:10 to 2:05 p.m.) Brewnel is a five-piece rocking blues band that combines upbeat danceable songs with sweet ballads. Brewnel plays for the sheer love of the music, and the joy of the audience. The band includes:  Kerry Daly, lead vocals; Crystal Brunelle, lead guitar and vocals; Marius Pelsma, bass and vocals; J Sterling, drums; and Bob McBain, keyboards.

SugarFoot (2:30 to 3:30 p.m.) SugarFoot is an energetic seven-piece band, featuring three part harmonies and a tight and funky rhythm section. Guaranteed to entertain, SugarFoot is a professional, high-caliber R&B, rock, funk dance band that plays covers by James Brown, Alicia Keys, The Tubes, Wild Cherry and more. Band members include: Annie Scherer, vocals;  Dan Regan, vocals; Loralee Christensen, vocals; Bob McBain, keys; Gus Scherer, guitar; Mark Chloe, bass; Roland Tolosa, drums.

Mystery Dance featuring Bonnie Hayes (4 to 5:30 p.m.) Longtime Marin resident Bonnie Hayes is a songwriter best known for writing Have a Heart and Love Letter recorded by Bonnie Raitt on her Grammy winning CD Nick of Time. Her song Shelley’s Boyfriend, a ‘80s pop-punk anthem and college radio hit is one of her most appreciated tunes, but she has written for artists from Adam Ant to Bette Midler. Her newest album is Love in the Ruins. Hayes plays keyboards with Danny Click and the Hell Yeahs, as well as co-fronts Mystery Dance with Tim Eshliman, who has performed with Commander Cody and the Moonlighters.

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