The Novato Festival of Art, Wine & Music turns 30 years old this year with more fanfare than ever. Fairgoers travel from miles around to attend the annual event that signals the kick off of summer with more than 200 arts and crafts booths, live music on two stages, food vendors, a premium wine garden, children’s area and fun for the whole family. The free annual festival is set for Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, June 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Presented by the Novato Chamber of Commerce, the event continues at its Grant Avenue location, downtown between Redwood Boulevard and Seventh Street. A selection of wineries will pour their varietals and locally brewed beer from Moylan’s Brewery will also be available. The purchase of a commemorative wine or beer glass for $6 is required to drink the alcoholic beverages purchased at the festival. Bank of Marin, Moylan’s Brewery and Randall Brothers Automotive sponsor the 2013 commemorative glasses. Familiar fair food will abound with treats such as corn dogs, barbecue oysters, ribs, crab-cakes, gyros, sausages, calamari and teriyaki chicken. Whole Foods will be serving tacos. The arts and crafts booths will feature vendors from all over the country, displaying fine arts, home décor, jewelry, pottery and more. Find trinkets for your pooch, toe rings and fun seaside items for the home. There is something for everyone. Tons of fun for the young ones can be found at The Novato Pediatric Dentistry Kiddies’ Park and throughout the entire festival including a train ride, art projects, a climbing wall, motorized mini race cars, a giant slide, multiple bounce houses, a puppet show and more. New this year, the kids will enjoy the Water-Ballerz, giant balls children can roll around in. But the highlight of the festival is the big musical acts that perform each year. Big stars such as Montrose, Commander Cody, Lisa Loeb, Robben Ford, Chuck Prophet and Tommy Castro have graced the stages. The 2013 festival continues the tradition of hosting big-named entertainment with The Tubes. The San Francisco band’s 1975 debut album The Tubes, which included the mega hit White Punks on Dope, propelled them to fame. Two bands originally from Phoenix merged in the Bay Area with a line-up that remained stable for a decade including vocalist Fee Waybill. That first album included another one of their big hits What Do You Want From Life. The Tubes stage shows range from the imaginative to the outrageous and also includes many of their other chart toppers: Don’t Touch Me There, She’s a Beauty, Talk to Ya Later and more. Singer Davey Pattison was invited to come to the U.S. by the late concert performer Bill Graham to front the band Gamma being formed by rock guitarist Ronnie Montrose. He co-wrote many of the band’s hits with Montrose including Thunder & Lightning, No Tears, Razor King and Voyager. Gamma toured with AC/DC, ZZ Top, Journey and more. After Gamma split up, Pattison joined Robin Trower, where he played on the band’s albums Passion, Take What You Need and In the Line of Fire. With the release of the Best of Gamma album in 1992, Pattison reunited with Montrose to tour and support the new recording. You can’t mention Tender Mercies without mentioning the Counting Crows since two of the members Dan Vickrey (vocals, guitar) and Jim Bogios (vocals, drums) are part of that mega band. Tender Mercies also includes Patrick Winningham (vocals, guitar) and Kurt Stevenson (vocals, bass). Counting Crows fans will recognize songs from the Tender Mercies including Four White Stallions, Wiseblood and Mercy. The band originally formed 28 years ago and played under different names throughout the years. When Vickery was asked to become guitarist for the Counting Crows, fate stepped in when his songs were added to the Crows’ stage show. The Tender Mercies reformed in 2012 and have a self-titled CD. The Americans perform original rock ‘n’ roll rooted in rural blues and traditional folk music. Formed in Los Angeles in 2010, they have toured all over the country. The band performs The Parting Glass on the upcoming film Inside Llewyn Davis. The soundtrack also includes Justin Timberlake and Marcus Mumford. The Americans song Sweet and Low is on the album Sons of Rogue’s Gallery, which also features new music from Keith Richards, Tom Waits and Dr. John. This is a two-disc collection of pirate and seafaring songs produced by Johnny Depp. Metal Shop brings back all the greatest hits from the Hair generation. We are talking arena rock with hits from Guns ‘n’ Roses, Billy Idol, Joan Jett, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Journey. With authentic costumes, choreography and memorable sing-a-longs, relive the spirit of your first rock concert at this salute to the bands that made hard rock and heavy metal legendary LUVPLANET has been taking the Bay Area by storm with their melodic rock that has drawn them a passionate fan base. Founding members are singer and songwriter Nicole Sutton and Mark McGee, well known as a member of Greg Allman and Vicious Rumors. The band’s four studio releases include Luvplanet (2003), State of Mind (2005), Lucky One (2008) and Luvolution (2010). LUVPLANET is known for its tunes with meaningful lyrics and emotional depth. This is just a taste of the almost 30 bands that will be performing. The full concert line up and schedule can be found online at www.novatoartwinemusic.com. For more information, call 415-897-1164.
