¡Viva la M°sica!

FIESTA MÚSICA ROUND-UPPA: There are three main
stages at Fiesta every year: the De la Guerra
Plaza stage, the Plaza del Mar stage down
at Pershing Park, and the Mercado del Norte stage,
located up State Street in MacKenzie Park. All three stages are
jam-packed with dancing action all day long from Thursday, August 3
through Saturday night, August 5, and there’s plenty of
music — both of the Latin and traditional American varieties — to
keep taco-stuffing faces entertained, at least at the DLG and Norte
stages. What follows is a roundup of the musical highlights from
those two venues.

First off, in Mercado del Norte on Thursday is KRAZy
Country 105.9 FM’s showcase of country music stars, which
starts at 6:30 p.m. At 8 p.m., Santa Barbara’s teen sensation
Rebecca Chapman will sing her country tunes. And
then around 9 p.m. is the runner-up from the regional
Colgate Country Showdown. On Friday, the dancing
gets out of the way at 5 p.m. for countrified rock from Roy
Schmeck and the Schmecktones. Then the KRAZy showcase goes
down again, featuring Lauren Carse and then the
winner of the Colgate competition. On Saturday, music gets an early
start at 5 p.m. with Blues Prophecy and then
segues into a showcase sponsored by KRUZ 97.5 FM.
That’ll feature Anthony Prieto and his 14-piece
band of Santa Barbara locals performing their homegrown brand of
Latin-infused R&B from 6-8 p.m. Following Prieto are the
Soul City Survivors, who’ll drive home their
classic soul, funk, and rock into the wee hours.

Closer to downtown’s festivities at De la Guerra Plaza, the
music starts Thursday night with the Andorra Jazz
Band at 5 p.m., who’ll be followed by tons of mariachi,
norteño, and other Mexican musical styles, courtesy of a stage
sponsored by Radio Bronco 1490 AM and La
Preciosa 94.5 FM. Maybe you can’t understand the words,
but this’ll be the musical highlight for many a Fiesta goer. On
Friday, the Repo Band warms up the stage around 5
p.m., and then makes way for the Rick Reeves Band,
who’ll rock the night away. On Saturday, Seymour Duncan and
Friends bust out their guitars and rip for the crowd from
5 p.m. ’til 6 p.m. or so, and then, on the stage sponsored by
Restaurant Roy, the raucous rhythms of Spencer the
Gardener will be unleashed ’til they kick everyone
out.

Of course, you’ll find more fun music of all varieties in the
alleys and on the sidewalks of town throughout the weekend, but
this guide should help you plan your musical escapades a little
better. So have fun and be safe this Fiesta. For more information
about Fiesta, see our cover story, starting on page 6.
— Matt Kettmann

FIESTA À LA SOhO: As Santa Barbara’s most
reliable live music hotspot, it’s no wonder SOhO’s got a packed
Fiesta schedule. Starting off on Thursday is Delta
Nove, a band committed to funk, Brazilian samba, jazz, and
other varied styles. Booking manager Anna Zamir explained, “They’re
a really good, upbeat dance-party band. … People into jam bands
will enjoy it.” Opening for the Nove will be Santa Cruz’s roots
reggae calypso outfit Naomi and the Courteous
Rudeboys. And rounding out the weekend will be Friday’s
performance by the Soul City Survivors and
Saturday’s showing by Led Zepplica, who’ll be
preceded by the Doors tribute band Kingsnake. Said
Zamir, “It seems like everyone is out and wants to have a good
time. We’re just looking to help them have a good time with the
music we’re supplying here.”  — Megan
Snedden

FIESTA À LA ROCKS: Rocks’ Fiesta activities
begin on Thursday with quintessential fiesta-style Mexican music
led by Pepe Martinez. Former song and dance
Nightingale singer and current Santa Barbara City College student,
Amy Nonoshita is also on the bill, as is folk/rock
guitarist and singer Tony Park and Lorena
Crisenberry. On Friday, Santa Barbara’s modern rock
masters Magistir, who describe themselves as a
“persuasive, magical stirring of the soul,” lead that evening’s jam
session, which is also featuring Ojai’s big-hair-rocking
Shades of Day and some solo stuff from Goleta’s
Kris Angelis. That night also includes
Soul Biscuit, known for belting out classics by
artists like the Jackson 5 and The Temptations in a garage-rock
style. Dylan Schmidt, Change, and
7-FI are all booked for Saturday, so expect killer
drums from Schmidt, ’80s party music covers by 7-FI, and beats and
rhythms you’ve probably heard sampled by some of your favorite
current pop artists in their original form by Change.
 — Hudson Hornick