Mixtape: Local Artists at 11 Upcoming Bay Area Music Festivals

With the debut of the Blurry Vision Fest in Oakland earlier this month and Bottlerock Napa Valley and Carnaval San Francisco around the corner, music festival season is officially underway in the Bay Area.

This mixtape features music from local artists performing at festivals around the region in the coming months. San Francisco’s Outside Lands is certainly the biggest summer music festival in the area; its 2018 lineup is particularly notable for its overdue inclusion of female headliners (Janet Jackson!) and a ton of local performers. But the Bay Area has many other festivals to offer, and this mix reflects the variety of concert-going experiences available in Northern California.

Between now and the end of the summer, one can check out beloved legacy events Stern Grove Festival and Carnaval, exciting new fests like Feels 6 and The Multivrs Is Illuminated and the road trip-worthy Huichica Music Festival and Hickey Fest.

Listen to the mixtape to learn more about all eleven bands and their corresponding festivals.

Track List

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, “Astonished Man”
The beloved local indie rock band opens for M. Ward at the Stern Grove Festival on July 1.

Caleborate, “Soul”
Berkeley’s Caleborate is one of many local artists at Outside Lands 2018, joining SOB x RBE, Shannon and the Clams, Monophonics and more Aug. 10–12.

Marty O’Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra, “Off and On Again”
The Santa Cruz quartet plays on May 27 at Bottlerock Napa Valley.

La Clandestina, “Voy Para Arriba”
The Latin jazz ensemble performs at the 40th annual Carnaval San Francisco on May 27 with LoCura, Bayonics, Bang Data and more.

Drama, “Parking Meter”
The punk band plays The Multivrs Is Illuminated, which runs from August 9–12 in San Francisco and Oakland.

Gris Gris, “Year Zero”
On July 1, the Bay Area psych band joins The Damned, Le Shok and many more at Oakland’s Burger Boogaloo.

Spelling, “Blue (American Dream)”
Performing with Siri, AllBlack, Raxx Life Raj and more at Feels 6 on June 16 at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond.

Sonny Smith, “Pictures of You”
The San Francisco musician heads to Sonoma Valley to join Wooden Shjips, Jonathan Richman and Steve Gunn at the Huichica Music Festival on June 9.

Sol Development, “Sunny Days (ft. Mark Knoxx)”
The hip-hop-jazz ensemble performs alongside Mino Yanci on Aug. 2 at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival.

Meernaa, “Good Luck”
Oakland’s Meernaa travels to Mendocino to perform at Hickey Fest on June 15.

Trebuchet, “A Confession”
The Petaluma band joins Frankie Boots, Mickelson, Ismay and 20 other artists at Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square Music Festival on June 10.