Author Archives: Vanessa

STAGECOACH FESTIVAL: Take a look at country music event’s history

Fans cheer as Sara Evans performs on the Mane Stage at the 2012 Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio on April 27, 2012. (File Photo)

We’re expecting a big announcement from the Stagecoach Country Music Festival on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 8 a.m.

I think we’re looking at the dates and the lineup for the 2014 edition at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

Stagecoach has been growing since its 2007 debut as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s country cousin.

Take a look back at the highlights of the festival over the years with our interactive timeline. What are your favorite Stagecoach memories?

PE LIVE: Filming postponed, new Strangebrew Band video posted

Strangebrew Band performs at Hangar 24 for PE Live. (Matt Schoenmann/Freelance Photographer)

If you were planning to come to the PE Live taping with the McKintree Boys tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 9), I have some bad news: the weather has postponed the show.

Instead, we’ll be out Saturday, Oct. 12, at Hangar 24 Brewery in Redlands to film PE Live. The band will be playing between 7 and 10 p.m.

However, I do have a new PE Live performance for you–Strangebrew Band performing “Alive.”
(By the way, if you sign up for the PE Live newsletter, you will get access to certain PE Live performances like this one before anybody else.)

TEMECULA: The Venetia Fair, Late Night Revival play The Vault

The Venetia Fair will play The Vault in Temecula. (Contributed Image)

The Venetia Fair, a rock band out of Boston, is stopping at The Vault in Temecula on Saturday on its national tour.

Late Night Revival, Survive This, One Below, Fly By Night, The End Returns and Dope By Design will be the supporting acts.

The venue has two notable shows coming up: Andrew W.K. on Friday, Oct. 18 and Voodoo Glow Skulls return for Ska-Loween on Thursday, Oct. 31.

6:30 p.m. Saturday, The Vault, 41607 Enterprise Circle North, Temecula, $10 in advance, $12 at the door, all ages.

Visit www.thevaultconcerts.com for more information.

CORONA: Go for Gold plays EP release show

Riverside’s Go For Gold is celebrating the release of EP “Mixed Feelings” in Corona on Saturday. (Janette Dominguez/Contributed Image)

Go for Gold, a pop punk band out of Riverside, is holding its EP release show at Maya’s Café in Corona on Saturday, Oct. 12.

The band’s debut EP, “Mixed Feelings,” is a six-song pop-punk assault that has some sweet synth lines going on in there and even some turntable scratching.

Hard Feelings, Anchorless, Scarlett Avenue and Seasons Change are also on the bill.

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Visit http://goforgoldpoppunk.bandcamp.com to check out the EP and www.goforgoldca.com for more on the band.

7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, Maya’s Café, 13627 Magnolia Ave., Corona, $4, all ages.

You can stream the EP below.

RIVERSIDE: Salvador Santana performs Oct. 11

Salvador Santana will play the Mission Tobacco Lounge in Riverside on Friday, Oct. 11. (Contributed Image)

Salvador Santana will return to the Mission Tobacco Lounge in Riverside on Friday, Oct. 11.

Santana, son of Carlos Santana, will perform in addition to Dyles Mavis and Evan Palmer and Seefor Yourself. Santana had a well received set at the venue last October.

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Fun fact: Santana’s musical lineage goes beyond his famous dad. His grandfathers were R&B piano pioneer Saunders King, who played with Billie Holiday, and Jose Santana, a famous mariachi bandleader.

9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, Mission Tobacco Lounge, 3630 University Ave., Riverside, 951-682-4427, $10, 21 and older.

You can purchase tickets online at www.purplepass.com/salvadorsantana2013.

STAGECOACH 2014: Festival announcement due Oct. 10

Trace Adkins performs on Friday, April 26, 2013 at the Stagecoach Country Music Festival. (2013/File Photo)

UPDATE (Thursday, Oct. 10): The Stagecoach Country Music Festival lineup has been announced. Click here to read the announcement.

The Stagecoach Country Music Festival just posted a photo with the words “Thursday 8 AM PDT” on its social media networks.

What is the announcement? Likely the lineup and ticket information for the popular country music festival which takes place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. The official 2014 haven’t been announced yet, but the festival typically happens after the twin editions of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Coachella is scheduled for April 11-13 and April 18-20, 2014, which makes me think if Stagecoach remains at three days, it will be April 25-27, 2014.

The country festival started in 2007 as a sister event to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and has hosted the biggest names in country music since its inception, including Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Keith Urban, Reba McEntire and more.

In 2013, promoter Goldenvoice reined in Stagecoach’s campground partying by limiting the number of RV camping passes, a move that frustrated some fans who enjoyed the camping experience as much as the show.

Goldenvoice senior vice-president Skip Paige said that camping would be expanded at Stagecoach for 2014 in his keynote speech at the State of the County in Palm Springs.

Since Kenny Chesney claims he isn’t touring next summer, and he usually hits up Stagecoach every other year, I am hoping we might get George Strait’s farewell and maybe The Band Perry to head out to Indio.

Who do you want to see at Stagecoach 2014?

Here’s a clip from Dierks Bentley’s performance at Stagecoach 2013.

HEMET: Casey Abrams to play historic theater Nov. 16

Idyllwild native, Casey Abrams performs on Saturday August 31,2013 at the Norco Fair. (Milka Soko/Freelance Photographer)

Casey Abrams, a man and his bass, will be at the Historic Hemet Theater on Nov. 16.

The former “American Idol” contestant, who grew up in Idyllwild, performed a sold out show there earlier this year. He released his self-titled debut album in the summer of 2012.

Abrams will also be releasing a new video this month and will join “Idol” pal Haley Reinhart on Oct. 22 for a performance you can pay to watch online.

The Hemet show has two tiers of tickets. The VIP ticket is $45,before fees, and gets you a reserved seat, a meet and greet and one drink ticket. You also get to enter the show an hour earlier.

The general admission tickets are $25 each, before fees.

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You can pick them up online at www.goldencrownproductions.com. Both ticket types will be upped by $10 if you purchase at the door on the day of the show.

The Hemet performance is being put on by Golden Crown Productions, who team up with local groups for each concert. The show will benefit the Diamond Valley Arts Council.

Golden Crown is also bringing Lee Rocker, of The Stray Cats, to the theater on Dec. 7. Those tickets are also $25 for general admission and $45 for VIP.

The Historic Hemet Theater is located at 216 E. Florida Ave. in Hemet.

COACHELLA 2014: Lineup predictions include The Pixies

The Pixies, from left, Kim Shattuck, Joey Santiago, Black Francis and David Lovering, pose for a portrait in New York. The band will be touring in 2014 and is a likely contender for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. (AP Photo)

Happy Monday and happy start of the official Coachellaology season. I’m putting my money on alternative music gods The Pixies being high up on the lineup at the 2014 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

Why?

1. The band, which originally formed in Boston, is back together (minus Kim Deal, plus the amazing Kim Shattuck of The Muffs) and released new material in September.

2. The Pixies have a history at Coachella. The band’s big reunion happened at Coachella back in 2004. In fact, let’s watch “Caribou” from that performance.

3. The band released 2014 tour dates this morning. The band does Northern California and Las Vegas and Arizona in late February, but has no Southern California dates listed. Those cities are typically the neighbors of any SoCal shows when it comes to tour routing. There aren’t even open dates for SoCal shows to be added later.

This is what makes me think The Pixies are a lock for Coachella.

The good news is that with no Central Coast shows listed, either, I think there could be some special Pixies gigs before and in between the twin Coachellas, which are set for April 11-13 and April 18-20, 2014.

4. Never underestimate the power of The Pixies. Most of the bands that have played Coachella over the years wouldn’t exist without The Pixies.

Here’s my biggest question about the band being on the lineup: Are The Pixies strong enough to be a headliner, or are they a better fit as the penultimate act on the main stage? Discuss in the comments below.

I’ve covered the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival since 2007. All of the Coachella prediction posts here are tagged with Coachellaology.

The iGuide also has a Coachella section that has interviews, articles, photos from previous years and more. Want to share your predictions? You can email me at vfranko@pe.com or comment below.

If you want to follow me on social media, I’m at @vanessafranko on Twitter, the Audio File on Facebook and on Google+.

Previous Coachella 2014 picks and ponderings from the Audio File and readers:

Oct. 2, 2013: Paul McCartney, Luscious Jackson
Aug. 2, 2013: Neutral Milk Hotel
June 16, 2013: The Replacements

PIONEERTOWN: Conor Oberst and The Felice Brothers play Oct. 10

The Felice Brothers will play Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace. (Contributed Image)

Indie favorite Conor Oberst heads to the high desert on Thursday, Oct. 10 when he plays Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace along with fellow Coachella fest vets the Felice Brothers.

The show is outdoors and general admission. Doors open at 6 p.m.

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, 760-365-5956, $20.

Visit www.pappyandharriets.com for tickets and more information.

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Here are two drastically different clips from the artists. The first is Oberst solo performing “First Day of My Life.”

Now, here’s the rollicking “Frankie’s Gun” from the Felice Brothers.

PE LIVE: Watch Strangebrew Band’s “Don’t Make Me Wait Long”

Strangebrew Band performs at Hangar 24 in Redlands. (Matt Schoenmann/Freelance Photographer)

Meet Strangebrew Band, the band that pushed PE Live over the 100 video mark since we relaunched the show this spring.

The longtime friends started playing music together after they were teammates on Cal State San Bernardino’s baseball team and have continued to when the time allows around their busy schedules as parents and teachers.

I’m starting something special only for those who signed up for the free weekly PE Live newsletter–subscriber will be the first to see another performance by the artist before it goes out to the public on PE.com. The newsletter is free, prepared and sent by yours truly, and easy to sign up for at http://subscribe.pe.com/pelive.

Here’s “Don’t Make Me Wait Long.”