The Sierra Nevada World Music Festival is an annual music festival held every June on the weekend of (or the weekend following) the
summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
. It is currently held at the
Mendocino County
Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish language, Spanish for "of Antonio de Mendoza, Mendoza) is a County (United States), county located on the North Coast (California), North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United Sta ...
Fairgrounds in
Boonville, California
Boonville (formerly The Corners and Kendall's City) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located southwest of Ukiah, at an elevation of 381 feet (116 m). The population was 1,018 at the 2020 cen ...
.
History
The festival began in 1994
[Adam, Diane]
8th Annual Sierra Nevada World Music Festival
Niceup.com. 2001. Retrieved 2011-3-5. in
Marysville, California
Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted ...
by organizer Warren Smith. Citing problems with crime in its initial location, organizers moved the festival to
Angels Camp, California
Angels Camp, also known as City of Angels and formerly Angel's Camp, Angels, Angels City, Carson's Creek and Clearlake, is the only incorporated city in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 3,836 at the 2010 census, up ...
in 2001.
[ After five years in ]Calaveras County
Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in both the Gold Country and High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,292. The county seat is San Andreas. Angels Ca ...
, fairgrounds management insisted on hiring its own security and billing the festival. Organizers refused, causing the county to void the contract between the two parties.[Wolfson, Joshua]
Fair cans music fest contract
''The Union Democrat''. September 16, 2005. Retrieved 2011-3-7. The festival settled in its current location (Boonville, CA), where it has operated since 2006.
Despite the festival's name, its primary focus is on reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
music, along with a secondary focus on world music acts. The festival boasts a "valley stage" (main stage), "village stage" (secondary stage), dancehall and drum circle, which can all feature music running concurrently.
Along with its many other veteran acts, the SNWMF is notable for being the first to bring Junior Byles
Kenneth Byles (born 2 February 1948 in Kingston, Jamaica), also known as "Junior Byles", "Chubby", or "King Chubby", is a Jamaican reggae singer.Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books,
Biography
The Versatiles
Nam ...
abroad, whereupon he performed a 45-minute set in for the festival in 1998.[Pierson, Leroy]
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival 1998: Junior Byles
SNWMF. Retrieved 2011-3-7.
There was no festival in 2020.
See also
*List of reggae festivals
This is a list of notable reggae festivals by country.
This list may have some overlap with list of jam band music festivals. Reggae festivals may include classic reggae and related or derivative genres such as ska, dancehall, dub, hip hop, ...
*Reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
References
External links
*
{{coord, 39.0052, -123.3649, display=title
Tourist attractions in Mendocino County, California
Music festivals established in 1994
Reggae festivals in the United States
Music festivals in California