QUAD STAGE
Mad Cow String Band
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
CEDAR STAGE
Ginger Ninjas
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Ben Lewis
Saturday, 6 p.m.
Ayla Nero
Sunday, 10 a.m.
SOULAR DANCE STAGE
Brazilian Bonanza
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Sustainable Living Circus
Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
DJ PIT
DJ Tao
Friday, 8 p.m.
DJ Kelly D
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Summary:
Headline: WEF Entertainment Preview
Layercake: MUSE previews the musical attractions set for next weekend’s festival
By JUSTIN T. HO
Aggie Staff Writer
Whole Earth Festival is this weekend, and the sheer amount of activities and performances is a bit overwhelming. The four performance stages – the Quad Stage, Cedar Stage, Soular Dance Stage and the DJ Pit (located by west Wellman Hall) – feature nearly non-stop music and entertainment all throughout the weekend. MUSE offers a brief glimpse at the coming musical and performance attractions scheduled for this weekend.
The Quad Stage
The Quad Stage is a centralized location for WEF events, featuring multiple musical performances, informational announcements and the opening and closing ceremonies. The stage will feature artists such as the bicycle-touring rock group The Ginger Ninjas and the vocal duo MaMuse.
However, the amount of performance overlap between each stage presents a dilemma for WEF attendees.
“My best advise would be to pick your favorites but really let your heart lead you – allow yourself to wander and explore and come across whatever the universe wants you to see,” Soular Dance Stage co-coordinator Brie-anna Rojas said in an e-mail interview. “That is the best way to discover things with which you were not familiar so that you can learn and truly experience the festival.“
The Cedar Stage
Located in front of Walker Hall and within earshot of Shields Library, the Cedar Stage is the WEF’s hub for music performances. The stage will feature a solid set of local and regional musicians, including bands such as the Bill Scholer Blues Band and Green Machine Saturday.
“We really tried to mix it up between acoustic and electric, local musicians and musicians traveling to the festival,” WEF Entertainment Co-Director Ben Pearl said in an e-mail. “There was some tailoring in terms of the ‘flow‘ of the music … mellower performers in the morning, dance bands at night, for instance … but [there were] no over-arching themes or designs.“
Pearl said numerous submissions were considered for the festival. Despite the large number of performances, space was limited.
“I’d say that the majority of the submissions fall under the folk/jam/festival category – a lot of new age and white reggae – and so it has been a challenge to balance these with local musicians and music from other cultures/genres,” Pearl said.
The Soular Dance Stage
The Soular stage, located in front of Wellman Hall, offers a myriad of diverse and cultural dances and performances throughout the festival. Headed by Rojas and co-coordinator Nikhil Joshi, the stage will also feature group workshops and dance lessons between acts.
“We try to put the more mellow styles in the morning to get things started – dance styles that make you feel fresh and alive and ready for the day,” Rojas said. “We follow that by building the energy in a crescendo so that the last performance leaves the audience excited for the evening and the next day.“
Rojas also expressed her excitement for the Kids Space’s new location near the Soular stage.
“As far as the dance stage is concerned, outside of being able to witness all of our hard work manifested and watching incredible dancers perform dance styles from cultures all over the world, I think I take most joy from seeing the children who come to visit our stage as they dance to any and all music,” Rojas said.
The DJ Pit
Why is the back of Wellman sunk in, anyway? WEF brings the Wellman Pit to life throughout the festival with a pulsating live performance of electronic music.
“I’m really looking forward to a lot of the talent that will be performing in the DJ Pit,” said Sep Dadsetan, who has a set on Saturday at 9 p.m. as Sep D. “There are a lot of DJ’s from diverse backgrounds that will bring an awesome vibe and their particular sound to the WEF.“
Sep D and fellow DJ Kelly D are also part of Sunday Sol, a weekly springtime gathering of electronic music on the Quad. Sunday Sol is sponsored by WEF, and Kelly D said many of Sunday Sol’s past performers are scheduled to play in the Pit.
“I’m also really excited because this is the only time of the year where electronic music gets a major gathering in Davis,” Dadsetan said. “I think that it’s a great opportunity for people that are unfamiliar with electronic music to come and get a sense of the awesome vibe that surrounds such events without having to go very far.“
The Whole Earth Festival takes place this weekend. For more information and a full program of events, visit wef.ucdavis.edu.
JUSTIN T. HO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
