Delta Spirit, Crystal Antlers and Pawn Shop Kings to Headline Summer And Music 2010's second annual BuskerFest. More than a dozen Long Beach bands and solo acts will perform stripped-down, street-side sets in the East Village, collecting wooden nickels and competing for a chance to win five days of recording time at The Compound Studio in Signal Hill
Live music will hit the sidewalks of the East Village Arts District once again during the second annual BuskerFest Aug. 28, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
"We were so glad to be a part of Buskerfest," Cold War Kids lead singer Nathan Willet said of last year's event. "The night really celebrated the talent of the artists and the splendor of downtown Long Beach in such a way that everybody there looked proud of their hometown."
This year's showcase is on track to once again be the crown jewel of SAM, capping the night of street performances with plugged-in sets by three outstanding local indie-rock bands: Delta Spirit, Crystal Antlers and Pawn Shop Kings.
Delta Spirit will close the show, beginning their set on the main stage at 9 p.m. Originally formed in 2005 in San Diego, Calif., and currently residing in Long Beach, this four-piece has been coast to coast this summer promoting their Rounder Records release, "History From Below." At the SAM Release Me showcase in July, Delta Spirit delivered a soulful performance to an intimate audience—one that left some music critics wanting more. At BuskerFest, they will play once –again, prior to heading off for their UK tour, at twice the volume, on a stage fit for lead singer Matthew Vasquez's freight train voice and the extremely skilled group of musicians who back him.
Second in the line-up, Crystal Antlers will play on the main stage at 8:00 p.m. Releasing their first full-length, "Tentacles," in 2009, this five-piece was once a band of chimneysweeps—doing door-to-door
hustle with broom and top hat by day and songwriting by night. This eclectic group has toured feverishly at home and abroad since 2008. Their music blends together psychedelic, garage and progressive rock in such an unusual way, it's hard to place them and harder still to stop listening.
Opening the Main Stage are the Pawn Shop Kings—the same band that won BuskerFest 2009 and got to open for Cold War Kids, moving the crowd with their powerful rendition of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released." As stated in their biography, these gents are, "driven by formative, familial experiences on their Arkansas plantation, born in Texas and raised on the beach in Southern California. They, "play American music with equal parts rock, soul and pop."
Lead by Master of Ceremonies Writebloody poet Derrick Brown, BuskerFest 2010's street performers include We Barbarians, Boris Smile, Chicano Batman, Tijuana Panthers, Sam Outlaw, 60 Watt Kid, So Many Wizards, New Fidelity, OO Soul, Korey Dane, The Brook Lee Catastrophe, Alicia Murphy, Michael Silversmith, Fort Wife and Jenny Stockdale. The complete BuskerFest and schedule will be announced in the coming weeks; updates will be available on the SAM website (www.summerandmusic.com).
