It’s a beautiful day here at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds on Saturday, 27 July, which makes it an excellent setting for the 17th annual Petaluma Music Festival. The benefit event raises money for music education programs in local schools, a noble endeavor in these times of increasing government budget cuts. The jazzy electric boogaloo funk masters known as the Greyboy Allstars are set to headline, with strong support from regional Bay Area rockers New Monsoon and ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra).
Saxman Karl Denson will lead the Greyboy Allstars in their highly anticipated return to the Bay Area. Denson was a recent visitor just ten days earlier, though, in his Premier League side gig as saxophonist for the Rolling Stones at a packed Levi’s Stadium down in Santa Clara. Denson and the horn section starred on tunes like Keith Richards’ “Before They Make Me Run”, helping the Stones deliver another triumphant performance in what felt like it could potentially be the band’s last major tour.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the Petaluma Music Festival funds music programs in Petaluma’s public elementary and secondary schools. Ticket buyers, therefore, not only get great musical bang for their buck at the festival but also help to make music an influence in the lives of local youth for a more harmonious tomorrow.
Attendees arriving at 4.00pm can hear the funky soul sounds of the Monophonics coming from the main stage in one direction and the energetic jamgrass of the Cryin Uncle Bluegrass Band coming from the second stage in the other direction. Moonalice hit a smaller third stage for an acoustic set at 4.45pm, after having previously played an electric set on the main stage in the noon hour for devoted early birds. It’s the “Full Moonalice” lineup with ringleader Roger McNamee and his core band of Pete Sears, Barry Sless, John Molo, and Jason Crosby being augmented by the T-Sisters on vocals, as well as San Francisco psyche rock legend Lester Chambers and his son Dylan Chambers.
Classic rock hits like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Teach Your Children” benefit immensely from the T-Sisters’ majestic harmonies. Lester Chambers says he wants “to dedicate the next song to the entire world because the entire world needs help”. This crazy world sure does need help, with the climate change crisis and corrupt US Attorney General Merrick Garland having allowed Donald Trump and his fascist cronies to run the clock out on their crimes against America on 6 January 2021 so that he can run for President again. Chambers leads Moonalice through the Impressions’ “People Get Ready” from 1965, which remains a timely tune. Sless shines with his shimmery pedal steel guitar on the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil”, but then it’s time to get to the main stage.
ALO are a longtime California favorite that have headlined the festival previously and can still sell out the Fillmore, so it feels like getting an extra headliner here. The quartet come out at 5.30pm and light an immediate fuse with “Maria”, a piano-driven romantic rocker from keyboardist Zach Gill that gets the audience moving right from the start. Bassist Steve Adams (aka “Goodtime Stevie”) and ace drummer Ezra Lipp get an infectious groove going here, with guitarist Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz syncing in with Gill on the chords before ripping a hot solo.
Keyboardist Jason Crosby from Moonalice sits in on “Blew Out the Walls”, leading to a crowd-pleasing tease on “Shakedown Street” and a festive jam as Gill implores the audience to “keep on dancing”. A surprise cover of the Steve Miller Band’s “Wild Mountain Honey” generates a sublimely melodic psychedelia enhanced by Lebo on pedal steel. The group’s take on Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ in the Years” raises the energy level. Lebo also notes how the festival’s mission is “a cause near and dear” to ALO’s hearts since they grew up with music education in their schools that was so vital to their development.
Petaluma’s Lagunitas Brewing provides the suds with their classic IPA, pilsner, and “Lil Sumpin” pale wheat ale. Those looking for cocktails are out of luck, though some fine wines, such as a tasty Russian River pinot noir, are available.
New Monsoon hit the second stage at 6.45pm for a rip-rocking set that keeps the good times rolling. They have been a longtime Bay Area favorite at events ranging from the Fairfax Festival in Marin to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park to their sold-out club shows. “Sweet Brandywine” highlights New Monsoon’s signature sound with electric guitarist Jeff Miller playing hot melodies on his Fender Stratocaster over acoustic guitarist Bo Carper’s crisp chords and keyboardist Phil Ferlino’s dynamic piano. The trio has kept the group going for a quarter century, now backed by bassist “Murph” Murphy and drummer Dale Fanning.
Miller stars throughout the set with his scintillating lead guitar lines over rocking grooves on tunes like “Next Best Thing” and “Raven’s Eye”, throwing in his own “Shakedown Street” tease on the latter. Hot covers of Talking Heads’ “Slippery People” and the Who’s “Eminence Front” are big crowd pleasers with the lively attack this quintet brings to such influences, highlighted by Carper’s spirited vocals. “Greenhouse” sparkles as a perennial New Monsoon classic with its syncopated riffage, lyrics paying homage to the sweet leaf, and a groovy jam. There’s a great vibe down the stretch with the sun moving toward twilight, making New Monsoon’s set feel like a perfect summer soundtrack.
The Greyboy Allstars hit the main stage at 8.00pm as Karl Denson leads the group before an eager audience. It’s been a rocking afternoon, but now the headliners will take the festival in a more funky and jazzy direction, just as they’ve been doing for three decades. Has it really been 30 years since the group released their first album with 1994’s West Coast Boogaloo? Indeed, it has, which explains why Denson is in his 60s now, even though his gray goatee is the only giveaway. The Greyboy Allstars’ longevity also explains old friends who met in the late 1990s, running into each other at the festival and reminiscing about first catching Denson and company at the Fillmore a quarter century ago.
“Still Waiting” is an early highlight as the group work out the funky groove, with guitarist Elgin Park locking in tightly with bassist Chris Stillwell and drummer Zak Najor. Denson stars with his jazzy sax over a hot groove on “Jungle Strut” and continues to shine with his vocals on “Lady Day and John Coltrane” as he sings about a hero riding in on his saxophone. The Greyboy Allstars recorded the Gil Scott-Heron tune on 2022’s covers album Get a Job. It’s remarkable how they make all the songs sound like their own due to their mastery of classic soul and R&B. Denson pulls a trifecta here by following a big sax solo with a jazz flute solo that sounds downright sublime in the Sonoma evening air.
The Greyboy Allstars sound fantastic as usual, but something seems slightly amiss, and then it dawns that keyboardist Robert Walter isn’t onstage. Denson will later note that Walter’s flight got canceled, and it’s the first time he’s ever missed a Greyboy gig in 30 years! His funky psychedelia has always been a key element of the group’s chemistry. Still, the remaining quartet do a stellar job of picking up the slack by simply doing what they do best – throwing down one hot, groovy tune after another. Lonnie Smith’s “Play It Back” is another choice cut from Get a Job that keeps the party going, with Denson’s sax weaving in and out of the vintage groove.
“Miss Riverside” from West Coast Boogaloo finds the quartet digging into a laid-back yet still groovy vibe, with Denson starring again on both flute and sax. The group cranks the energy level higher on “V-Neck Sweater”, with Denson emoting as Najor and Stillwell lock in on a tight beat. The set is steaming toward a finish now, and the quartet keep it going with “I Got Reasons”, another longtime Greyboy staple recorded on Get a Job. Park has been the glue all night with his funky old-school guitar work, and he picks it up here with some wicked wah-wah as the jam starts to sound like something from a 1970s crime show.
Denson brings it home with “Got to Get Me a Job”, a certified Greyboy Allstars classic that’s a cover of a 1972 song from soul vocalist Ann Alford. The high-energy funk rock tune about struggling with drugs and the job market has some attendees flashing back to their first time seeing the Greyboy Allstars at the Fillmore in 1999. Hearing Denson belt it out to close out tonight’s show feels particularly synchronistic for those who have recently found themselves as free agents once again. The song highlights Denson’s soulful vocal prowess and the entire group’s tight chemistry, so it makes sense that it became the title track for 2022’s covers album after also appearing on 1999’s Gba Live album.
It’s been another great night at the Petaluma Music Festival, which raises funds for the local school system’s music education programs. Once again, the power of music has proved its ability to bring the community together for a good cause.
