Live Oak Music Festival Good for Family, KCBX Public Radio

The Live Oak Music Festival is a three day concert and camping event held every year on Father’s Day weekend in the hills above Santa Barbara, California.

Live music ranging from traditional, folk, bluegrass and gospel, to blues, jazz, classical and world music is featured, and 100% of Live Oak proceeds go to support KCBX Public Radio.

Fitting for Father’s Day weekend, Live Oak is a family event and parents are encouraged to bring their children. There are many wonderful activities scheduled this year for kids of all ages, including a Climbing Wall, Craft Workshops, Potters’ Wheels, Outdoor Education, a Talent Show and Drumming Workshop.

Activities for the first day (Friday, June 18) start at 2 pm with the first of a 3-part Jamming Workshop, and ends with Hot Licks Dance featuring Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside.

At 8:45, the blues greats from the Windy City, Chicago Blues Reunion, featuring Nick “The Greek” Gravenites (vocals/guitar), Harvey “The Snake” Mandel (guitar), Tracy Nelson (vocals), Sam Lay (drums/vocals) and Corky Siegel (harmonica/vocals) and Barry Goldberg (Hammond B-3 organ), will highlight the evening.

An all-star collaboration of Chicago music legends, these iconic players defined the sound of their day and were the foundation of the transition from acoustic folk to electric blues-influenced rock.

The funk and soul sounds of The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker will be featured Saturday, and Sunday’s highlight will be Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones.

Whether you attend for a day or take advantage of the full camping experience among the oak trees of the quiet Santa Ynez Valley, the Live Oak Music Festival promises to be a very special experience for the entire family.