GRASS-APALOOZA: Independent music festival hits Grass Valley on Saturday

Shamaya Sutton, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
Updated ·2 min read

Jun. 22—Paulie Daly with Dry Mouth Records & Production is back in the swing of organizing local summer music events. Next on the agenda is GRASS-APALOOZA, a 12-hour line up featuring 18 acts starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Grass Valley.

The venue, Dew Drop Inn off Highway 49, once hosted an olympic-sized swimming pool which has since been filled making for a large swath of flat grassy land. Two stages posted at either end of the yard will be used to help expedite setup and break down times for each act.

"The music won't stop all day long," said Daly excitedly. "When one stage finishes the other stage starts and vice versa. ... My pick for the day is Gentleman of Tragedy which is slated to go on at 8 p.m., although they don't normally headline something like this, I have them pretty high up on the bill because their show is just so good."

Other prominent acts include Daly's own band ONOFF, Vikus from Grass Valley, and Dog Party, a punk-rock sister duo from Sacramento that made headlines in 2016 for landing the opening slot for Green Day's "Revolution Radio Tour."

"I love supporting the underdogs in music," said Daly. "All these bands are extremely driven musicians and they deserve the opportunity to have the spotlight put on them."

GRASS-APALOOZA has been described by organizers as an indie-roots festival with a large portion of performers coming from Yuba and Sutter counties. The rest will be swinging in from San Francisco, Vacaville, Sacramento, Nevada City, Auburn, and even Ireland. All will be playing original works aside for the last act, Third Eye Spiral, which is a Tool tribute band.

"It's basically a big party with all our friends," laughed Daly. "We know all these guys personally and I can vouch for their talents so I suggest getting here early."

Admission costs $20 presale or $25 at the door. Max capacity for the venue is 500 people and attendees are required to bring identification showing they are 21 years of age or older. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.

The Dew Drop Inn is located at 19729 Cerrito Rd. in Grass Valley.

Other upcoming events to be on the lookout for is ONOFF's 10-year anniversary concert in August and a two-day independent festival at 7 Mile House in Marysville in late September.

For more information, email Onoffmusic@yahoo.com.