Saturday, October 18, 2014
NICK WATERHOUSE
STRANGE VINE
MEZCAL
TACO WAGON
CALIFAS
$25
All Ages
Kids 13 and under get in FREE
1-6PM
Visalia Rawhide Ballpark
300 N. Giddings St., Visalia CA

MUSIC • CRAFT BEER • GOURMET FOOD • LIVE ART / AUCTION

A collective of artists, musicians, business owners and creatives — announced Monday that Nick Waterhouse will be headlining the inaugural Tastemaker Music & Art Festival on October 18th at Rawhide Stadium in Visalia. Also performing will be Valley artists Strange Vine, Mezcal, Taco Wagon and Califas.

Event organizers say the Tastemakers Festival is a celebration of the rapidly growing creative community in the Visalia area and an effort to further brand Valley as the newest musical and cultural hub in California.

“I’ve been involved in many festivals over the years, but collaborating with this new team on the Tastemakers event has been the most exciting,” says Aaron Gomes, executive director at Sound N Vision. “The idea of getting THE Nick Waterhouse to play in Visalia’s best outdoor fest venue blows my mind. With such a solid lineup of bands, art, craft beer, and unique food options, Tastemakers will be Visalia’s premier annual festival.”

Gomes, who has been booking and producing live music concerts in Visalia for more than a decade, says tapping Waterhouse as the event’s headliner was a no-brainer.

“We chose L.A.’s Waterhouse to headline the festival because he is world-renowned for having an intense live show that is timeless,” says Gomes. “He and his large live band embody the past, present, and future of rock n’ roll, R&B, and soul music. In short, they know how to make the party dance and have a good time.”

Waterhouse is currently on a 30-stop worldwide tour in support of his second full length album “Holly.” The Tastemakers festival will be the final show of his month-long tour. Waterhouse, a modern-day band leader, travels with an eight-piece arrangement that packs a whopping punch with two horns, percussion, keyboards, guitar, bass and backup vocals.

“The band just cooks,” says Waterhouse. “They stretch it out and it’s about maintaining the energy and upping it 15 percent from the records.”

Strange Vine, a two-piece out of Fresno, are often compared to another two-piece rock band, The Black Keys. Strange Vine is a mix of blues, psychedelic and traditional rock ‘n’ roll.

Mezcal, Visalia’s Latin groove band has been tearing up stages in the Valley for more than a decade and have taken the stage with the likes of Los Lobos, Malo, El Chicano, Tierra and Poncho Sanchez.

Taco Wagon, is another Visalia favorite and a powerful two-piece band that produces traditional surf rock music.

Califas, is a Latin-infused party band from the Valley and will kick things off at the Tastemakers.

In addition to the live musical acts, The Tastemakers Art & Music Festival will feature culinary options plucked from the area along with local beer produced by Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company in Fresno and live art demonstrations by local artists.

Tickets for the Tastemakers Art & Music Festival are $25 and are available now in Visalia at Pita Kabob, The Cellar Door, Velouria Records and Rawhide Ballpark and in Fresno at Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company. Tickets can also be purchased online at TicketWeb here.

Poster artwork by Bryan Pickens & Juan Verduzco