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Arts & Entertainment

Hundreds Come Out for First Annual Davis Music Festival

There were 20 bands at five venues in Downtown Davis.

In an explosion of local music, hundreds of Davis music fans gathered downtown on Saturday to watch 20 bands perform at five different venues including the , , , and . The event left many fans hungry for more live music in Davis. 

"It's good to hear the bands ahead of time to get a sample," said Michael Ann Riley during the set of Uncle Tony. "You don't have to just go in blind." 

The festival started at the E Street Plaza. Children ran around with ice cream cones and balloons while listening to Uncle Tony and Conscious Souls, and the beats of DJ Don Sequitur. 

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A few blocks over, at Little Prague, event goers enjoyed some rock 'n' roll from The Greening, some earthy, lyric driven, Davis inspired songs from Garrett Pierce, some country rock from The Blank Tapes, and some catchy rhythms from Musical Charis. 

Between sets, music fans ambled down to the Odd Fellows Hall for more of a funky, low-down dance experience. Misner & Smith started off the venue with unique and compelling duets followed by a powerful acoustic folk-country set by Rita Hosking and her band Cousin Jack. The entire room turned into an energetic dance floor for The West Nile Ramblers and Truth & Salvage Company's upbeat country rock'n'roll performances.

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For fans who couldn't decide between an indoor venue or an outdoor venue, Sophia's was the place to be. DJ Vee and Mr. Glass started off the night with some beats on the outdoor patio. Attendees could squeeze their way through the crowd of dancing people to watch the rock and bluegrass performances of Jake Mann, Miss Lonely Hearts and Shayna & The Bulldog until late into the night. 

Those looking for more of a charming, intimate setting could trot all the way to B street and settle in on the porch at Delta of Venus, though the inside of this venue was jam packed with energetic music fans. This venue leaked the rock-pop sounds of Fine Steps, the rhythmic, campfire-esque sing alongs of Youth & Rescue Mission, the gritty, energetic songs of G. Green, and sweet, but full of attitude, harmonic tunes of New Heirlooms. 

The excitement of the night has some Davis residents asking for more. 

"This should happen more than once a year," CJ Borges said towards the end of the night. "Watching all these people walking around, it feels cool that it's in Davis,"

Some see the festival as something Davis has needed. Xochitl, a fan from Berkeley, feels it is something worth investing in. 

"I think it's magical," Xochitl said. "I'm very happy it's during the summer when not much is happening. It revitalizes Davis."

Attendees paid $20 for access to all five venues. All profits from the event were donated to the Davis Schools Arts Foundation to help benefit music, art and performing arts. Fans of the event were able to view all the bands playing ahead of time.

Check out more photos of the event here

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