• McDowell Mountain Music Festival

    Recap: 2009 McDowell Mountain Music Festival

    (or why I came home with a gnome)

    Early Friday afternoon, a rented CruiseAmerica 25′ recreational vehicle rolled into the WestWorld complex in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the back, my two little girls, ages 3 and 5. In the passenger seat, my wife. And rollin’ gangsta-style in the driver’s seat? Suge Knight!! WTF?! Heh, kidding of course. ‘Twas me. The RV:  that’s how we rolled this weekend for the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. We cruised into the RV area, hooked up our casa on wheels to power and water, and it was time for my favorite local festival….

  • McDowell Mountain Music Festival

    McDowell Mountain Music Festival kicks off Friday

    What: McDowell Mountain Music Festival
    Where: Westworld – north Scottsdale, AZ
    When: Friday, April 24th & Saturday, April 25th

    This is a weekend I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. My favorite local festival, the McDowell Mountain Music Festival, kicks off tomorrow. Over the next two days, north Scottsdale’s WestWorld grounds will transform itself into the music mecca of the area for the weekend.

    The next two days will feature some seasoned veterans: Hot Tuna and New Riders of the Purple Sage (a band that once featured one Jerry Garcia); some festival favorites: Michael Franti & Spearhead, Railroad Earth; an Irish band from L.A. (the Young Dubliners); a Hasidic Jew with a flair for all things reggae (Matisyahu); and then, headlining Saturday night, a band that has us – the desert dwellers – abuzz: the Flaming Lips!

    Fun in the sun, groovalicious tunes, cold brewskis for those of us who enjoy such things, great food, great people….

    And a nice forecast…

    I’ll be snapping up some photos, and tweeting around throughout the weekend. For now, I leave you with a cool version of the Flaming Lips covering Madonna’s “Borderline”. See you all on the other side!