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Local Favorites Dead Winter Carpenters Open 2018 Commons Beach Concert Series

Featuring an eclectic mix of touring regional and national artists, as well as several local bands, including the series openers Dead Winter Carpenters, the popular Concerts at Commons Beach music series returns to Tahoe City starting on Sunday, June 17 and running weekly through September 2. The concert series has become a staple of summertime fun on Lake Tahoe’s north shore and a favorite of both locals and visitors. The opening show of the 12-week series will showcase the highly-acclaimed Dead Winter Carpenters and their signature "California Mountain Grass" blend of alt-country and bluegrass style songs and music.

Concerts at Commons Beach makes the most of its lakeside venue, with concertgoers enjoying the live music and picnicing from both the large grass and beach area and from boats, anchored just offshore. Presented in partnership with the Tahoe City Downtown Association and Tahoe City Public Utility District, Concerts at Commons Beach is North Lake Tahoe’s largest free live music event. Food and wine are available for purchase from local vendors, and attendees are welcome to bring picnics, blankets and low back chairs to enjoy a fun, relaxing evening by the lake.

“Concerts at Commons Beach is a Sunday afternoon summer tradition at Lake Tahoe,” said JT Chevallier, executive direct of the nonprofit Tahoe City Downtown Association. “We’re excited to welcome locals and visitors back to the beach to enjoy the strong lineup of musicians on the schedule, sing, dance and have fun!”

Concerts At Commons Beach 2018

The 2018 Concerts On Commons Beach Schedule

June 17: Dead Winter Carpenters
Tahoe’s own Dead Winter Carpenters blends Americana roots-rock with a tinge of straightforward ‘tell-it-like-it-is’ Alt. Country to bring hard-hitting performances that are as edgy as they are whimsical. The band pushes and pulls at musical boundaries with top-notch, live performances while walking the line with unexpected musical flair. With an unbridled spirit and an authentic approach to songwriting, the experience of an evening with Dead Winter Carpenters epitomizes what live music is all about.
June 24: Groove Foundry | Drop Theory
Tahoe City’s own Groove Foundry features a trio of powerhouse horns over smokin' hot funky six-piece rhythm section, featuring gritty vocals and impressive solos.

Drop Theory hails from North Lake Tahoe and their infectious, high-energy music fuses the solid gold sounds of past decades with their own modern style.

July 1: Jimmy Leslie’s Guitarfish Family Band

Jimmy Leslie is somewhat of a musical renaissance man on the San Francisco Bay Area scene. He’s a freak “freehand” guitarist with a funky roots rock style, a soaring soulful singer, and a bona fide multi-faceted writer. Leslie’s groovy songs flow like water, as do the features he pens each month for Guitar Player and Bass Player magazines.

July 8: Peter Joseph Burtt & The Kingtide | Sam Ravenna Band / Kai & The Monsters

Peter Joseph Burtt draws from many sources and chronicles the years that he spent living and studying with master musicians of Africa. Much of his music is played on traditional instruments like the 26 stringed kora and the Mbira, as well as the guitar with soulful vocals. The Kingtide’s live performance is original, exciting and inspiring for the dancers in the crowd.

Blending ingredients of electro funk, hip-hop and classic and modern soul, Sam Ravenna pulls together an all star band consisting of players from some of the best touring acts in the country. He is a seasoned touring musician, and has produced a handful of records for artist around Lake Tahoe and national touring acts. His own projects, the funk powerhouse "Rapplesauce" and the reggae-dub project "Samily Man" have received critical acclaim.

From the Tahoe Truckee School of Music, Lake Tahoe's all kid band Kai & The Monsters will play the great songs of Herbie Hancock, Queen, and The Beatles to name a few.

July 15: Gene Avaro Jr. | Desert Rhythm Project

Hailing from Joshua Tree, California, Gene Evaro Jr’s sound is a mixture of soul, folk, electronic and funk. Gene Evaro Jr has the power and dexterity of Earth, Wind & Fire, and the music has the soulful craftsmanship of Stevie Wonder. Evaro can sing, play and lead in a way that brings to mind Stephen Stills or Prince.

Desert Rhythm Project is a neo-roots, reggae, funk, soul band from California’s Mojave Desert and fronted by desert natives, Michael Reyes and Bryanna Evaro. The band has had the pleasure of playing reputable music festivals including the Joshua Tree Music Festival 2013-2016, Dabolition Derby, Mt. Baldy’s Elevated Summer Solstice 2014 and 2015. Reyes and Evaro have received the prestigious Coachella Valley Music Award for “Best Duo” and “Best Reggae Band” in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

July 22: SambaDá

Dubbed the West Coast’s hottest Brazilian band by promoters, journalists and fans, SambaDá musically unites the Americas. Based in the rich musical traditions of Brazil, SambaDá also references salsa and cumbia, and blends them playfully with funk and reggae beats. The band is known for its high-energy percussion, danceable grooves and visually dynamic show.

July 29: Todo Mundo | The Beer Gardeners

Todo Mundo has undergone a transformation and will now be creating under a new name, ‘Within’. Led by Colombian born singer, guitarist, songwriter and humanitarian, Santiago Orozco, Within is a voice for compassion, equality, acceptance and love, delivered through irrepressible rhythms that bring audiences to their feet.

The Beer Gardeners are Lake Tahoe’s strictly casual, good time, fun, rockin’, beer and peanuts bar and party band. The group has been entertaining enthusiastic North Tahoe music-lovers since 1991. Known for tying together random classic songs into long medleys, spontaneous wardrobe changes, and ad-hoc, 10-minute tambourine and shaker solos, The Beer Gardeners have weathered the test of time.

August 5: Mumbo Gumbo

For over 25 years, Mumbo Gumbo has been one of Northern California's top groups, releasing nine original albums and collecting numerous Sammie and Best of Sacramento awards. The seven-piece band tours the Western United States, bringing their genre-bending Americana music to their many fans. Their big musical stew contains elements of soul, zydeco, folk, blues, rock, Cajun, Caribbean, and country all mixed into their uniquely festive roots-music sound.

August 12: Ideateam | Serina Dawn + Mark Sexton

Ideateam is a 10-piece ensemble driven to fuse influences together in a fresh way. Loaded with two guitars, bass, drums, percussion, brass section, and soulful vocals, the group explores the corridors of groove while flipping through styles like a deck of cards, flowing in and around various genres and noticeably leaning on the funk.

Serina Dawn & Mark Sexton (The Sextones will get you on your feet! This duo will treat the Tahoe City crowd with catchy beats and smooth vocal melodies. They hail from Northern Nevada and are regulars within the Reno music scene.

August 19: Poor Man’s Whiskey

Poor Man’s Whiskey is Northern California’s outlaw music, bringing a reputation for high-energy live shows and an incomparable fusion of bluegrass/old time, southern rock, and old school jam to stages and festivals worldwide. This “High-Octane Hootenanny” will certainly delight those interested in a foot-stompin good time. Poor Man’s Whiskey has evolved into a ragged, spontaneous beast pulling from equally deep wells of story-telling originals, expertly crafted covers and zany on-stage shenanigans.

August 26: Midtown Social

The Bay Area’s favorite soul party band, Midtown Social’s freshly squeezed blend of California soul, funk, and rock is downright irresistible. Midtown Social is a nine-piece tour-de- force. But it’s more than just a band. Together, these nine musicians are a collaborative community of writers, arrangers and artists. When they’re on stage, they invite you into the family.

September 2: Joy & Madness

An eight-piece soul and funk explosion out of Sacramento that could be described as Jamiroqui meets J. Geils, Joy & Madness has been rocking stages all over the West Coast since inception. With a raucous mix of raw stonesy energy, pulsing groove, and juicy horn lines coloring tightly crafted songs, Joy & Madness brings a modern classic pop sensibility to a new age of joyous funk and soul.

Concerts at Commons Beach’s free shows are supported through the generosity of community individual and business sponsors. Sponsors are still being accepted for 2018. Learn more at www.concertsatcommonsbeach.com.

For more information about upcoming events and things to do in Tahoe City this summer, visit www.visittahoecity.org, follow us on Instagram @visittahoecity or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VisitTahoeCity.

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