Festival of Blues on the Beach
The Orange County Blues Festival, which debuted last year in Dana Point, will return for a two-day run, Oct. 1 and 2.
Last year’s festival, a three-day event, drew about 22,000 people to Heritage Park. The site has been moved to Doheny State Beach in response to parking problems and neighborhood complaints encountered a year ago. The new site can seat about 7,000 fans per day, according to promoters.
Brian Setzer, James Cotton and Maria Muldaur top the bill on Oct. 1. John Mayall, Kim Wilson and Charlie Musselwhite are the headliners on Oct. 2.
Two stages will be used (but not simultaneously) to minimize delays between sets. Schedules are as follows, in order of appearance:
* Oct. 1: TBA, Robert Lucas, the Lifters, Barrelhouse, the King Brothers, Mississippi Millie, the Rhythm Lords, Maria Muldaur, James Cotton and the Brian Setzer Orchestra.
* Oct 2: Delta Ramblers, the Jive Kings, the Starlights, Lee Rocker’s Big Blue, Doyle Bramhall, James Harman Band, Randell Young, Charlie Musselwhite, Kim Wilson and John Mayall.
Shows start at 11 a.m. each day, and the closing acts are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 per day in advance, $15 at the gate. A limited number of two-day weekend passes, with preferred seating, are available for $25, in advance only. Information: (714) 645-1999 (recording) or (714) 740-2000 (Ticketmaster).
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NOW OPEN: The Firecracker Lounge is the site a new weekly, Sunday night rock soiree in Anaheim, launched as a sidelight by Tom Dumont, guitarist for the popular Anaheim band No Doubt.
The 150-capacity room--known as the Baron’s Room when rockers aren’t there--is the upstairs lounge at the Cattleman’s Wharf restaurant, 1160 W. Ball Road.
“I wandered in there a few weeks ago. They had a cheesy lounge group doing Vegas songs,” Dumont recalled. He approached restaurant management about doing something hipper on Sundays, and began his series last weekend with a show by One Hit Wonder and Box Car Wino.
The Ziggens and Eli Riddle play this Sunday, Bazooka headlines Sept. 4 and Lidsville and the Getbacks play Sept. 11. Shows start after 10 p.m., with all ages admitted. Admission is $3 or $4 to the Firecracker Lounge, which Dumont named in honor of the the room’s view of the nightly fireworks display at Disneyland.
He says he will try to keep the shows going as long as he has time left over from his commitment to No Doubt, which is still at work on a long-delayed album for Interscope Records.
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STEPPING TO THE SIDE: After more than a decade fronting his own bands, M.I.A. and Naked Soul, Costa Mesa rocker Mike Conley is settling into a sideman’s role with the San Diego band, aMiniature. Conley now plays guitar and provide backing vocals behind front man John Lee.
He decided to put his own new project, a band called Sugarfix, on hold for the time being when he hit it off with aMiniature after being introduced to the band by Fluf’s guitarist, O. aMiniature, which has released two albums and records now for Restless Records, will play Friday at 9 p.m. at Our House, 720 W. 19th St. in Costa Mesa, with Supernovice and No Knife opening.
