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Monterey International Blues Festival Saturday, May 13, noon-6pm Monterey County Fair & Event Center, Monterey T his is the fir st attempt to revive the Monterey Bay Blues Festival that went into bankruptcy more than a decade ago. Organizers wisely decided to start small, for one day only, and booked a handful of tried-and-true artists and one stage rather than multiple stages. Artists include Chicago (and now Bay Area) blues leg- end Charlie Musselwhite; guitarist-singer Mighty Mike Schermer ; singer Ms. Taylor P. Collins; local legend John "Broadway" Tucker ; and more to be announced. Expect all the trappings of a music festival, with food, beer and wine, vendors and exhibits. Some of the proceeds go to benefit Guitars Not Guns and The Salvation Army. www.montereyinternationalbluesfestival.com. HipNic IX May 19-21 Fernwood Resort, Big Sur G igantic music festivals like Coachella and Outside Lands may get all the headlines, but smaller, more laid-back homegrown music fests like HipNic are really where it's at. Now in its 9th year, HipNic not only has an eclectic line- up headed by alt-country/rock stalwarts The Mother Hips, Jackie Greene, Chuck Prophet and Jonathan Richman, but lesser-known bands such as Vetiver, Little Wings and The Waco Brothers. There is camping on-site and late-night sets at Fernwood Resort. Camping passes will most likely be gone by now, but single-day tickets should be available. Come and enjoy the vibes and help support the Big Sur community. And carpool if you're coming just for one day. www.folkyeah.com. May 24-29 Lightning in a Bottle Lake San Antonio, Bradley May 26-28 Cali Roots Festival Monterey County Fair & Event Center, Monterey I t's kind of a shame that two of the biggest music festivals of the summer, at least in terms of attendance and notoriety, take place on the same weekend, as it happens, the long three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend. Both appeal to a young, hip audience and both usually sell out. Cali Roots (officially the California Roots Music and Arts Festival) features a rousing reggae-rock lineup, including Rebelution, Matisyahu, Dirty Heads, Nas, Iration and Soja, while Lightning in a Bottle is mostly about the DJs and the mind- bending lights-and-techno experience with Bassnectar, Bonobo, Rufus Du Sol and many, many more. LIB, in fact, is considered a smaller, more intimate version of Burning Man, while Cali Roots has become one of the biggest (if not the best) reggae rock festivals in the country. But ya gotta pick one. Unless you've figure out how to clone yourself. www.californiarootsfestival.com and lightninginabottle.org. Santa Cruz American Music Festival May 27-28, 11am-7pm Aptos Village Park, Aptos T his hybrid music festival, now in its third year taking over from the Santa Cruz Blues Festival, may have finally found its groove with this year's powerful lineup. Headliners like Melissa Etheridge, The Rides with Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg, The Devil Makes Three, and Mavis Staples, will do that. Not EVERYONE LOVES A LIST, RIGHT? HERE ARE MY PICKS FOR FUN EVENTS WORTH CHECKING OUT IN MONTEREY COUNTY! ADMIT ONE W I T H M A C M C D O N A L D ADMIT ONE W I T H M A C M Charlie Musselwhite will perform at the Monterey International Blues Festival. HipNic IX is May 19-21 at Fernwood Resort in Big Sur. 88 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 Photo: Terry Way Photography