Live Oak Music Festival announces headliners

Mark your calendars for the best Live Oak Music Festival yet! Featuring the Grammy Award-winning Indigo Girls and more than 15 other main stage acts that represent genres ranging from folk, blues, and bluegrass to zydeco, Latin, jazz and even Chinese classical music, the 24th annual Live Oak Music Festival will once again showcase some of the finest musicians in the world. The event takes place Fathers’ Day weekend, Friday-Sunday, June 15-17 in the hills near Santa Barbara.

Headliners are as follows:

· Sunday, 8:45 p.m. - Grammy-winning folk-rock duo Indigo Girls are Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, who released their fourteenth studio album, Beauty Queen Sister, in October 2011. Alternating richly textured storytelling with moody ruminations on modern-world worries, the album reveals a fierce longing for a more idyllic existence while still celebrating the extraordinary in every day living.


· Friday, 9 p.m. - The Rebirth Brass Band combines New Orleans brass band tradition with their modern signature brand of heavy funk, jazz, soul, and hip hop. The band’s most recent album, Rebirth of New Orleans, won a Grammy award earlier this year for Best Regional Roots Music Album.



· Saturday, 8:45 p.m. Carolyn Wonderland reaches into the depths of the Texas blues tradition with the wit of a poet, and is considered a musical force equipped with the soulful vocals of Janis and the guitar slinging skills of Stevie Ray. The Los Angeles Times gushes, “Carolyn Wonderland is the real deal! She's an amazing guitar player. She whistled a solo. She even played the trumpet! And damn, can she sing."



Other musicians not to miss include:

· Friday, 7 p.m. - John Doe is a singer, songwriter, actor, poet, guitarist, and bass-player whose music spans the rock, country and folk genres. He was the founder of X, one of the original L.A. punk bands and he continues to tour with them as well as with country-folk-punk band The Knitters.



· Saturday, 6:45 p.m. - James McMurtry, the Grammy-nominated and Americana Indie Award-winner, is the son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry. Said The Washington Post, “Much attention is paid to James McMurtry's lyrics, and rightfully so: He creates a novel's worth of emotion and experience in four minutes of blisteringly stark couplets propelled by electric guitar.”



· Other notable artists lined up include contemporary Latin-jazz and salsa pianist Oscar Hernández, the vintage-tinged rocking country soul of Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, the dance music of Quinn DeVeaux and the Blue Beat Review, and the Chinese music ensemble, Melody of China.



For a complete line up of acts please visit: http://www.liveoakfest.org/pp/lineup.shtml . A great way to kick off summer, the Live Oak Music Festival is a three-day concert and camping event held every year on Fathers’ Day weekend. Nestled under the oak trees of the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, Live Oak features music and activities for the entire family, including children’s programs and activities, an artwalk, arts & crafts booths, and a tent where Live Oak merchandise can be purchased.

Tickets for the festival are now available and 100% of festival proceeds benefit KCBX Public Radio, which serves San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. 2012 Live Oak Music Festival tickets, the up-to-date entertainment line-up, and complete festival information are available at www.liveoakfest.org or by calling 805-781-3030.