Central Coast Oyster Festival announces music lineup for June 16

While the focus at the inaugural Central Coast Oyster Festival is definitely the world-renowned oysters of Morro Bay, an impressive and widely varied line-up of headlining bands is also scheduled to perform, including viral internet sensation, Walk Off The Earth.



The multi-talented Canadian indie band, whose cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” is performed by five musicians on one guitar, has dominated YouTube with over 100 million hits, and has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Walk Off The Earth was recently signed to Columbia Records and will perform at the Central Coast Oyster Festival as part of its 2012 international tour.



“We are so lucky to have attracted the likes of Walk Off The Earth,” said Jacqueline Delaney, Marketing and Sales Director for OPTIONS Family of Services. “They will complement the Oyster Festival’s off-beat, high-end culture nicely.”



Also performing as part of the Oyster Festival’s full-day entertainment schedule is Bay Area progressive bluegrass band, Hot Buttered Rum, which has performed at such exclusive festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Newport Folk Festival, and South by Southwest. The San Francisco Chronicle has said of the band, “Few things rejuvenate the soul like a warm fireside drink after an exhausting day in the snow. Hot Buttered Rum has that effect.”



Local live electronic dance music group TROPO will also bring its high energy to the Central Coast Oyster Festival. The band features a unique blend of violin, percussion, spectral pads, and bass that produces a vibe both tribal and urban. TROPO’s atmospheric sound regularly draws a crowd of hoopers and fire dancers that will attend this event and perform, complemented by art installations from annual Burning Man hooping posse, Spin Cycle. Local group The Neon Russell Band is also scheduled to perform its own brand of “redneck blues” and obscure covers.



Tickets for this full-day experience of all things authentically Central Coast are $20 and are available at www.CentralCoastOysterFestival.org. The first annual Central Coast Oyster Festival is sponsored by the Morro Bay Oyster Company, the Morro Bay Golf Course, the City of Morro Bay, Tap It Brewing, Element Solar, KRUSH Radio, New Times, The Cities of Los Osos/Baywood Park, Cayucos Abalone Farm, Guerrilla Gardening Club, and ECO Rotary for a Zero Waste Event.



The Central Coast Oyster Festival is a celebration of local oysters to benefit OPTIONS Family of Services, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people with disabilities achieve their goals, dreams and rightful place as full citizens of their communities. The Festival features the delectable oysters of the Morro Bay Oyster Company and fresh local produce in the hands of the area’s best chefs, paired with award-winning local wine, beer, and spirits. In addition, the event includes a spirited oyster-shucking competition, live entertainment, and an enticing “Aphrodisiac Lounge.” The first annual Central Coast Oyster Festival is scheduled for June 16 from 12-8 P.M. at the Morro Bay Golf Course.

For tickets or more information, please visit www.CentralCoastOysterFestival.org.