First Festival (the second First Festival) was this past weekend, and yes, you should have been there!

Conceived in Chaos, First Festival, 2016

This past weekend saw Sacramento's second First Festival, held in Southside Park; a wonderful location with plenty of shade trees (it was hot, this is Sacramento, this is June), meandering paths along which many cool vendors set up shop (I sampled delicious coffee, corn-in-a-cup, french fries, a henna tattoo, admired the jewellry and the clothing, found out about a great boarding kennel for the next dog I might have one day, drank loads of water... everything was reasonably priced and good)... three stages, one sponsored by Submerge Magazine, one by Cloud, and one in the Craft Beer Lounge, an open-air hangout with yes crafty, local beer...

Face the Horizon, First Festival, 2016

The second First: last year, First Festival began on May 23rd, in West Sacramento, with 18 bands: this year, it grew to 43 bands! All good, all local, all music, all-in-all, a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

Surviving The Era, First Festival, 2016

The lineup this year: many of the best of local Sacramento bands; all genres ranging from pure folk to rockabilly-rock-n-roll to heavy, thrashy metal and more. And every one of the bands putting on their best-yet show. (Sometimes it takes an event like this to show just how much talent this city and suburbs has. And not only were the performers there, but also members of other local bands who were not in this years lineup. but there to support their friends and colleagues and to have a good time. Father's day? The children were there too... and even an inflatable obstacle course, more fun than any bouncy castle!)

Heat of Damage, First Festival, 2016

The murals on the Southside Park amphitheater, used as the Cloud stage, made for a wonderful backdrop to the music. You'll see from the photos (which I will be busy with for a while: check back here often to see updates on the galleries, links below). The murals were created by the Sacramento-based art collective, Royal Chicano Air Force, founded by artists José Montoya and Esteban Villa.

Slaves of Manhattan, First Festival, 2016

Standouts for me during the sunlight hours were Heat of Damage, the young rockers from Folsom who played both days of the festival; Surviving the Era, who have a new EP available now, Conceived in Chaos, The Nickel Slots, Slaves of Manhattan... really good to see Zeroclient again... great to hear some nice folk music too, a hurdy-gurdy, a mandolin... heck, it was all good!

And I came away with a new must-listen-to-again list.

Chowderheart & Friends, First Festival, 2016

The only thing missing was the huge crowd. And all I can say is this: you really, really should have been there.

More information about First Festival: http://www.firstfestivalsacramento.com/

Photo galleries: this list will be updated as the photos are published:

- Conceived In Chaos
- Heat of Damage (Saturday)
- Surviving the Era
- Chowderheart & Friends
- Face The Horizon