GOODNIGHT, MISS LULU WHITE: A Lullaby For High Sierra 2025 [B.Getz on L4LM]
photo: Andrew Quist
originally published via Live For Live Music
In its 33rd iteration, the iconic High Sierra Music Festival returned to Quincy, California on July 3rd–6th, the grandaddy of ‘em all delivering another heart-filling affair that may have scaled down in attendance but leveled up an already sky-high vibe. Though in the run-up to the event, the festival’s flailing finances and uncertain future made mainstream media waves, the old-school, still-independent shindig offered a searing smorgasbord of sound art from sea to shining sea, providing as potent an experience as possible in this current economical/festival/cultural climate.
My own High Sierra journey began with a life-affirming, coast-to-coast adventure back in 2003 when I was just 25 years old. It was such an impactful, formative excursion that it played a role in my moving from Philly to NorCal a decade later. The annual hoedown has evolved into a glorious gathering of performance art, villaging, dancing, and eclectic folklore, soundtracked by beloved jam heroes, global purveyors of groove, and tomorrow’s next big thing; so many stars of today cut their proverbial teeth on these very same stages. Maintaining an intimate atmosphere and remaining relatively unchanged despite the increasingly commercialized festival landscape has earned High Sierra generations of dedicated, returning throngs who consider this sacred jamboree a family reunion of sorts.
Set in the picturesque backdrop of the High Sierras, with bounteous, towering, fragrant pines framing the fest and Bob Ross-like snow-capped mountains painted in the distance, this event itself is an energy. Afternoons were far less hot than the recent norm, mostly topping out in the high 80s after a decade flirting with triple digits. Small advance adjustments were made to try and mitigate previous concerns: the Grandstand no longer had a separate security check and the fest shifted scheduling to account for oppressive heat; the brand-new, indoor/outdoor shady Lagniappe Lounge was an immediate hit. Four bright, sunshiny days unfurled breathtaking golden hours, before eventually giving way to the nocturnal blessing of a cool mountain breeze as transcendent jams wore on deep into the night.
High Sierra Music Festival 2025 Excerpts
[Video: Brian Smiley]
The storied history of High Sierra dates back to 1991’s humble debut in Leland Meadows, California—a steady NorCal staple on 4th of July weekend ever since. In 1998, HSMF decamped to the sprawling Plumas County Fairgrounds, an ever-inviting homebase since the dawn of the millenium. Ideal for a mid-size, multi-stage, family-friendly festival, the cozy confines boast 60-plus acres of open space and meadows, lush greenery, basic camping facilities, and a racetrack/grandstand that transforms into the HSMF main stage.
Though HSMF is among the last few truly independents of its size, scope, influence, community, and history, post-pandemic the event has suffered staggering incremental declines in attendance and national attention. High Sierra made its bones with a tried and true headliner formula; after three consecutive years trending in the wrong direction, 2025’s lineup embraced a new business model. The event eschewed increasingly expensive bold-font bookings and instead focused on a myriad of genre-smashing mid-card options, in essence the heart-and-soul of High Sierra since the early days.
I spoke with festival producer Dave Margulies in the days leading up, when there was a chance he would be forced to cancel the event, he thoroughly explained his vision for this new modus operandi and why it was necessary, at once a sobering conversation about the reality of the economic situation, and an inspired look at the magnificent musical exploits to come. Beyond 2025, the pioneering festival’s future remains foggy; a last-minute, impulse/loyalty surge in ticket sales was essential to any shot at survival.
Going into the big weekend, there was a palpable sense of unease, even dread. But once people arrived on site, enthusiastically grabbed land and built kaleidoscopic villages galore, the music began to play, the freaks started to dance, and there was nothing but pure joy and reverie in the air from Thursday afternoon until late Sunday night.
Treasured filial traditions continued unabated: copious cross-pollinating collabs, intimate Artist Playshops and songwriter-driven Troubadour Sessions, legendary late-night ragers, around-the-clock renegade/guerilla jam sessions and theme parties dotting the campgrounds. As is custom, a healthy serving of New Orleans artists and culture were woven into the California hippie dream. Festival-goers tapped into yoga and other workshops, a Shabbat tent and family camp activities, artsy vendors, the famed sunrise wook kickball circus, and daily Second Line brass band parades that snaked their way across the Fairgrounds.
Despite some folks fretting about a “lack of headliners,” loyalists that trusted the brand’s track record and taste were overwhelmingly rewarded with an embarrassment of riches. My three-plus days at High Sierra were spent pinging from stage to stage with precious few moments to rest/recharge or bathe, the action was absolutely packed every waking moment no matter what fever was your flavor. As such, this forthcoming reflection may not cover many of the incredible performances that went down across HSMF 2025. For every band or moment mentioned, there’s a half dozen equally impactful that were missed or omitted. What follows is a smattering of highlights that had the whole festival buzzing, and a laser focus on just a handful of your humble narrator’s personal faves.
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country With Jennifer Hartswick – “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine) – 7/4/25
[Video: Chicopelli]
Judging by the fashion with which the High Sierra masses responded/reacted to the return of Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, it’s safe to say that the band is a surefire headliner; the dude was the talk of Quincy-town all weekend long. Cosmic Country’s Friday night Grandstand performance was punctuated by an appearance from Artist-at-Large Jennifer Hartswick on “Tell Me I’m A Lover” and the stirring “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine). Donato also rocked a late-night frame, and found time to join Dogs In A Pile, dueling with Jimmy Law in the Vaudeville Tent on “Joseph’s Dream” (John Hartford). The Jersey boys themselves made one helluva an impression at their first HSMF, performing twice to large crowds early in the weekend, plus their Dogs Play Dead playshop was a pleasant, unscheduled surprise to those lucky in the know.
Warmly received delivering mostly original material, Karina Rykman had a triumphant experience making her High Sierra debut. Flanked by longtime guitarist Adam November and sub drummer Andres Valbuena (Melt), Karina welcomed a bevy of guests across two buoyant sets: Friday on the Grandstand, Brian Murray (Dogs In A Pile) for “Springtheme” > “City Kids”, Ms. Hartswick for “No Occasion” and “Genius of Love” (Tom Tom Club). Saturday’s Big Meadow saw Rykman collab with Mikaela Davis (harp) for the first time on “Joyride” and “Plants”, and later bassist/HSMF OG Reed Mathis got his Paul Leary on during “Pepper” (Butthole Surfers). Karina could also be found mixing it up in the middle of the moshpit mishpucha during Friday’s frenetic Andy Frasco & the U.N. set on Big Meadow, just a few hours after he rained down crazy cats from Dogs In A Pile, and spread some good-natured chaos to close the Vaudeville on Thursday night.
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Other HSMF 2025 standouts include the Helm Family Midnight Ramble that went down Saturday night at the Grandstand, a hearty singalong of the highest order. Up and coming NorCal funksters Diggin’ Dirt and Smoked Out Soul both threw down some serious dance parties throughout the weekend. Various other high points include the sublime psychedelic serenity of Mikaela Davis; the enigmatic, ravishing Rainbow Girls; Mescalito doing The Beatles; playshops for Simon and Garfunkel, Linda Rondstadt; festy faves ALO and the divine Ms. Anna Moss gettin’ all grown ‘n’ sexy with Sade’s steamy “Smooth Operator”.
People reveled in the return of “supergroup” Surprise Me Mr. Davis; the mystery of Whiskerman, the eccentric freak-jazz of Punkadelick (with guitarists/HSMF fam Eric McFadden and Scott Pemberton, plus Steve Berlin of Los Lobos sitting in on sax), Bamba Wassoulu Groove‘s searing afrobeat, funky organ trio du jour Parlor Greens, blues-rocker/riot grrl Pamela Parker; the celestial majesty of Holly Bowling’s piano prowess; Bay Area hip-hop icon Lyrics Born; Jonathan Scales Fourquestra‘s mind-boggling sorcery; The Meters tribute for Guitarmageddon; and High Sierra troubadour laureate Steve Poltz (with countless collabs and sit-ins), just to name a fabulous few.
Steve Poltz With Nikki Glaspie & Mike Dillon – “Forever Young” (Bob Dylan) – 7/5/25
[Video: Chicopelli]
B.Getz’s High Sierra ’25 Best of the Blessed
Mitchum Yacoub – Vaudeville Tent, late night Friday 7/4
Egyptian-born, San Diego-based producer/multi-instrumentalist Mitchum Yacoub was nothing short of a revelation to close out the Vaudeville Tent late night on Friday’s 4th of July fiesta. After a lengthy soundcheck delayed embarkation, patient peeps were blessed and Baptized rather thoroughly. Eventually, a swollen ensemble swarmed the stage and served a tantalizing concoction of Cumbia, Afrobeat, Soul/R&B, and Reggae, drizzled with hybrid strains of Dominican merengue, Cuban guaracha and rumba. We were collectively enraptured by a pair of elegant empresses singing and dancing center stage, as Yacoub whipped the Vaudeville into a tantric, torrid, throbbing frenzy of movement art and Zen aerobics, through songs culled from his 2023 debut LP, Living High In The Brass Empire. To close out this most ecstatic dance, Mitchum Yacoub and company (joined by even more horns) uncorked a euphoric take on Afrobeat godfather Fela Kuti’s “Water Get No Enemy”, dubbed “Cumbia Get No Enemy”. After dialing up the dance floor nuke with the traditional Nigerian arrangement, the contingent flipped the script and reimagined it in a Cumbia style that detonated the joy fantastic—and by proxy, the HSMF natives were restless.
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Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars – Vaudeville Tent, Sunday 7/6
Emphatically recommended by both Margulies and singer-songwriter Sari Jordan (more on them later), Crescent City phenoms Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars made their HSMF debut and overdelivered the goods. Fronted by the scintillating Salvatore “Sally Baby” Geloso on guitar and lead vocals, ably assisted by Zach Valentine (upright bass), Nathan Wolman (trumpet), James Beaumont (sax), Steve De Troy (piano), Jesse Armerding (drums), and Oliver Tuttle of The California Honeydrops (trombone). After introducing themselves to High Sierra at the Lagniappe Lounge midday Friday, these Tiny Desk finalists sizzled and stunned a packed Vaudeville tent early Sunday afternoon. An intoxicating anachronism that pays passionate tribute to classy eras gone by, Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars set about stirring up an emotional elixir that soon had the people howling.
The retro krewe channeled pioneering Creole jazz bands of the roarin’ 1920s blended with seminal New Orleans R&B from 35 years later, a few blasts of Second Line brass, a smidge of Calypso, some Sunday Gospel by way of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and seaux much more. In between tunes, the bandleader spun yarns around the muse and waxed equal parts nostalgic and political. After flooring fans for a solid hour on both Sal and Oliver’s birthday, the septet hit the home stretch in full, fabulous stride. Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars’ penultimate number was the time-traveling “Goodnight Miss Lulu White”, a terrific dose of storytelling-in-song that tore the house down with a rapturous authority. Sal patiently unspooled a mesmerizing lullaby in honor of the famed Storyville madame, a diamond queen of the “sporting gentlemen” who frequented the infamous Mahogany Hall.
Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini – Lagniappe Lounge, Saturday & Sunday 7/5–6
Wife/husband duo Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini performed twice in the newly constituted Lagniappe Lounge, a cool, shady indoor venue making its HSMF debut. Natalie is an accomplished trombonist and singer/songwriter, having logged many years with Trey Anastasio Band before embarking on this endeavor with her partner, the Berkeley-born Brazilian virtuoso Faquini (guitar/vocals). Basking in the Brazilian songwriting traditions, their sublime sets were mostly made up of exquisite original music, pristine compositions delivered primarily in Brazilian-accented Portuguese. Delicate, ornate acoustic guitar and romantic trombone melodies created a foundation for the pair’s spine-tingling two-part vocal harmonies. Both sets saw them dig into a classic cover with Cressman on lead vocals; her familiar reading of Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” was typically lovely, yet when Natalie and Ian summoned the ghost of Jerry Garcia on “Stella Blue”, the tears flowed freely to this devastatingly beautiful rendering of this beloved Hunter/Garcia ballad.
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The SLiP – Big Meadow, 7/4 & Vaudeville Tent, 7/4 [Plus Surprise Me Mr. Davis x2 & Barr Brothers x2]
Hailing from the Northeast toting a quarter-century legacy under their arm, The SLiP are certified High Sierra royalty. The celebrated trio were once perennial regulars before quasi-disbanding to focus on other projects (like Barr Brothers, who also returned to HSMF for a pair of sets, as did Surprise Me Mr. Davis – their cherished collab with the Mayor of High Sierra Nathan Moore). Andrew and Brad Barr (drums and guitar/vocals, respectively) reunited with bassist Marc Friedman as The SLiP for two thrilling frames that satiated longtime Stans and curious newbies alike. Brimming with raw reminders of their limitless styles, timeless chestnuts, deep cuts drizzled with all the fixin’s; this was tres leches with familiar faces filling out the first few rows. Thursday evening’s Big Meadow set saw these gents keep it pretty old-school, exploring fan faves “Get Me With Fuji”, “Even Rats”, and “Children of December”.
The following afternoon at Vaudeville, after a set-opening “Paper Birds” The SLiP invited organist Maxwell Friedman (no relation) to make the group a quartet for the duration of the performance. Since he was in elementary school, Maxwell grew up onstage as a local wunderkind sitting in with various HSMF artists, it was wonderful to see him return to the scene thriving as a young man, rocking a fly afro and goatee while still lacing the keys like lava. The second SLiP set leaned more indie-rock than improv jammin’, yet included a rollicking “Wolof” that saw Brad and Maxwell push one another and the envelope too. Anchoring the foundational pull was the ever-sturdy Marc Friedman, costumed in drag, focused on the groove, forever flanked by the brothers Barr. Drummer Andrew humbly impressed all weekend long, his lyrical style, finesse touch, and controlled fury still among the finest in the game however many years on down the number line. Appropriately, The SLiP’s final transmission in Quincy was 2007’s obtuse, porcelain ballad “If One Of Us Should Fall”, no doubt a gripping, reliable nugget that still fills up the ol’ ticker.
The SLiP With Maxwell Friedman – “If One Of Us Should Fall” – 7/4/25
[Video: yodycat]
The Rumble ft. Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. – Vaudeville Tent, late night Saturday 7/5, Sunday 7/6
Dedicated to the preservation and elevation of Black Masking Indian traditions, New Orleans-based The Rumble stormed into Quincy for two searing sets at the Vaudeville tent. Several band members had played HSMF before with a previous project, but make no mistake, this was The Rumble’s NorCal coming-out party, a swanky soiree of the highest and flyest order. The Saturday midnight closing sesh, a pristine booking slot in the annals of High Sierra history, saw the septet more than rise to the occasion, letting folks know how it goes “Down in the City”, “Uptown” was comin’ for ya, and these boys were lookin’ for “Trouble”. A brotherhood comprised of Aurélien Barnes (trumpet/percussion), José Maize Jr. (trombone)
TJ Norris (bass/vocals), Ari Teitel (guitar/vocals), Andriu ‘Yano’ Yanovski (keys/percussion), Trenton O’Neal (drums), and fronted by the always-bedazzled Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.—a “Wildman” floating around the stage in the prettiest suit—the kinetic krewe ferociously blended Mardi Gras Indian funk with brass band bombast, sprinkling elements of jazz and hip-hop; the sum of these potent parts a gluttonous gumbo that prompted a wave of tailfeather-shaking from the stage to the rage. Lusty, loose, and limber, The Rumble made a gang of new believers, making us all “Bow Down” to the “Golden Crown”. High Sierra rolled the weed, The Rumble “Got That Fiya”, and this mycelial two-hour tour de force delivered a damn close approximation of late-night NOLA Jazz Fest dance-floor euphoria.
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Handmade Moments with special guest Sari Jordan – Bitchin’ Kitchen, Friday 7/4; Lagniappe Lounge, Saturday 7/5; Big Meadow, Sunday 7/6, [Plus Sari Jordan]
Over the past decade or so, idiosyncratic duo Handmade Moments have woven themselves deeply into High Sierra’s familial afghan. Multi-instrumentalists Anna Moss and Joel Ludsford push the envelope of what’s humanly possible at HSMF, not only performing twice on official stages, but also spilling out into Troubadour sessions, renegade sets at legendary camp Bitchin’ Kitchen, Artist Playshops, collabs and sit-ins, and random 5 a.m. folk jams in the street too. The pair’s soulful punk-folk-hop utilizes an instrumental arsenal of saxophone, bass clarinet, sousaphone, mandolin, guitar, and beatboxing to craft a creatively quirky original sound and presentation. Anna and Joel mined their catalog all over the fairgrounds all weekend long, tapping tunes from their albums Paw Paw Tree, End the Wars, Number Ones, and a couple fresh compositions—plus cutty covers like their beloved arrangement of Aaliyah’s “Tell Me You’re That Somebody”, always a hoot.
Handmade Moments brought an auxiliary member along for their first HSMF in singer/songwriter Sari Jordan, introducing the festival to this NOLA-based phenom on a meteoric come-up. Sari, who also sings in Anna Moss’ solo group, had a prolific High Sierra debut adventure. They joined Handmade Moments for a sizable portion of the duo’s stage time, thrice over. In fact, on Big Meadow Sunday afternoon, Anna and Joel backed Sari as they unveiled a brand new song Sari had just written a week or so earlier—working title “More/Less Human”.
Across roughly one hundred hours onsite, Sari sang backing vocals for Handmade Moments (often alongside Lori Shook and Rainbow Girls), contributed to the Simon & Garfunkel playshop and later Troubadour Sessions, jammed late night at campsites with various HSMF vets. On Sunday evening, Sari was offered a solo set during the golden hour at Bitchin’ Kitchen performing their original music, augmented by Anna, Joel, Lori, Oliver Tuttle, and others. Joining Everyone Orchestra to close out the Grandstand, Sari took the lead on the very last song. A few minutes later, the clock struck twelve bells and the (re)birth of “Stage Baby” was official; as was the 33rd High Sierra Music Festival, which went out on a very special, sacred note for your humble narrator.
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A deep bow of eternal gratitude to the good folks who make High Sierra happen. You know who you is—past, present, and Jah-willing, future. Fans shall find out the festival’s fate soon enough, but in the meantime, hug the homies and hold tight to the memories we made. If this was indeed the last dance in Quincy-town, we most definitely went out with a proper bang.
“Well, lift up the veil
so you may see
this grand spectacle
of our society.
Twirl around in circles,
her ghost forever there she’ll stay.
Retellin’ the tales
of this endless masquerade.
So, goodnight
Miss Lulu White.
All your diamonds
shine like stars so bright.”
(c) Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars
words: B.Getz