Toon's Tunes : City of Trees: new location, alternative-rock lineup, and lots and lots of happy faces

Sunday, September 11, 2016

City of Trees: new location, alternative-rock lineup, and lots and lots of happy faces

Panic! At The Disco fans, City of Trees festival

Noon till night yesterday, Bonney Field in Sacramento, next to the California State fairgrounds, was the home for this year's Radio 94.7 City of Trees music festival. Staying true to the radio station's mainstay, alternative rock was the theme, with Panic! At The Disco and Weezer headlining, Phantogram, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, The Unlikely Candidates and many more on the two main stages, plus lots of Sacramento bands playing too.

Brendon Urie, vocals, Panic! at the Disco

Brendon Urie, Panic! at the Disco

There will be many more band photos--just a few here today--but first, let's focus on what music festivals are all about: the people, the audience, the crowd, the people who set the whole thing up, the people who worked all day to keep everyone safe, fed, hydrated and entertained! A huge thumbs up and a major THANK YOU!!!

Happy at City of Trees

I heard people saying that they were happier with this venue than last year's: easy to park, and no dust! There were certainly a huge number of happy, smiling faces, many of them teenage girls and possibly at their first-ever music festival, and what a great introduction to the wonderful world of festivals! (A shout-out here to all the moms and dads and grandparents who were there with their kids yesterday, in the middle of the huge crowd, as hot as everyone else and standing there, all day!!!)

Weezer, City of Trees

There was laughter, there were smiles, there were tears (of happiness) and screams (of joy); there was music, there were The Struts (for me, the standout performance of the day, but then I'm an old fogie who grew up in England, and their Stones-Queen-Sweet sound was just the ticket... though the entire crowd seemed to enjoy their performance as much as I did, too! (If you have no clue who The Sweet were, click here to find out!)

The Struts, City of Trees

Bonney Field was transformed into a festival venue, with two stages, one large main stage, one smaller music discovery stage, both at the river end of the soccer pitch, with VIP areas and beer tents on the field too. By late afternoon, every spot on the playing field with a view of the stage was filled with people; the side bleachers too. Outside, food trucks and merch stands and yoga and jewelry; the Brooklyn Water Ice was yummy and there was something for everyone's hunger.

Phantogram, City of Trees

And the young ladies who had been at the front line from the moment the gates opened? They survived a very hot-and-sunny Sacramento September day. (Extra thanks to the security guys who were handing out and spraying water throughout the day!)