The American River Music Festival was an annual roots, folk, and Americana music festival held in the Coloma/Lotus area of El Dorado County, in the foothills approximately 36 miles northeast of Sacramento, directly on the South Fork of the American River.[1] Founded around 2007, it paired world-class touring acts with whitewater rafting and riverside camping until it became defunct sometime before 2017.[1][2][3] The festival was produced by South Fork Arts and Recreation (SoFAR), a Coloma-based nonprofit whose mission encompassed arts, music, and recreation in the South Fork American River Valley — and which also operates the Coloma Shuttle.[4]
At a glance
- Held in Coloma/Lotus, El Dorado County, ~36 miles northeast of Sacramento, on the South Fork of the American River.[1]
- Founded by Lotus resident and former river guide Matt Semonsen; established around 2007.[1]
- Main stage located at Henningsen Lotus Park in Lotus, California.[5][2]
- Programmed folk, Americana, blues, bluegrass, singer/songwriter, jam, and rock, with an emphasis on national touring talent.[1][2]
- Combined music with whitewater rafting, riverside camping, river walks, and jam sessions.[1][5][2]
- Broadcast live by KVMR out of Nevada City.[1]
- Described as "now-defunct" by 2017.[3]
What it was
The festival was conceived to connect the small river community of the Coloma/Lotus area with musicians and concertgoers from outside the region.[1] Founder Matt Semonsen, a longtime Lotus resident who worked as a river guide in the late 1970s, described the area as deeply tied to the South Fork of the American River, the same waterway near where James W. Marshall's 1848 gold discovery at Sutter's Mill in Coloma touched off the California Gold Rush.[1] Semonsen framed bringing national talent to a region that "normally never makes it here" as part of the festival's identity.[1]
The event blended live music with outdoor recreation. Programming included multiple riverside camping packages, a Class III whitewater rafting trip (in 2012 a 14-mile float that featured a secluded riverside acoustic concert at its midpoint), river walks that incorporated live music and, in 2012, a tribal percussion jam circle, after parties, jam sessions, live art, food, and kid-friendly activities.[1][5][2] Submerge characterized it as a small river community transformed into a "music mecca" for the weekend.[1] The festival was billed as "a celebration of music and moving water," a phrase tied to the festival's identity from at least the 2013 edition onward.[6]
History and editions
- The festival was founded by Matt Semonsen, who in 2012 said he had started it "six years ago," placing its founding around 2007.[1]
- 2012: Held Sept. 14–16. Main stage acts included Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings, Dangermuffin, the Tony Furtado Band, Poor Man's Whiskey, Wheeler Brothers, The Joe Craven Trio, and Birds of Chicago.[1]
- 2013 (7th annual): Held September 13–15 at 950 Lotus Rd, Lotus, CA 95651.[7][6] The Friday evening opened with a free Musician's Showcase at American River Resort's Events Center featuring 10 up-and-coming artists beginning at 7pm, open to the public at no charge.[8] A Festival BBQ ran at the Beer Garden on both Friday and Saturday evenings, and free shuttle service connected American River Resort to all festival venues.[8] The Saturday September 14 main stage schedule included Poor Man's Poison (12:15pm), New Monsoon (1:30pm), and Sean Hayes (3:00pm).[9]
- 2014: Held Sept. 12–14 at Henningsen Lotus Park in Lotus. Camping was offered at three sites: American River Resort, Camp Lotus, and Earthtrek.[5][2] Main stage acts included Baskery, Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash, Whitewater Ramble, The Bills, and Tommy Malone of the Subdudes.[2] Some acts also played satellite shows; Baskery performed at the Sierra Nevada House the night before their main stage set.[2]
- 2015: The 9th annual edition ran Sept. 18–21 in Coloma, with the main stage at Henningsen Lotus Park.[10][11] Main stage acts included The Infamous Stringdusters, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Dangermuffin, Nora Jane Struthers and the Party Line, Shook Twins, David Luning, David Myles, Songs of the Fall, Spark and Whisper, and Dennis Johnson and the Mississippi Ramblers.[10] Single-day admission was $50 for adults and $15 for kids 8–17; full weekend passes were $75 for adults and $20 for kids.[11]
- 2016 (10th annual): Held September 16–19 at Henningsen Lotus Park (Lotus Park), Lotus, CA.[7][12] Described by American River Resort as "Coloma Valley's biggest event," it featured 25 performing groups across the Festival Main Stage and venues throughout Coloma and Lotus.[7] Main stage acts on Saturday September 17 included Dustbowl Revival, T Sisters, The Senate, Keith Greeninger, and Achilles Wheel; main stage single-day tickets were $35.[12] Friday September 16 featured a 14-mile whitewater river trip hosted by American Whitewater Expeditions, with a riverside lunch and live music; that evening's Musician's Showcase was held at American River Resort's Event Center.[13]
- By 2017, Submerge referred to the festival as "now-defunct."[3]
The festival's ninth-anniversary billing in 2015 is consistent with the founder's roughly-2007 founding date,[1][10] and the 2016 edition's "10th annual" designation confirms continuous annual programming from 2007 through at least 2016.[7]
Programming and partners
Semonsen personally handpicked the lineup, favoring acts in the folk, Americana, blues, bluegrass, singer/songwriter, jam, and rock veins.[1][10] The festival was broadcast live by KVMR, the Nevada City station, which allotted significant airtime to the event.[1] Semonsen credited Wesley Robertson — a 20-year KVMR on-air veteran — as a key figure in the festival–KVMR collaboration, and made a personal challenge of booking acts Robertson had never heard of; in 2012 he cited Dangermuffin and Wheeler Brothers as two such acts.[1]
The annual Musician's Showcase was a recurring Friday-evening feature, held at American River Resort's Event Center, spotlighting up-and-coming artists.[13][8] In 2016, the top two Showcase winners received a "two-song tweener" slot on the main stage.[13]
South Fork Arts and Recreation (SoFAR), according to CauseIQ (EIN 83-0471185), is the Coloma-based nonprofit entity behind the festival, operating under the doing-business-as name "American River Music."[4] SoFAR's portfolio extends beyond the festival to include the Coloma Shuttle, a free community transit service in the valley.[4]
Notable performers
- Dangermuffin — a South Carolina (Charleston/Folly Beach) roots/Americana band that played the festival; a 2017 Submerge feature confirmed the band "has played" the festival and called the festival defunct at that point.[1][3]
- Baskery — a Swedish alt-country trio of sisters (Greta, Stella, and Sunniva Bondesson) who played the 2014 festival, with Sunniva's main stage set on Sept. 14.[2]
- Shook Twins — a Portland-based "quirky folk" band led by identical twins Katelyn and Laurie Shook, who played the 2015 festival on Sept. 19; Katelyn said the band had never played Sacramento before.[10][11]
- New Monsoon — a jam/roots band that performed at the 2013 festival on Saturday September 14 at 1:30pm.[9]
- Dustbowl Revival — played the 2016 (10th annual) festival on Saturday September 17.[12]
- Other booked acts included Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings, The Infamous Stringdusters, and Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers.[1][10]
Local status
The American River Music Festival is treated here as regional to Greater Sacramento: it took place in Coloma/Lotus, El Dorado County, in the foothills "approximately 36 miles northeast of Sacramento," squarely within the broader Sacramento foothills region, and was founded and run by a local Lotus resident.[1] However, its programming was explicitly built around importing national touring talent rather than showcasing Sacramento-scene artists — Semonsen described bringing "national talent to this region that normally never makes it here" as core to the festival's identity.[1] Its closest media partner (KVMR) and several adjacent venues were in Nevada City and the El Dorado foothills rather than the city of Sacramento itself.[1][2]