Petaluma festival brings music to community, schools

The Petaluma Music Festival is set to rock the city Aug. 6, bringing both nationally-renowned artists as well as local favorites to the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds to raise funds to support music in schools|

The Petaluma Music Festival is more than just a day-long celebration of music – it’s become a well-loved event that helps brings music to the community year-round.

Now in its ninth year, the fundraiser to support music programs in local public schools is bringing a solid lineup of nationally-renowned musicians to the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds for a family-friendly event Aug. 6.

The 15 acts on the bill include Sacramento-based singer-songwriter Jackie Greene, San Francisco rock and California soul act The Mother Hips, Sebastopol psychedelic rock Steve Kimock and Friends as well as Petaluma’s own Americana group The David Nelson Band and locals Saffell and The Grain.

In past years, the festival lineup has drawn from eclectic styles of music, but Executive Director Cliff Eveland said he decided to narrow the scope for the event.

“This year we decided to go with a lot of similar styles on the main stage,” he said. “I’m hoping to really tap into the fact that if you like this one particular band, you’ll probably like all these other bands.”

A fourth acoustic stage has been added to this year’s event, which is expected to draw 4,000 attendees, up from 3,500 festival goers last year. The event has raised $145,000 to help support music in schools, with uses for funds including acquiring new instruments, repairing existing equipment and purchasing sheet music, Eveland said.

As a music teacher at Petaluma High School for 20 years, Eveland gets a firsthand look at how the festival is giving local programs a boost.

“We would have to find a way to cut back and maybe not be able to do as much as we’re able to if weren’t for the money from the festival,” he said.

The fundraiser was born in 2008 after Eveland and his colleagues sought a way to bolster funding for his school’s music department. They approached the Chamber of Commerce about staging a 5K “Tuba Trot” run that would coincide with the annual Waterfront Jazz Festival. When the chamber told the group that it might not be holding the festival, Eveland volunteered to help out with the event.

“We regrouped and talked about it, and since none of us knew about anything about 5K runs, we decided we were going to try to run the music festival with the Chamber of Commerce,” he said.

After the first year, the chamber stepped back and Eveland began to build the nonprofit organization behind the festival while the yearly event continued to gain popularity.

The first two years of the festival were tough, but Eveland said it’s evolved to be a pillar of Petaluma’s hometown culture.

“I think it’s now become an event that the community rallies around and supports and looks forward to. It’s nice to think we’re involved in an event that people rally around and enjoy, and I think it’s part of what Petaluma is about, just like Butter and Egg Days,” he said.

Eveland said he dedicates an estimated 1,500 hours annually to organizing the festival, which is manned with between 250 to 300 volunteers, but he said it’s worth it to bring the event to the community.

“The benefit of the extra money to all the music programs and how that encourages student to participate in music in schools is something I believe in. I think it’s important that every student has the opportunity to have music as part of learning at school,” he said, adding that “seeing how many people are having a great time,” is an added bonus.

Tickets are $45 for general admission at petalumamusicfestival.org, but prices increase the day of the festival.

Students ages 13 to 17 can buy $20 tickets at the door and children age 12 and under get in free with paying adults.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.