IF YOU GO
WHERE: 1595 N. Sierra St., Reno
WHEN: Music begins at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
WEBSITE: www.battleaxeandtracks.com
*See website for complete festival line-up and detailed ticket information
Reno is hosting a multi-day music festival this weekend with sixteen musicians and bands at Rancho San Rafael Park on Oct. 1-2. The first Battle, Axe and Tracks combines award-winning established and emerging rock, funk and blues musicians with the intimate setting of Rancho San Rafael Park. The festival features blues and rock music, activities, food trucks, bars, a guitar battle, axe throwing and more.
Headliners include national No. 1 Billboard recording artist and eight-time Grammy Award nominee Kenny Wayne Shepherd, powerhouse guitarist Samantha Fish, four-time Grammy winner Jimmie Vaughan and 10-time Grammy nominee Robert Randolph Band along with a curated lineup of nationally touring and local artists. The festival wants to keep the experience intimate for attendees, so only 4,000 tickets are being sold for the lineup.
The event kicks off today, Thursday, Sept. 29, with a good ole’ fashion guitar competition, the “Axe Battle” at NoVi nightclub inside The Row. KOZZ’s Max Volume hosts the event and 10 finalists will be giving their all to earn a coveted spot in the weekend’s festival line-up. There is also a pre-concert at Cypress in Reno, with Los Coast performing at 9 p.m. on Friday.
The music on Saturday and Sunday begins at noon with eight bands performing each day. Find the music schedule here: www.battleaxeandtracks.com.
Schedule at a glance:
Saturday, Oct. 1: Headliners Jimmie Vaughan and the Robert Randolph Band. Performers throughout the day include Six Mile Station, Jelly Bread, Robert Jon & The Wreck, Carolyn Wonderland, Los Coast, and Sue Foley.
Sunday, Oct. 2: Headliners Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Samantha Fish. Performers throughout the day include Ally Venable, King Solomon Hicks, Ian Moore, Dennis Johnson & the Mississippi Ramblers, Eric Henry Andersen Band and the winner of the Axe Battle.
Find the music schedule here: www.battleaxeandtracks.com.
Weekend tickets are $179 each for the 16 bands and on-site activities. Single-day tickets are available for $99 per day, and VIP tickets are available for $450 for the weekend with many perks, upgraded opportunities including free entrance to the Thursday night Axe Battle, a private meet and greet with selected artists, an indoor lounge and more. Tickets are available online.
Carolyn Wonderland will play at Battle, Axe and Tracks festival on Saturday.
Carolyn Wonderland brings tour to Reno with a new chapter
Carolyn Wonderland spent the last three years as lead guitarist in blues legend John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and has now joined the Alligator Records family as the first female guitar hero in the label’s storied 50-year history. She released her latest album, Tempting Fate. According to a press release, she is known for her spine-chilling, soul-deep singing that matches her guitar prowess note for note. She has a knack for writing songs that sound like instant classics.
Wonderland delivers ten riveting songs on the album, including five originals and one co-written. Her vocals range from raw and fierce to subtle and gentle. Her guitar work, on both six-string and lap steel, is often explosive and always melodic.
Submitted
Carolyn Wonderland will play at Battle, Axe and Tracks festival on Saturday. With four albums already under her belt, Wonderland moved to Austin, Texas in 1999, where she quickly earned a large and loyal following, creating plenty of press buzz and radio attention. She has been featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, NPR Music’s Mountain Stage and Austin City Limits, and has been written up in publications from the Boston Herald to the Los Angeles Times.
One day in 2003, legendary musician Ray Benson (of Asleep At The Wheel) was having lunch with his friend Bob Dylan, who had heard Wonderland’s music. Dylan asked Benson, “Hey, have you heard Carolyn Wonderland? She’s something else.” Dylan wanted to meet Wonderland, so Benson got her number from a mutual friend and called her in Houston, telling Wonderland to get to Austin immediately to meet with Dylan. She drove the 165 miles at record speed to spend some time with him. They’ve crossed paths since, sometimes jamming, sometimes just talking about music.
“He’s a true musicologist,” Wonderland says of Dylan. “Sometimes he’ll just call,” Wonderland says. “It’s always a pleasant surprise to me when he does, so I’ll likely never change my number.”
Now, with Tempting Fate, Carolyn Wonderland is excited to get back out on the road and reconnect with her fans and friends. “We will play dang near anywhere that’ll have us,” she says. Of her chosen profession, the effervescent Wonderland told NPR Music’s Mountain Stage, “I wouldn’t recommend it for the faint of heart, but it sure is a good time.”
