The following is a guest post by Stevee Stubblefield. Stevee is the founder of Do it Ourselves Presents, a homegrown Santa Cruz production company that, faced with having to cancel an upcoming show in Big Sur, rallied to relocate the event to Kuumbwa Jazz Center as a benefit the Soberanes Fire Relief Fund. Join us this Saturday for great music, art, and help support a great cause while you’re at it. Details below…
It’s impossible to tell what life will bring – none of us saw this massive fire coming. I was at Pleasure Point looking south as the first ominous plume of smoke rose to the south, sure that something was seriously wrong.
I definitely wasn’t thinking the fire would still be burning weeks later, running through the iconic canyons, pushing brave residents and firefighters to the limit. I definitely wasn’t thinking about concerts, or last-minute venue changes, or business at all. None of that stuff mattered. It paled in comparison to the gravity of the fire and the lives of those effected.
So it was a no brainer when we at Do it Ourselves Presents… decided to cancel our upcoming show at Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. There was simply no way. But how could we do something better than just cancel and give up? Could we turn it into a benefit for the fire? Or rally support somehow?
An Unsuspecting Venue Rallies with Us
As seems to happen more often than not in Santa Cruz, the community rallied together. With less than a week before the show date, Kuumbwa Jazz Center offered to open their doors and help us support the Soberanes Fire Relief Fund. People are spreading the word far and wide, mobilizing friends, family, artists, musicians and more to come out in support. The event is now becoming a display of solidarity, sending love and support to our neighbors to the south.
And on top of it all, the musicians and artists joining us on Saturday night are seriously phenomenal. We couldn’t be more grateful to have such a beautiful group willing to come together. We know it’s going to a meaningful night, and we would love for you to be there.
Tickets and Info
Tickets are available in advance at doitourselvespresents.com. Scroll down past the poster and show info below for features on night’s lineup. In the meantime, we’ll all continue to send our thoughts and prayers to those effected by the fire. Hope to see you Saturday.
Location: Kuumbwa Jazz Center
Date: Saturday, Aug. 13th
Doors: 7:00 PM
Cost: $15
Tickets: Eventbrite
Saturday’s show will not only be hosting some top-level musicians (the headliner, Futurebirds, is a premier touring act out of Georgia), but we’ll also be hosting some amazing local artists like Lucas Elmer, Coco Chispa and Emliy Meehan. We’re so excited we can’t help but share some more details about all these amazing folks. Here’s a little more about them all…
Futurebirds (Athens, GA)
It’s long been on the do it ourselves bucket list to bring Futurebirds out of Athens, GA into the friends and family circle by hosting them in California. Despite the tragic fires in Big Sur, we didn’t want to let these guys down, and now we get to raise awareness and funds for a great cause. These dudes are the real deal, and they’ll sound killer at Kuumbwa. Enjoy this video from their latest album…
Sky Country (Big Sur, CA)
Sky Country are the local love children of Big Sur, and it’s only fitting that we host them in Santa Cruz this Saturday night in support of the hard times that their home community is going through. Their unique mix of surf rock and soul will be the perfect vibe in the classic Kuumbwa room.
Kelly Koval
Oh what to say about Kelly… epic songwriter, portrit taker extraordinaire, all-around radical human. She’s bound to bring us nearly to tears and back to joy again with her sultry, unique musical style. She’ll also be shooting portrits for us after her set!
Lucas Elmer
Lucas has been part of the DIO family since the beginning, and is our Live Printer in Chief. He’ll be in the courtyard doing some live printing of one of his classic DIO designs, so bring yer DIY garments because he’ll print on whatever you hand him!
Emily Meehan
Emily is one far out chola. A mixed-media artist, she’s been an integral DIO friends and family artist since day one. On Saturday night, she’ll be displaying her “RAD” reclaimed surfboard display to add to vibe. She’ll also be ready and willing to discuss things radioactivedaywear…
Coco Chispa
Coco has risen the ranks of Santa Cruz artisans like a rocket headed for Mars. Her unmistakable style is identifiable with it’s perfectly wonky Californian cactusy, deserty, mountainous landscapes. We’re stoked to have Coco doing a popup of her amazing work…
Let’s Rally on Saturday. Join us at Kuumbwa.
Can’t wait to get all these intriguing souls together to share their talents and rally around a worthy cause. At just $15, this show is a bargain if we’ve ever seen one (except maybe the original DIO Fest in 2013 when 3-day camping passes were just $45 haha… the good old days).
So come hang! And tell yer friends. It’s gonna be great. If you’ve never attended a Do it Ourselves Presents... event, this is the perfect opportunity to see some top-notch music and support the community. Thank you in advance for your support.
Do it Ourselves Presents… is the homegrown Santa Cruz production company that successfully bootstrapped it’s own 3-day music festival in Boulder Creek back in 2013 raising money for people with special needs at Camp Krem. Now heading into its fifth year, Do it Ourselves Presents… is a year-round production company that uses music and community as a platform to raise awareness and funds for good causes.
