It’s a full day of bands, musical genres and brews as Rock the Soul kicks off Saturday at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing. The all-ages “minifest” is the one-year anniversary of “music, good vibes and unforgettable memories,” says Alexandra Henry, CEO of Soul Good Entertainment, a company that coordinates events, distribution and manages artists.
“We didn’t want all the same type of music,” said Colton Cori, bass player for Clay Moon, who performed at last year’s entry and occasionally helps with bookings. “We wanted to give a variety of sounds.”
Utah-based Cassie Wanders opens the show, followed by local vocalist/musician Jo Coleman and Clay Moon. Skinny Hendrix and the Earthtones bring in the hardcore soul funk, and it’s always a high note when the band’s Spanish-speaking lead singer “adds a splash of bilingual” to songs, Henry said.
Woodhouse welcomes back Birdcalls, a tight-knit trio that performed at last year’s fest. And the lineup also includes sets by Jeffrey A Meyers Band (known as J.A.M,), Roadside Honey and Cement Ship.
Growing From Last Year
“We decided we want to make this an annual thing,” says Henry, whose résumé includes hosting 16 shows over the years at Woodhouse and who has brought in 109 different artists to Santa Cruz.
Soul Good puts on ticketed shows at Woodhouse, a wide range in terms of both genres and ethnicities, says Henry, who also is a musician. “For me as an artist I have spent a lot of time in a lot of places playing. Woodhouse was one of the only places in town I actively never received any weird racialness.”
Henry also led promotion behind Soul Good Sundaze, a series of shows and events aimed to celebrate Black artists, feature live music, and foster community engagement. The first Soul Good Sunday opened during Black History Month with an all-Black lineup. “It was not supposed to keep going,” Henry says. “This is not something I had ever done before. We had such an array of musicians that year, including a poet and a yodeler. There was a huge range of Black artists and musicians.”
When it came time to decide on “a space where people look like me, a protected space,” Henry says, Woodhouse hit all the right marks.
Woodhouse brought out “a lot of positive things including making sure the bands get paid what they asked for,” she says. “They just put good energy out there.”
This is the only event that Soul Good is planning for Santa Cruz this year; the company’s other events are primarily in Oakland. “We’re just appreciating other musicians in our community,” Henry adds. “The community needs this.”
A bassist in multiple bands, Cori says, “I wanted to bring more musicians into the show, not only the musicians here in Santa Cruz but also those I know from San Diego as well.
“We were excited to make it a little bigger than last year,” he adds. “Not only to showcase local bands, but also bands from Utah and the Bay Area while maintaining the importance of local music. Woodhouse is a great venue. I also wanted to showcase Woodhouse as, in my opinion, a somewhat underutilized space.”
There’s no need to seek lunch or even dinner arrangements elsewhere, as both food trucks and vendors will be on site throughout the event, including Shockwave Food Truck.
Rock the Soul takes place noon–10pm on Aug. 23 at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing, 119 Madrone St., Santa Cruz. Tickets: $28.52 on eventbrite.com.
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