The Redwood Mountain Faire is dedicated to being the most sustainable, inspiring community event in Santa Cruz County. If you have attended, you might agree. The festival is run 100% by volunteers, with all of the ticket money going to worthy organizations. The 2025 Faire helped to raise $57,000 for local non-profits and service organizations.
Besides the good-natured philanthropy, the palpable camaraderie amongst volunteers, the Roaring Camp railroad experience, and being able to see music outdoors surrounded by redwoods and trains, The Redwood Faire seeks to raise up under-the-radar artists. As always, this year features stellar headliner sets from musicians such as Melvin Seals, AJ Lee and The Blue Summit, and the B-Side players, amongst other notables.
And, true to their mission, there is also a large swath of less recognizable, but highly talented local and regional bands. There are almost 30 bands over the two-day weekend event.
Dominique and the Diamonds, from Los Angeles, is a modern cowgirl band with deep, passionate roots in the country music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. Columbian/American Dominique fronts the band with her dynamic looks and personality, emanating a unique, almost Linda Ronstadt-y retelling of a particular type of country music. The one that was good.
“It’s definitely the vibe. We also love the Rolling Stones and the Flying Burrito Brothers and things like that. Certain songs are more like traditional country. In other songs, it starts to bleed into other genres a little bit,” says Dominique.
This isn’t Dominique’s first rodeo. She has worked a solo project under her name, Dominique Gomez, since 2015. “Over time, I wanted to get involved in a country project. The drummer is my partner, and the other two members have been friends of mine for a while. I would always sing country covers during jam sessions and things like that. We talked about a country music band, and I finally came around to it. And the boys help a little bit here and there. They do a good job,” Dominique laughs.
Running the band, writing the songs, booking the shows, handling emails and socials may be the new norm for musicians, but it’s a lot.
“Booking for our tours has been going really well. I found a lot of success in that. We released a debut EP last June of 2025 with five or six songs. We’re still such a new band. Our first single was literally in April of 2025. So we just surpassed a year of being actually active. Festivals have been slightly more difficult, but I’m really hoping that with doing Redwood Mountain Faire, our first festival, and releasing this new album, it’s really going to help us give us that extra push to get into some other festivals next year,” Dominique says.
One of the newer Santa Cruz bands, and another first-time festival act, is JAM and the Buttered Biscuits, the brainchild of Jeff Meyer, known as JAM, who was originally from a small town in North Dakota called Wahpeton. “Just south of Fargo, and right on the North Dakota, Minnesota border,” he says from his home in Watsonville.
JAM is one of those American guys who grew up in a small town that John Mellencamp sings about. The young, talented singer/songwriter picked up his first guitar at 15.
“I learned a few chords from my old man and I just started writing from then on. I’ve been writing, writing songs for 25 years now. At a certain point, I wanted to bring the songs to the stage with a fuller sound. And these guys (the Buttered Biscuits) rock, they bring their own sound to the songs. It’s really evolved into a band instead of just me. It used to be the Jeffrey A. Meyer band. And I never liked the ring of that. JAM is Jeffrey A. Meyer.
The Buttered Biscuits include lead guitarist Fernando Giraldo (former head of the Santa Cruz Department of Probation), drummer Clif Nichols, harmonica player Brad Kava, keyboardist Nathan Dennen and bassist Leo MacDonald.
Finding balance in life is difficult these days, so JAM is looking back 2500 years to the thin volume called the Tao Te Ching, to find equilibrium. Tao is known as The Way.
“The Way, yes, exactly. I’m on verse 15 right now. I take a verse a day and really try to absorb it. To be honest with you, we got really good momentum going, and I’m completely grateful for where I am at right now. But it’s such a burnout. I just want to be artistic. I want to write the songs and play the songs. And I know I got something good when I’m having fun playing it. And that’s all I care about. If I’m having fun playing it,” says JAM.
You might not think that North Dakota and Northern California have much in common, but for JAM, Santa Cruz is exactly where he wants to be.
“I always dream of being outside. I’m an enthusiast and California has everything to offer,” he says.
The Redwood Mountain Faire is May 30th and 31st at Roaring Camp Railroad, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton. Tickets are $28-$105. More information at redwoodmountainfaire.com.
