Eureka! The Redwood Coast Music Festival

I’ve been attending jazz parties and festivals for twenty years, and each one has its own character. So to call one “the best” would be foolish. But the Redwood Coast Music Festival, held at the beginning of October in Eureka, California, is a musical banquet. No, make that several musical banquets all at once. I’ve been there in 2019, 2022, and 2023 (there was an interruption of service in there) and I’m ready for October 3-6, 2024. Jazz purists (you know who you are) will look suspiciously at the word MUSIC in the title, and it is true that jazz is not the only dish served: the festival includes rockabilly, rhythm and blues, swing, blues, Americana, country, and zydeco. But no one will go away feeling deprived. And since there are still those misshapen folks who reflexively say, “I don’t listen to jazz,” characterizing it as “American roots music” gets more posteriors in chairs. First, eight bars of history. The festival, then a “Dixieland Jazz” one, started in 1990 to help fund community senior programs. Six years later, Blues By The Bay was created and it ran with great success for years. The two festivals merged and reinvented themselves as the Redwood Coast Music Festival, with a wider range of roots music and a direct appeal to dancers: two qualities that remain true now. For those who like numbers, the RCMF runs for four days, has 7-8 events going at