The Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce, together with the City of Solana Beach and the Belly Up Tavern organized SoCal's best free music festival last weekend at Fletcher Cover. The 37th Annual Fiesta del Sol featured many family -oriented attractions, including a wide range of musical performers, children's activities, rides, merchant booths, a variety of arts and crafts exhibits, food, and an adults-only beer and wine garden.
Festivities began on Saturday, May 21st at 9:00 am with the National Anthem followed by local community presentation of dance, theater and musicians from local schools, children's dance and performance companies such as The Coastal Dance Company, St. James Academy, Hey JoJo Productions, La Colonia Performers, Casa De Amistad and Torrey Mercer, showcasing the community's young talent on stage.
The Belly Up Tavern booked a variety of musical performances starting Saturday afternoon with the newest acts, such as Rubinstein Drive-By, and Jungle Fire who ignited the stage with their powerful brass and funky sound. A fantastic Bon-Jovi tribute band called Livin' On A Prayer sent fans screaming as lead singer Eric Sage worked the crowd with his amazing vocals and stage presence! As difficult as that act would be to follow, The Routine took center stage and was anything but routine! This great performance captivated the fans through their entire set with their worldly sound and animated stage presence. KI Burst in next and rocked the house with their edgy sound and haunting flute! Wrapping up Saturdays' music line up were popular reggae artists Common Sense and Pato Banton.
What better way to start Sunday morning than with the Annual Solana Beach Firefighters' Pancake Breakfast! That's right! The Firefighters were out there at 7:30 cooking up pancakes and sausage patties for the whole family until 10:30. The festival resumed its music program at 9:00 with presentation from Rockademy School's pint-sized youngsters Flaming Tacos, playing Black Sabbath's "Iron man" and the very talented The Special Guest nailing it to Rush's "Tom Sawyer" and a Led Zeppelin Medley. the Norwood Music Studio brought in their talented young musicians, followed by Too Loud, and Brokers Band.
At 12;45 Atomic Groove fired up with their spectacular show featuring popular dance music and their very own Fly Girlz dancers! Carlsbad's own Cody Lavaas came on stage to share several original and cover tunes including an up-beat, well-executed Bubbly Toes by Jack Johnson. Pine Mountain Logs would it back up with flawless covers. The Softwhite Sixties brought in a U2/Inx sound after that. At 5:15 Elvis entered the building as Graceband The Ultimate 12 Piece Tribute to "The King" took the stage and caused mayhem to screaming, crying fans! Okay, there was ONE crying fan. Comparable to old Elvis video clips, he tossed out Graceband paraphernalia as fans fought for the trinkets at this spectacular, high energy show! Next ups was Tribal Theory, a hip, reggae band popular with teenagers and concluding the festival was the Latin, hip hop sensation fo Ozomatli.
