by craig eddy
The second Saturday of October a bunch of local musicians gathered for another annual Jamfest at the Playbowl in Cuesta. Every year Cuesta lets us use the Bowl for a loose musical gathering featuring many of the local gigging musicians. It’s hard if you play in a band to ever hook up with your other musical friends. This event encourages getting away from your band “comfort zone” and hook up with other players to get creative and have a blast in a fantastic setting. We have never made an audience a priority but it is always open to anyone wanting to come down and check it out. This year the weather was warm and just about perfect in every way. The July 4th picnic is always a blast but seeing Playbowl without the streamers, balloons, and bunting really lets the beauty of the spot show. Playing music under the backdrop of the incredible Redwoods is priceless. There used to be an actual stage there years ago but due to some local yahoos the stage was destroyed. But as great as it is now, “we don’t need no stinkin’ stage!” At one point this year I counted one jam of a dozen players representing 8 different bands. There were about twenty people hanging out just to watch and listen. It is so less crowded than the July 4th picnic that we do encourage people to drive in with their picnic stuff and make a day of it if they want. We had a few new musical faces joining in with the regulars and we went from noon until about 5pm. We ended a bit earlier than usual this year due to some baseball playoff game that was getting started at 5pm. Don’t figure! If you have never visited Playbowl, it is worth hiking through as there are trails, Redwoods, and the creek (a bit low right now) to see. The Bowl itself is perfect for picnicking, throwing Frisbee or tossing the ball to the dog. Thanks to the Cuesta Guild for their support of this event. It is another example of a great community effort in putting on an exceptional gathering. If you are a local musician and haven’t sat in at Playbowl please check it out and join in if you think it might be your kinda thing.