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This year PV Palooza, the all-day music festival, is back bigger than ever in Portola Valley on Saturday, June 1.
Now in its third year, the event will feature 30 bands playing on four outdoor stages at Portola Valley Town Center from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The brainchild of Portola Valley resident and music lover John Badger, PV Palooza has one caveat: each band must have at least one member who is a native and/or living in Portola Valley, Woodside or La Honda.
As for the genres, Badger described the range as “pretty wide,” appealing to all ages with a lot of “classic rock covers and dad bands,” but also some indie folk, Afro-funk-Cuban, jazz, original work, and a dozen “kids’ bands.”
The music festival has grown quite a bit since he founded it in 2022 when he chaired the Portola Valley Cultural Arts Committee.
What motivated him?
“I certainly love music; I don’t play or sing, I’m not a musician,” he said, but when he became an empty nester, he missed something. He remembered how he “found myself in my happy place” when he was acting as manager, booking agent and roadie for his son Christopher’s Woodside High School band, Indygo Rhythm Section.
Getting involved in a music festival felt like a natural step to take.
Christopher plays with two bands and performed at the first PV Palooza. He is now graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston and will be performing at this next PV Palooza.
Badger’s vision is “we want to provide a way for musical talent in our community to have a place to perform music in front of fans they know well … it’s a real way to connect people.”
This year he expects a crowd of as many as 1,200 to attend, and suggests audiences bring blankets and chairs to set up on the lawns next to the library and on the soccer field. Two bands will be performing at any given time, with main stage acts running for 50 minutes, and side stage acts running for 20.
The schedule can be found at pvpalooza.com. A promotional poster lists the following lineup: Dr. Sig & the Supernaturals, Alec Lytle & Them Rounders, Ginger + Bandits, Christopher Normann, Pathetic Honey, Whiskey Hill Billies, The Bubbles, Up & to the Right, Windy Hill, Squirrels of Wisdom, Slush, Los Trancolizers, Tehaya, Salty Licks, Zanzibar and Greg Barth.
In addition to the musical acts, refreshments will be available for purchase and local art vendors will set up booths for face painting, jewelry, floral creations and other wares. Devil’s Canyon Brewing Co. will sell drinks and Lord of the Ribs, Melina’s Kitchen and Mister Softee will provide food options.
Badger emphasizes the focus is on local – as in local vendors, business sponsors and individuals participating in and supporting the local community, but he could see replicating “this little festival as a model for this elsewhere.”
“This year the event will cost about $45,000, and we have raised that much money,” Badger said.
Each musician is getting $250 to perform. Licensing fees for songs are another line item, as well as expenses to hire an audio engineer and rent sound and stage equipment.
As the festival grew in size and scope over the past two years, Badger said the town asked him to set up the PV Palooza Foundation to run the event. He started the 501(c)(3) nonprofit in January along with a group of locals who are “mostly musicians,” some of whom are performing on June 1.
Badger serves as Executive Director of the Board and is joined by a volunteer team which includes Ivy Margolis as Corporate Secretary, Sherri Schmidt, Ryan Breen, Dan Newitt, Wesley Barrow, Steve Dunne, Phil Barth, Jerrie Welch, Susan Lauer, Fallon Falore and Renata Dionello.
PV Palooza takes place June 1, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. at Portola Valley Town Center, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley. Admission is free. For more information, visit pvpalooza.com.
