Summer is a treat. We work all fall, winter, and spring, and by the time the days stretch out and beg to be filled to the brim, we get to celebrate where we’ve been and what it’s brought us. This revelry culminates on the solstice when we stand on tiptoes and send our voices into the rafters, when we hug our friends and tell them we love em, when our dreams come true. After a year of toil and uncertainty and some truly bizarre moments, it’s only fitting that for this mid-summer night’s dream, we get to welcome our absolute favorites from near and far to For the Folks. Steve Poltz portrays the hero of the road, a beloved bard who leaves all those he encounters believing that he’s come just to play for them, while the Cimo Brothers round out the cast as resident wizards, a pair of musical farmers honing and refining their trade while nurturing growth in their own backyard.

Steve Poltz! demands an exclamation point. His performance transcends any reasonable idea of what one musician can accomplish. He hops into the middle of the backseat when you thought he was driving, he floats overhead when you were certain he’d lain down, and he continues to widen your smile even as the corners of your mouth meet behind your head. He is timeless, which is to say, he would be Steve Poltz! in any time. During the Civil War he’d get ahold of a drum and lead each army into a field of poppies, his stories wiping from memory the mere consideration of battle. In the 30s he’d stand alongside Woody and play to breadlines while persuading the haves to relinquish their stashes in order to come out and dance with the have-nots. In the 60s he’d convince Dylan to have a good time. And now, in this tumultuous age, when we need him the most, he’s out doing what is most needed; he’s being Steve Poltz!

The Cimo Brothers are the Central Coast. They are the tall trees and the deep water, the turquoise sky and the sand between your toes, the moon and the violin. They cherish each moment here, each note they get to share with an audience, each hug that reminds them of why they walk their path. All they know is improvement. Whether it’s their community or land or much-studied craft, they are constantly finding ways to be better and to pull everyone along with them. They are learned masters and masterful teachers, and their greatest lesson is their appreciation of everything and everyone they encounter. They are a delight to listen to and to live amongst, and they make the future a place you’re oh so happy to be heading. 

For you, in my respect, are all the world. Then how can it be said I am alone when all the world is here to look on me? Shakespeare may as well have been talking about Steve Poltz!, or the Cimo Brothers, or everyone who gathers under the summer sky to celebrate what has become For the Folks. We are not alone. We are surrounded by favorites. Our circle is only growing wider. Each day carries more hope and more music and more of whatever we want to throw into the pot, and on June 22, we get to add Steve Poltz! and the Cimo Brothers. Oh my, what a time to be alive…