Channing Wilson, a country artist from Georgia, is just finishing up his set on the second-day of Rebels and Renegades. He’s performing on the Big Sur Stage, the smaller of the two stages rotating the musical acts.
On the opposite side of the Monterey Fairgrounds is The Steelhead Stage, the main arena where diverse acts like pop-rocker Elle King, alt-rock band Wilco and indie-rocker Kurt Vile will be playing over the course of the weekend.
Now in its second year, Rebels and Renegades is still a baby in the world of music festivals. It was started by married couple Dan and Amy Sheehan, who run the Good Vibez event production company. They’re perhaps best-known for producing the California Roots, or Cali Roots festival, a popular local Reggae music event that they took over in 2012.
"We cut our teeth in Santa Cruz, then we expanded to Monterey," began Dan Sheehan. "In Santa Cruz, the vets hall, Catalyst, Moe’s Alley…were all kind of our stomping grounds."
Sheehan says they started the Rebels and Renegades festival last year as a bit of a passion project.
"We’re big fans of this particular style of music and we wanted to start a festival with a bunch of different bands that we love….and that’s how it kind of came together."
The festival does seem to mirror the Sheehan’s personal taste, as it blends music that maybe some wouldn’t think to put together, like country, folk, indie rock and even a little blues funk from acts like the Oakland-based California Honeydrops, who performed to an ecstatic crowd on the Big Sur stage.
Sheehan says that while these diverse acts may not at first glance seem to go completely together, they all do fit under the ‘rebels and renegades’ umbrella.
"It all works together, continued Sheehan. "There’s crossover fans, there’s different fans. Its not a hodgepodge. There’s a lot of thought about how these artists are placed and who’s on the lineup."
One of the acts that Sheehan is excited about this year is Texas-based Charley Crockett, who mixes blues, Americana and country in his music…and he happens to be a descendant of the king of the wild frontier himself, Davey Crockett.
"Charley Crockett is special," said Sheehan. "He’s a special artist that I think is kind of revitalizing country music."
And Crockett did not disappoint when he took the stage on Saturday night.
And along with the music, the vendors also add to the rebellious spirit of the festival, which features, country-themed merchandise like cowboy hats and boots, as well as craft beers, local wine and small batch whiskey, and even a cannabis lounge.
"I’m a huge believer that festivals , you know, they’re living and breathing, right, and so you gotta provide the cannabis booth," Sheehan said. "What country music festival in the world has a cannabis session? The fans and the bands all love it."
Claire, a bartender from the Steelhead Stage bar seemed to sum it up best:
"Great drinks, good people. What more could you ask for?"
Sheehan says that he expects the great drinks, the great people and the great music to continue and grow even bigger into the future.
"These first couple of years of a festival, you know, they’re investment years…you gotta build your brand, build your trust," Sheehan says. "The goal is that every person that came to this one is buying tickets to the next one. And then we just build upon that."
Building a welcoming space for the rebels and the renegades of the Monterey bay area and the world, for many years to come.