Hootenanny 2013 – at Oak Canyon Ranch – Irvine, CA
July 6, 2013
2013 Hoot Leaves its Teens and Spreads its Roots. Grand old Oak Canyon Ranch was once again the warm and welcoming setting by Irvine Lake for the homecoming of Orange County Punk Rock and Roll mainstays Social Distortion’s seventh run headlining the 19th annual Hootenanny rockabilly, roots music festival, pinup contest and classic car show.
A surprising addition to this year’s lineup was San Gabriel Valley’s Gamblers Mark. Their revved up version of Punk rockabilly mixed with surf, ska and a bit of metal featured the only horn section of the afternoon in 6’6 dread-headed trombone troubadour Ruben Durazo, which certainly set the band apart musically and physically from other acts during its Main Stage opening performance, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the several hundred early birds in attendance.
Texas’ Heavy Southern rock quintet Not in the Face were one of the many highlights of the Steady side stage which featured the most diverse assortment of acts including Red Devil Squadron, Vinnie and The Hooligans, and many more. This stage has been a welcomed recent addition to the Hoot in the past few years.
Highlights included Orange County’s Seven Year War whose sound is very reminiscent of Epitaph’s glory days and battle of the Bands winner plus best band name of the day in Inland Empire’s Large Mouth Bastards who kept the old-timey jam band feel alive.
Countrified Crooner and Comedian Roger Alan Wade raised up the most fuss with his twangy, honky-tonk tunes about just a “lil’ poontang” and how “making love to you is like cooking bacon naked.” Donning a country jackass-inspired tee with Jackass in Charge Johnny Knoxville on the edge of the stage showing support in a RAW shirt and reminding all what this celebration of Americana is really about. In the end it is about family and friends with good tunes and cold brews under the sun and that will not change in the Hoot’s 20th run and beyond.
Murder By Death’s set had such beautiful clarity. Their melodious songs swept the audience into a sort of calm trance; the extremely hot day seemed to actually cool down a little. Adam Turla’s voice took us across the states to the quiet calm of an Indiana evening.
The Old 97's were crowd favorites amongst several other great acts that graced the main stages with stellar performances.
More photos of the show can be seen HERE
-Christopher L.-
Big Wheel Contributor
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