Much of the lineup at this weekend’s Charity Fall Music Festival features perennial favorites like the Doobie Brothers, The Turtles and Lara Johnston. The two-day music marathon at the B.R. Cohn winery in Glen Ellen runs from noon to closing on Saturday, Oct. 4 and Sunday, Oct. 5, preceded by a dinner and auction on Friday, Oct. 3 and followed by a celebrity golf tournament at the Sonoma Golf Club on Monday, Oct. 6. (Tickets for Sunday’s show have sold out.)
Dave Mason doesn’t perform every year, but when he takes the stage on Sunday for his fourth appearance, he’ll have something he hasn’t had the previous years, a new album release. Titled “26 Letters and 12 Notes,” the disc is six years in the making at his studio in his home near Santa Barbara. The self-produced release is being called his most personal effort to date and his first release of new material in 20 years. Asked in a telephone interview last week, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said, “You have to always be sensitive with the song.” As for his latest release, Mason said, “It would be nice if there was a hit on it, whatever that is these days.”
Huey Lewis and the News headlined last year’s charity concert. Photo by Ryan Lely.
Mason is no stranger to hits, especially on the FM dial, penning the rock classic “Feelin’ Alright” and being a co- founder of the 1960s super-group Traffic. Mason and his band, basically the same for the last six years, play 100 to 150 shows a year.
Like the other weekend performances, Mason’s will be done in the name of charity. Proceeds from the fall festival support a number of local nonprofits, including Valley of the Moon Mentoring Alliance, Sonoma Valley Education Alliance, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley and the CommonBond Foundation, as well as the National Veterans Foundation.
Making their first appearances at the winery amphitheater in Glen Ellen at the Saturday show will be Kris Kristofferson and Todd Rundgren. Kristofferson has quite a personal history in addition to his music legacy. In college he was a nationally recognized athlete and in the military, he was a helicopter pilot and was even offered a position to teach at West Point before deciding to try to make a career of music. Kristofferson has had many releases over the years, but the most popular one was actually recorded by another artist, Janis Joplin, who recorded his song “Bobby McGee.”
Rundgren, on the other hand, is probably better known in the progressive rock world, but he has had some AM radio success. He had hits in the ‘60s: “We Gotta Get You a Woman” with the band Runt, in the ‘70s with “Hello It’s Me,” which hit number 5 on the American charts, and the cult classic “Bang on the Drum All Day” in the ‘80s. Rundgren is probably better known for his producing credits, with albums from Hall & Oates, the Tubes, Cheap Trick and many others under his belt. Always an innovator in sound and production, it will be interesting to see what he has up his sleeve for the winery crowd.
Tower of Power. Photo by Ryan Lely.
B. R. Cohn Charity Fall Music Festival
• Friday, Oct. 3, 6 p.m.: Dinner and live auction with more than 20 wine, food and travel lots. Dinner by Alex’s Catering. $100
• Saturday, Oct. 4, noon to closing (usually about dusk): Performances by the Doobie Brothers, Kris Kristofferson, Todd Rundgren, The Turtles and comedian/magician Michael Finney. $95 (VIP tickets: $325)
• Sunday, Oct. 5, noon to closing: Doobie Brothers, Robert Cray,
Dave Mason, The Turtles and Lara Johnston. (Sold out)
Gates open at 11 a.m. both days.
• Monday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m. B.R. Cohn annual Celebrity Golf Tournament
at the famed Sonoma Golf Club. $500
For tickets, visit www.brcohn.com or call 708.938.4064, ext. 124.
