Dig in and move that earth. Big things happen when like minds connect. Earlier this year, Nashville band...

Sugar Lime Blue reached out to Gardenstock organizers.

They were impressed with the festival cause. So much so they offered to make a special trek north to play. Additionally, they plan to donate a portion of their latest CD, “Move That Earth” day of sales. This is what frontwoman, Ashley Beth had to say about playing Gardenstock:

Ashley of Sugar Lime Blue here! I just wanted to let everyone know how excited we are to be playing at Gardenstock this year! I personally am a huge fan of having my hands in the dirt ("Move That Earth" )and I love the fact that there is a community that is not only supporting art, music, and getting back to the Earth; but is teaching kids how to appreciate (and utilize) the beautiful gifts that this life has to offer.

Sugar Lime Blue defies labels. Their sophomore release "Move That Earth" demonstrates cross genre interest. It became a top 3 radio single in the country genre as reported by Spins Tracking System (STS/New Music Weekly). Additionally, favorable critical reviews include the respected Americana outlet, The Alternate Root. The Grateful Dead website and social media featured the band for their cover of "Little Sadie". This genre crossing band redefines Americana music.

Sugar Lime Blue is set to perform at 8:00 p.m. for the 9th annual Gardenstock Art and Music Festival. Benefit for the Sinnissippi Centers’ Youth Garden Program.

Gates open 10 a.m., Saturday, August 19, 2017 at Distinctive Gardens, 2020 Lowell Park Road, Dixon, IL. Featuring 9 bands 11 a.m.  – 11 p.m.; art festival 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; food vendors 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; raffle, 50/50 and Tie Dye contest 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Shuttle Service 10 a.m. – Midnight. Public parking available in Shopko/County Market and CGH Dixon Clinic parking lots located near the west corner of Galena Avenue and Lowell Park Road. No onsite parking available.

Picnic style: bring your own cooler, chair, or blanket. Minimum donation is $10 online or $13 at the gate for adults 13 and up; $1 children 12 and under.  LIMITED tickets and tents go on sale Monday, June 19, 7AM.  Visit distinctivegardensinc.com website to order.  815.285.0014

Bustown holds down the new back green space featuring a drum circle and peace sign maze.

WHAT’S NEW

 
 
Parking. Getting to Gardenstock is by shuttle only for 2017. Multiple shuttles will run from 10 a.m. to Midnight. There are no drop offs at the front gate. This ensures a smooth shuttle service and safety. Two off site shuttle lots are available. 1) South end of Shopko / County Market parking lot. 2) Back parking lot of the CGH Dixon Clinic. Both are near the corner of Galena Ave. and Lowell Park Rd. Four shuttle tents mark pickup spots. Carpooling is highly encouraged. Four parking lot status signs will be located along Lowell Park and Timber Creek roads.

Festival Grounds expand beyond Art Alley. Features include: Bustown, a new Drum Circle, and a grass grown people peace sign.

Social media coverage expands live streaming capabilities. Community social media aggregation continues through the official hashtag #gardenstock.

Kyle Morgan films as Cralles Bordon does his thing during a Facebook Live interview with Joe Rian of The Bertoletti Family band at Gardenstock 16.

Gardenstock Shuttle Service

Hop the Gardenstock Shuttle! Park in the sound end of Shopko/County Market lot or the GCH Dixon Clinic lot on the backside of the building. Marked handicap parking is available near the Gardenstock Shuttle tents. Shuttles run from 10a - Midnight.

Thanks so much for helping us out by riding the shuttle system and not attempting to drop  your stuff off at the gate. After last year it became necessary to make this change. We hope you understand. We're trying to make the festival as fun and enjoyable for everyone as possible. And that includes our volunteers. They work very hard to make Gardenstock run smoothly. Tell them thank you when you see them! 

Limited Tickets and Tent Rental

 

Limited Tickets are available online. Ticket Wristbands cost $10 online. Any remaining tickets are $13 at the gate for adults 13 and up. Children wristbands cost $1 both online and at the gate. Once available tickets sell out, day of ticket purchases will stop. 
 
Tent Reserve sold out in two days in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Thirty-nine tents throughout the grounds will be available. General reserve price is $40. Orders will fill based on order timestamp and availability. People should list at least their top ten favorite tent numbers in order of preference. List them in the comments field within the online order.
 
For the benefit of everyone, guests cannot bring large tables or any tents. This is so everyone can have a great view. However, coolers, blankets, lawn chairs and small, close-to-the-ground tables remain allowed. Tent reserve and limited ticket wristbands go on sale online, Monday, June 19, 2017 at 7:00 a.m. on the Distinctive Gardens website: www.distinctivegardensinc.com.

The Bands

11:00 - 12:00 My Unknown Brother

12:15 - 1:15 7th Hour

1:30 - 2:30 Solar Pulse

2:45 - 3:45 Pete's Sake

4:00 - 5:00 Waking Robots

5:15 - 6:15 Justin Edmondson

6:30 - 7:45 Kerry Hartman Band

8:00 - 9:15 Sugar Lime Blue

9:30 - 11:00 The Mississippi Stranglers

Dig In for great music

11:00, new Chicago musician, Mike Adams playing under the name, My Unknown Brother opens the show. Mike is a singer-songwriter. His music features soothing acoustic vibes, heartfelt lyricism and energy.

Next up at 12:15, fresh from Morrison, IL, 7th hour. Earlier this year this young band made their local debut to a packed house at Rosbrook Studio. Rosbrook is a local oasis for up and coming musicians and artists. 7th hour features an array of solid covers and newly released original demo, "This Moment".

Slip on some 70’s sole shoes for this next act. 1:30 brings on the smooth sounds of Rochelle, IL, Solar Pulse. Solar Pulse is a Jazz, Funk, & Rock infused band formed in early 2015.

The sole train takes a sidetrack down bluegrass lane at 2:45. Hailing from Northern IL, new band, Pete’s Sake takes stage. They push boundaries combining Bluegrass, Americana, Jam, and Rock and Roll.

Up next, 4:00 new alternative band, Waking Robots. Quad Cities based, this group is a dynamic art/progressive/psychedelic-rock band. The sound infused with elements from metal, blues, jazz and singer-songwriter. Artful lyrics of songwriter Angi Chapman can be described as an emotional catharsis. Songs, like “Blink”, reveal a band connected. Pulsating rhythms, nuanced guitar work, dynamic vocals ebb and flow with electrifying energy.
 

From alternative to Americana, 5:15 brings writer, vocalist guitar player, Justin Edmondson. At times Justin’s vocals and quick fingers sound a bit like, Robert Johnson meets Stevie Ray Vaughn. Then right when you think you’ve got him pegged, up comes a completely different shift in style and picking. Registered BMI songwriter / studio musician, Justin uses many rhythms and musical frameworks.

Next up, 6:45 dig into some country, red dirt, jam. Rolling in from Rush Springs, OK, Kerry Hartman Band, is no stranger to the Gardenstock stage. With a big, fat, resonating voice Kerry fashions songs that vibrate right through the soul. Forged by a life well lived and a storyteller at heart, Kerry brings the listener on an emotional journey. Word has it Kerry is working on brand new originals just for Gardenstock.

Up next at 8:00, Nashville band, Sugar Lime Blue is redefining Americana. Drawing from the 3 main American stylings of Jazz, Blues and Country, create a unique sound. Songs like “Talking To Yourself” and “Move That Earth” reveal an introspective lyrical edginess. Songwriter / frontwoman, Ashley Beth's voice is crystalline and resonant. It opens up wide with a nuanced, raspy, barrel end. She bends vocal melody like a dead jam. Her voice has a tonal quality of singers like Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn and Bessie Smith.

Last year this band made their first gracious and gifted appearance at Gardenstock. Hailing from McHenry, IL, 9:30, Mississippi Stranglers bring it home with some good old southern fried Americana rock and roll with a twist. Folk to progressive rock the spectrum spans. Anything goes from front porch hoedowns to traditional garage rock. “Free form, rock and roll, jam jazz is where we come from”, states guitar/vocalist, Kurt Richard Carlson. Really caring about what they do, the giving and receiving, and the connection to the crowd is what it is all about for Mississippi Stranglers.

Art Alley Opens at 10:00 a.m.

The Artists

The Art Festival showcases over 40 of the region’s best artists artists featuring a variety of unusual art and fine craft from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.   It is packed with veteran Gardenstockers: Sinnissippi Center Garden Program kids selling handmade tie-dye t-shirts; jewelers, Sasha Tweel, Natalie Picchi, Dale Curry, Kimberly Ellis, Robyn Terwilliger; painters, Tim Drane, Ken Reif, Sydni Reubin, Jessica Lopez, Deb Cleary, Emily Garcia, Betty Love, Emily Cotton Cram; sculptors, Sloane Wolfe, Matt and Michelle Jagitsch; photographers, Kevin Smoot; and mixed media artists, Heather Houzenga, Brittany Waterhouse, Crystal Collinson, Amber Goldie, Henry Matthiessen, Natalie Gordon, Jane Forrest-Zia, Lisa Anderson, Jayne DeMarco, Judi Alvarado Kickel, Susi Alvarado Daniel, Kate Gross, Laura McGarvey, Lee Ann Breitbach, Stephanie Weems, Amy Baglin. New artists include: ceramicist, Daniel McCabe; photographer, Tammy Mutka; painter, Michelle Champion; sculptor, Tony Schreiber; jewelers, Laura LaGear Adkins, Lin Karrels; mixed media, Rachel Newell, Jennifer Arand.

A few 2017 Gardenstock artists.

The Tie Dye Contest

Fest goers can enter by getting their picture taken between 11:00-3:00 p.m. Voting begins on Facebook between 3:00-6:00 p.m.  Most ‘likes’ on Gardenstock’s Facebook Tie Dye Contest Album wins.

The Raffle and 50/50 Drawing

This year’s raffle has three-dozen items donated by Gardenstock artists.  A catalog of their offerings can be found on Distinctive Gardens website as well as the Gardenstock Facebook page’s 2017 Donation Album. Buy raffle and 50/50 tickets at the Info Booth starting at 11:00 or from raffle ticket sellers.  Raffle drawing times: 2:15, 3:30, 4:45, 6:00 p.m. 50/50 drawing is at 7:45 p.m.

Jay Pauley calls out a winning raffle number.

The Food

Gardenstock is ‘’picnic style’’ meaning you can bring your own chair or blanket and cooler or beverage.  From 11 – 8 p.m., food vendors offer a fine range of beverage and cuisine such as Italian by Mama Cimino’s, barbeques and desserts by Baker Street Café, loaded Italian beef sandwiches by Kokomo’s, tasty ice cream by Hey Brother’s Ice Cream.

Pack your coolers, throw the kids in the car, and grab that favorite tie-dye. It's Gardenstock time! It will be the best bang for your cultural buck in town, Saturday, August 20, 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. at Distinctive Gardens in Dixon, IL.

The Sinnissippi Center's Youth Garden Program

The Sinnissippi Centers' Youth Garden Program provides valuable hands-on gardening experiences for at risk youth involved with Sinnissippi and is a great tool to open lines of communication. The Gardening Program serves as an add-on to regular services and utilizes both consumers and individuals from the community to raise produce from a vegetable garden that in turn is donated to the Dixon Food Pantry.