Preview: Saturday Music Fest on the Cape

1st Annual Naukabout Music Festival of Cape Cod
The Barnstable County Fairgrounds, Route 151, East Falmouth
August 16, 1pm to 10pm
Website | Tickets ($24 online / $30 at gate)

As if people needed to another reason to head down to the Cape on a summer weekend! The folks at the Naukabout clothing company decided to put together a day-long music festival. We hesitate to say "jam-band", because that's painting the eight bands with much too broad of a brush. Let's just say it's great music for swaying and dancing on a sunny day in a field.

After reuniting last year after 5-year break, Maine's favorite jazzy-funky rockers Rustic Overtones are capping the show -- but any of the top three bands are worthy of headliner-status.

Most will know Braddigan as Brad from the reggae-flavored Dispatch. (This Bostonist would've gone to the final concert at the Hatch Shell, but we dislike crowds over 100,000.) He and his new bandmates get a little folksier and throw in more international touches.

When talking about Ryan Montbleau, "wordsmith" is more than just a synonym for "songwriter." His soulful delivery and the band's rootsy goodness would make anything sound good, but this guy writes some beautiful, thoughtful songs! (With a little trawling we discovered that Ryan Montbleau Band should start around 5:30, and each of these three are playing for at least an hour.)

Every band offers something different that might fit under the very big tent of music now associated with the J-word: The Old Silver Band, Barefoot Truth, Tin Can Tele, Pete & Mike, and Jimmi D. If you like any of the bands, there's going to be a lot of new music you'll dig. A couple that this Bostonist especially enjoyed are Barefoot Truth and Tin Can Tele.

It's a rain-or-shine event, so who knows what kind of muddy hippie-fest might ensue... If you're feeling extra-crunchy, there's even a campground about 2 miles away.

Some of the proceeds will benefit The Elias Fund, a non-profit that provides support to Zimbabwean youth through education and community development.