Diggin Dirt from Arcata, California, graced the Vaudeville Tent stage at High Sierra Music Festival on Thursday, July 5, at high noon. To say that I might be biased could be a partial truth, as my son Josh plays trombone in the band.
They are high-energy funk and soul, a bit of psychedelic and some reggae. Zach Alder’s vocals fill out this well polished band. His voice, his ability to hit all of the notes — high and low and all of those in between — is perfectly pleasing. The horns filled the tent with incredible sound, and the crowd went wild. They are tight and talented and, wow, they are Humboldt-grown funk.
Diggin Dirt is Zach Alder (vocals), Rory Urquhart (guitar), Drew Weitzel (guitar), John Callahan (bass), Joey Incorvaia (drums), Thatcher Holvick-Norton (drums) Aaron Gottesman (tenor sax), Tyler Martin (baritone sax) and Josh Foster (trombone).
It was the opening hour on the first day of the festival, and I was blown away not only by the band, but the crowd. Vaudeville Tent was full of happy, smiling festivalgoers, some familiar with Diggin Dirt, others hearing them for the first time.
Everyone was dancing, a couple of folks even had shovels, and at one point some were eating macaroni and cheese out of the shovels. The band has a song called “Mac & Cheese” and, after all, they are Diggin Dirt. I’m so proud of this band — they made it to High Sierra, and they done so good! Full heart on the first day of High Sierra Music Festival.
– Clare Foster
Clare Foster / Tahoe Onstage
