In 1965, Melton and “Country Joe” MacDonald began playing music at Berkeley protests against the Vietnam War. Soon they were recording and touring as Country Joe and the Fish, performing at the ballrooms of San Francisco in the psychedelic music scene, and by 1969 had performed their classic antiwar anthem, “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’ to Die Rag,” at the Woodstock and Monterey Pop festivals. Since then, Melton has had an active career as both a musician and lawyer! He played guitar and sang in The Dinosaurs, a band of ’60s veterans that included Peter Albin of Big Brother and the Holding Company, John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, David LaFlamme of It's a Beautiful Day, Jerry Miller of Moby Grape, and the incomparable Merl Saunders on keyboards. At VBMF14, Melton is joined by Roy Blumenfeld, original member of the Blues Project, and musical partner to Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, Paul Butterfield, Elvin Bishop, and Carlos Santana, to name a few. Also joining Melton is David Aguilar, who has played with Norton Buffalo, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, Maria Muldaur, Lester Chambers, Nick Gravenites, and Bo Diddley, as well as his own band Tudo Bem. VBMF welcomes back The Barry Melton Band! Visit website

In the late ’60s, all-female psychedelic rock band Ace of Cups were at the epicenter of the cultural and social revolution. From the Acid Tests to the protests, from the free concerts in Golden Gate Park to the ballrooms of San Francisco, they shared stages with everyone from The Band to the Grateful Dead, and were chosen to open for Jimi Hendrix the week after his groundbreaking performance at The Monterey Pop Festival. Despite eliciting music industry interest for their exceptional songs, sublime harmonies, and exuberant live performances, Ace of Cups never got the chance to make a record…until now! Rolling Stone hails their long-overdue self-titled debut album as “one of the best of 2019.” Come celebrate and dance with Ace of Cups at Venice Beach Music Fest 14! Visit website

Started by Tony Saunders and Michael Hinton to play the amazing music they had played during their time with Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia. Although Hinton has now also left us, Keystone Revisited continues to play the music of Jerry & Merl, Legion of Mary, and Reconstruction to keep this great music alive and timeless. Tony Saunders (bass) leads the current line-up, featuring Bradley Leach on drums, Scott Guberman on keys, Matt Salata on guitar, and Greg Winser and Rose Winters on vocals. Close your eyes and you can be transported to where it’s always after midnight…at the oasis! Welcome, Keystone Revisited, to Venice Beach Music Fest 14! Visit website

In the Adaawe tradition of Ghana, West Africa, women gather in the moonlight to create music and songs about life’s joys and sorrows. Adaawe is seven scintillating women, creating an international fusion of African, jazz-funk, Latin, and reggae styles, steeped in R&B/pop vocals and Gospel harmonies. The group has headlined performing arts venues, festivals, colleges, and clubs across the U.S., and opened for James Brown, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Los Lobos. Their latest CD, “Passage,” is an arresting collection of world-fusion. Their spirit of celebration and strength will elevate and inspire audiences across all boundaries, ages, and demographics. Welcome, Adaawe, to VBMF 14! Visit website

The music played at the original Woodstock festival has had fifty years to percolate and evolve, and Westside Tie Dyed brings together some of L.A. westside's best musicians to add a modern, funky twist to the classics that were played during those three fateful days at Yasgur’s Farm. Yesteryear’s peace and love swirls with today’s pop and funk as Andrea Blackbird’s (Champa 51) powerhouse vocals lead the tornado of sound. This all-star band of many westside legends includes: Marc Blackbird on vocals and guitar, Nini Monroe and Joy Rosenberg on vocals, Michael Jost and Jon Ilaw on guitar, Al Keith on percussion, Derrick Breakfield on bass, Danny Moynahan on saxophone, Geoff Mann on drums, and Lee Curreri on keyboards. If Woodstock was the dawn of the Age of Aquarius, come get on down to the beach for a lunchtime dance party with Westside Tie Dyed at VBMF 14! Visit website

Milo is a guitarist born to a multi-generational family of artists and musicians native to Venice Beach. With a rock vocalist mother, and a stepfather a founding member of renowned hardcore punk band Black Flag, Milo grew up around heavy rock music, and found himself inspired to play both electric and acoustic guitar. Milo discovered a deep love for flamenco and classical guitar music, finding its dark, emotive, and aggressive qualities a alluring and similar to that of his rock roots. His unique musical style derives as much influence from legendary guitar virtuosos Paco De Lucia and Vicente Amigo as it does from rock/metal/psychedelic legends Black Sabbath and Radiohead. Milo’s performance at VBMF14 coincides with the release of his new debut solo record, Like a Book. Let’s give him a warm welcome! Visit website

In addition to live painting the entire festival stage-side, poet, sketch artist, and musician Ann Cohen will be reading from the San Francisco Oracle in honor of her late husband, Allen Cohen, visionary publisher and social activist. In the summer of 1966, people in San Francisco began to attend a series of meetings to discuss starting a newspaper. These poets and artists envisioned a revolution of love and peace starting in the city and engulfing the whole planet; the Oracle emerged, tackling social as well as spiritual and environmental issues. Distribution grew as far west as New Zealand, India and Vietnam, and as far east as Prague and Moscow, hidden in the bottom of boxes of second-hand clothing. Oracle editorial meetings included everyone, including staff and anyone who happened to walk in the door. The idea was that if their flow brought them in the door, they were meant to be there. These guests and drop-ins were thought of as representatives of the rest of the world. Fifty-one years later, these beliefs have proven necessary for communal life on this planet. Welcome back to VBMF, Ann Cohen! Visit website

Jah Faith and the Royal Lineage Players was founded by local reggae icon Jah Faith in 2001 and features new and rising reggae talent in Los Angeles. The Royal Lineage has shared the stage with reggae legends such as The Meditations, The Wailing Souls, and Mykal Rose. They have even backed reggae legends on stage such as original Black Uhuru member Garth Dennis. They have packed local venues such as La Cita and the world famous Dub Club. Jah Faith the Royal Lineage Band are beloved in the local reggae scene and always bring a good time feeling to any party or club. Visit website

WILLIAM R . BRUN has a unique use of color, subject, and perspective, so that each of his paintings is a tale of its own, able to support a deep dive into meanings and emotion. VBMF 14 looks forward to hosting Will in the art show in 2019! Visit website

RECYCLE EVERYTHING is a nonprofit organization with a mission to improve the environment by helping companies, individuals, and art events reduce waste. The organization has transformed approximately 3.1 tons of recycled material and produced art pieces exhibited at galleries and art fairs all over Southern California, including at Venice Beach since 2014. Recycling locally helps keep the beaches clean for everyone to enjoy! Welcome, Recycle Everything! Visit website

RARA SUPERSTAR started to paint in New York, sleeping on the Brooklyn Bridge with his drum and his suitcase when he met an artist named Pep. He says, “I birthed myself and in my darkest moment, Pep showed up and offered me a night at his house to rest and eat; I went. I was amazed from the moment I walked in his house. He painted on all the walls and there were nudes hanging on the walls everywhere. He lived with his agent who sold his art to his buddies he worked with on Wall Street. It was a flash, and I wanted to be an artist from that moment on.” Since then, RaRa has been selling art on the Venice boardwalk for many years and is a true international superstar, regularly traveling to residencies in Japan, Holland, Italy, Jamaica, Africa, New York City, Miami, and elsewhere. You will be inspired by his messages of individuality, love, and compassion. RaRa has been with the festival since the beginning. Welcome back to Venice Beach Music Fest, Ra! Visit website

DEWAN HUFF is a neo-expressionist freelance artist whose work expresses “a remix of transmission of signs, signals, messages, words, writings, images, and sounds or information of any nature by wire, radio, optical, or electromagnetic systems. Telecommunication occurs when the exchange of information between communication participants includes the use of technology.” Welcome to VBMF 14, Dewan Huff! Visit website

DREW VAN DIEST is a painter with no formal degree, who paints on metal with acrylics and uses Mylar survival blankets as his substrate. He mounts his work on plexiglass and galvanized aluminum and wood for his metal series. One of his heavy influences is Mark Rothko, of the ’80s abstract color field era and Abstract expressionism. His works are a compulsory, intuitive reaction to the anxiety and disillusionment of the post-capitalist era. Welcome to VBMF 14, Drew Van Diest! Visit website

Maria Campbell is a marbling and tie-dye fabric artist who has been adding color to the scene since 2016. She creates works of wearable, shareable marbled and tie-dyed fabric and swirling pieces of marbled paper both for enjoying and sharing. As Rainbow on a Mission, she brings to the festival the kinematic experience of creating a piece of marbled art. Kids of all ages are invited to come create a marbled piece of their own! The goal is to bring this experience to all to continue to spread color throughout our world. The beauty of marbling and tie-dye is that each creation is unique and perfectly imperfect, just like its wearer! Let's go On A Mission! Visit website

GABBY TARY was born in 1941, the first of three children to an impoverished family in Budapest, Hungary. As a child, art was her entertainment and she spent hours drawing. Gabby immigrated to America after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. In 1972, she moved to New York City, where an influential film industry make-up artist, Vincent Kehoe, became her mentor. Mr. Kehoe suggested she move to Los Angeles. Over the span of thirty years, Gabby worked on The Arsenio Hall Show, SNL, Gabriel’s Fire and more. Today Gabby works as a freelance artist based out of Santa Monica, California, combining impressionism with modern expressionism. Each piece is a collection of emotional vignettes recorded in vivid colors, representing the culmination of her lifelong experiences, a distinct style that speaks to all. Gabby cites influences by Spanish artists Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. Welcome back to the festival, Gabby Tary! Visit website

Born in 1971 in a small industrial town of Enschede, Netherlands, as a young child, Marco’s head always swimming in the clouds. He sketched and sculpted recycled materials such as driftwood and bone to create his own surreal world to live in. He graduated school with a degree in landscaping design, and then moved to Costa Rica in 2011 where he met a well-known American artist that challenged him to paint. His work delves into bright colors, rich fantasy, and the use of dimension to take the viewer on a journey. Marco's works have been exhibited all over the world, winning awards in Costa Rica, New York Art Expo 2017, and World Expo in Dubai. He recently showed his work alongside William R. Brun at the Neutra Gallery in Silver Lake, California. Welcome to the festival, Marco! Visit website

JULIA BAUCOM is an oil painter originally from the D.C. area. Her work is a visual outcome of the study of human experience and relationship to the spiritual realm. Her work ranges from psychedelic surrealism to abstract fluid painting. She lives and works in East L.A. Visit website

LUCY MONTESDEOCA is an artist creating in the style of abstract expressionism. Her painting is currently on the cover of the album, Last Call, by the band Tony Bray and One Too Many. Welcome to Lucy Montesdeoca! Visit website

SAGE GREENBLATT is a self-portrait photographer striving to send messages of self-love and appreciation. Her work confronts society’s standards of what qualifies one to be seen as beautiful, and embraces the raw, vulnerable state of the human body and psyche. Nudity often gets perceived as provocative, but the human body is art within itself. Welcome to the art show, Sage! Visit website