The ultimate Steve Miller Band tribute, featuring original SMB Hall of Fame guitarist Greg Douglass, James East on bass, Mark Knoll on keyboards, Hector Toro on drums, and vocalist Jesus Guillermoprieto! Douglass and his amazing band honor the music of Steve Miller with a powerful show that highlights Miller’s biggest hits and some of his earlier material from those great ’60s albums. Songs like “Jet Airliner,” “Take the Money and Run,” “Rock’n’Me,” “Swingtown,” “Abracadabra,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” and, of course, the megahit that Greg co-wrote with Miller bassist Lonnie Turner, “Jungle Love.” This band is on fire after two recent sold-out shows at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. A warm welcome to Greg Douglass and Pompatus of Love! Visit website

Warren Zevon’s songs, played by Warren Zevon’s band! As Zevon’s 1982 tour band, The Excitable Boys were on stage night after night, playing the great songs and living the life and incredible stories of the genius that was Warren Zevon. The group also became a part of MTV’s first featured concert series taped live at The Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey. The members of the band also are the musicians on the live CD, “Headless in Boston.” The group has hired an incredible keyboard player and shares the vocal roles, playing songs from Zevon’s vast catalog. VBMF 14 welcomes The Excitable Boys! Visit website

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

George Walker is a natural storyteller, author of Trouble Ahead Trouble Behind (about a fantasy road trip with Jerry Garcia and the ghost of Neal Cassady), and a contributor to the all-star All About Kesey tribute. Walker was there the day Ken bought the original Furthur Bus, and became its chief mechanic, as well as one of its drivers along with Neal Cassady on the Merry Pranksters’ legendary 1964 trip across America chronicled in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. An active participant in all the early Tests, he became one of Cassady’s closest friends. Although his Prankster name is Hardly Visible, he is just the opposite, remaining intricately involved in every Prankster production and Bus trip over the decades, including The Cassady Show; playing the Tin Man in Twister; at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1997; on the Where’s Merlin? tour through the U.K. in 1999; starring in and helping create both original Prankster movies, The Merry Band of Pranksters Look For A Kool Place and North To Madhattan, and being the live touring Prankster face of the 2016 Going Furthur documentary. Visit website

Brian Hassett is the author of a Beat Trilogy—The Hitchhiker's Guide to Jack Kerouac, How the Beats Begat the Pranksters, and On The Road with Cassadys, plus, celebrating this summer's 50th anniversary of Woodstock, Holy Cats! Dream-Catching at Woodstock. He was also a primary contributor to The Rolling Stone Book of The Beats, and wrote the Grateful Dead tribute in last year's Kerouac On Record. He has been performing theatrical comedic improvisational spoken word from New York to Europe to Canada and California for the last 25+ years, and has recently teamed up with George Walker, original Merry Prankster and friend of Neal Cassady to present live "Jack & Neal Ride Again" shows from coast to coast. Visit website

1969 plays the best known, hard charging classic rock and blues tunes of the ’60s, channeling not just the music, but the spirit of the Woodstock generation. Lead vocalist Sue Willet lights up the stage with her amazing voice and high-energy performances, channeling Joplin and other well-known vocalists of the era. Robert Resnick unleashes sizzling riffs from Clapton, Hendrix, Page and other guitar greats. Gary Raymond on bass and David Sharpe on drums add their decades of touring and studio experience, and it all comes together on stage to take you back to the day when sensational was the norm of Rock and Roll. It’s 1969 at VMBF 14! Visit website

Nine Mile Station found their way to Venice, CA by way of a small ghost town in the Mojave Desert from which they take their name. Their bluesy, dark country-rock vibe comes directly from great influences like Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Van Morrison, Chris Issac, REM, Dwight Yoakam, Neil Young, and the Grateful Dead. Celebrated as one of L.A.’s great live bands, Nine Mile Station lets you shake off the dust and get down to rock and roll. Singer-songwriter Will Hawkins is joined by industry veterans Lauren Stockner on bass, Nick Moran on drums, Dan Wistrom on Pedal Steel, Chris Hawley on guitar, and Megan Drew on Violin. Special guests at VBMF 14 include Silk Wilkins on sax and harmonica, Michael Jost on electric guitar, Mark Steggell on guitar and vocals, and a few special surprises. Welcome to Nine Mile station! Visit website

The Shills are a half-female, half-male conglomeration of rich harmonies, jangly guitars, and solid grooves that bring forth deep cuts, obscure gems, and power pop sweet spots that span the decades of electrified amplification. They don't just cover the American songbook…they reupholster it! Welcome to VBMF 14, The Shills! Visit website

Sun Hop Fat has been a force in the Oakland music scene for years, blending rhythms of traditional American funk (James Brown, Parliament) and jazz (Yusef Lateef, Miles Davis) with harmonies and melodies from East Africa and the Middle East. The result is an up-tempo groove machine with a world psychedelic sound that is both ancient and original. The San Francisco Examiner calls their music “…a steady wall of extraordinary moving sound and beats,” that causes diverse audiences to get up and dance. This all-star band includes standout musicians from other popular San Francisco Bay Area groups. Welcome, Sun Hop Fat, to VBMF 14! Visit website

Michelle Claire is a bilingual (Spanish) actor, host, and writer currently writing her first script. At the age of 23, she gave up college soccer to enter the theatre department at Cal State University, Northridge, and was cast after her first audition, leading to musicals (“Guys and Dolls”), commercials (Mentos for Spanish market), hosting on the red carpet, and becoming the official emcee for the One World Art & Music Festival. This will be Michelle Claire’s first time emceeing on the Ocean Stage. Visit website

Marc is a musician, actor, producer, and writer, and has hosted many arts and music festivals and high-profile charity events featuring some of the world’s best-known artists and musicians. He also hosted his own radio show on World Music Days Radio and was the voice of the station during PSAs with Sir Elton John. Additionally, he has hosted a web series talk show and narrated documentary films. He and his wife Andrea trailblazed the funk/EDM live music scene as Champa 51 and its iterations over the past three decades, spanning New York to Los Angeles. Welcome back to Marc, veteran host of the Venice Beach Music Fest and Venice Spring Fling festivals. Visit website

The Brobots are a four-piece rock-n-roll dance party cover band from Venice Beach! Come out to party with the Brobots, who play all your favorite rock tunes from the past fifty years. 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