When Tahoe Joy Festival founder Matt Axton speaks of music, he speaks plainly: “Music is the closest thing to magic that there is in the world.”
And of the world, he says, “Unification is something we need now more than ever, and joy is the central ingredient.”
Those are two of the biggest reasons why the musician started the free, one-day summer-kickoff festival on Commons Beach in Tahoe City. Another reason? “Tahoe is where I was raised and where my heart is,” he shares.
Oh yeah — and back in 1971, Matt’s dad, musical powerhouse Hoyt Axton, wrote a little song you might know called “Joy to the World” (“Jeremiah was a Bullfrog”) — from which the spirit of the festival is drawn.
With ten different musical acts on two stages, a vendor village of over 30 local and regional artisans, makers, food trucks, and craft beer and wine set along the shores of Lake Tahoe, it’s a day to celebrate being alive.
“It’s a full-on festival,” Matt says of the event, which runs from 12 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 7. “Food, fun, community, art, music, nature.”
Still, it’s the music that is the wand for the magic, and Tahoe Joy unveils a powerful variety of performers, headlined by Tahoe’s own bluegrass-Americana rockstars, the Dead Winter Carpenters. The band has been getting feet tapping all over the country for 15 years now and it’s only getting better. They’ll close out the festival with the evening set, the group lowering the sun into the western sky with untamed strings and vocals speaking volumes.
The music kicks off hours earlier at noon on the main stage with some down-and-dirty blues rock from San Diego’s Little Hurricane; their gritty sound like some wild west train robbery executed with elegance.
Sonido Sueño, the nine-person Latin-fusion band from Reno, takes the main stage next, unpacking its vibe of globally influenced and exuberantly rhythmic dance music; the five-person group Lazwell brings the funk with a multi-textural maze of instruments and vocals (and Jenes Carter’s moves) that heave half-crazed energies of attitude and soul; and Matt Axton & Badmoon keep the good times soaring with a rambling rock ‘n’ roll country set that tells a story and gets you roarin’.
Country is in Matt’s bones. His grandmother Mae Boren Axton was known as the Queen Mother of Nashville. She co-wrote “Heartbreak Hotel” and helped a 19-year-old kid named Elvis Pressley on his way toward becoming The King. She also mentored the likes of Willie Nelson, Reba McEntire, and Blake Shelton.
From his grandmother to his father to Matt himself, musical mentorship is intrinsic to the Axton name. And so, it’s not just the headliners who get marquee time at Tahoe Joy, but talented young local musicians as well. In between the main stage acts, the community stage is where stars are born — as five standout up-and-comers from the Tahoe Truckee School of Music will be given their chance to shine.
“For some of these musicians, it’s the first time they will have been on stage in front of 2,000-plus people,” says Dawn Harris, a consultant who’s been involved with the Tahoe Joy Festival since its inception.
Matt has also started the Joy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to opening doors for relatively unknown but deserving musicians. In addition to Tahoe Joy, the organization puts on Americana Joy, a monthly music series in Los Angeles devoted to showcasing new artists. Visit joyfoundations.org for more information on all of the things he is doing with music and community, and to learn more about Tahoe Joy and/or to get involved.
When Matt talks about this year’s festival, he speaks with excitement at the varied musicality that awaits. “We’ve created an eclectic lineup,” says the North Tahoe High alum whose CD player back then often switched between Sublime, Led Zeppelin, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bob Marley. “It’s not just ten reggae bands or ten blues bands. The festival is meant to be an introduction to artists and musicians that you wouldn’t find ‘on your curated algorithm.’”
Matt, who spoke to me from Billings, Montana, while on tour with Badmoon touched on the growing prevalence of AI-generated music on outlets such as Suno. “It takes a million samples from a million songs, and someone puts in their prompt. And boom, you got a song. We battle every day to get people to take a chance on live artists and get away from the digital era. No amount of technology can replace live, organic art. Original and organic, you can’t fake it. See it live.”
It’s been said that the world does not need more technology, but more wisdom. It could probably use some more joy as well.
Woodstock was billed as three days of peace and music. June 7 at Commons Beach, we’ll look for one big day of magic and joy.
