With the help of a couple of San Diegans and Ford, a local musician is headed to the Bonnaroo Music Arts Festival.
As part of a national competition managed by the Ford Motor Company, Team San Diego -- consisting of Dave Brown (Holiday Matinee) and Zack Nielsen (sezio.org) -- were asked to find a local musician and raise awareness for the artist in the community. Brown and Nielsen chose Joel P. West and the Tree Ring, saying that "Joel has been a hidden gem among San Diego's recently buzzing music scene for the past several years. We've had the pleasure of watching Joel's music evolve from an acoustic project to a fleshed-out, string-based quartet, a.k.a. the Tree Ring."
In West's honor, Team SD threw a sold-out special event for the artist at the Sherwood Auditorium in the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. Due to the success of the event -- drawing a crowd of 500-plus -- Joel P. West and the Tree Ring will have the opportunity to play at the Bonnaroo Music Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., on June 10-13, alongside Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, Weezer and Stevie Wonder. Holiday Matinee's Dave Brown will be going along to document the experience.
Congratulations, Joel P. West. Well played, Team San Diego, well played.