The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Annual Festival gets a new band in its line up this year: Santa Barbara-natives Gardens and Villa. If you didn’t get tickets to the big show, don’t worry. You can still catch the group right here at SLO Brewing Co. on Feb. 11.
The band has never played at Coachella before, and according to drummer Levi Hayden, the band was lucky to be chosen.
“We just submitted to (Coachella) like a lot of bands, and were fortunate enough to get on the line up,” Hayden said. “We can’t wait.”
The galactic fever (the band’s genre, according to the band’s Facebook page) group is new to San Luis Obipso as well. The band hopes the show brings a good turnout of college students and locals, Hayden said.
Both the Coachella and SLO Brew shows can expect brand new songs off the band’s upcoming EP, Hayden said. Gardens and Villa’s plan is to slowly bring the songs into their current live set, he said. According to Hayden, they are figuring out where each song fits.
“It’ll be nice to have more songs to choose from and mix it up with,” Hayden said.
The only other festival Gardens and Villa played at was the Kanrocksas Music Festival at the Kansas City Speedway last summer, Hayden said.
Other Cal Poly students, although not part of the lineup, are excited to be part of the crowd at Coachella.
Business administration junior Leah Post’s hometown is three miles from the Coachella venue, in La Quinta, Calif. She said she will go to the festival this year and has been once before. But usually, Post said she just sits on her roof at home because she can hear the live music.
“Coachella is one of the most amazing experiences,” Post said. “Not only do you get to listen to amazing music, discover new artists and dance without being judged, Coachella is a place where everyone is friendly and having a good time.”
Post called the festival a modern-day Woodstock Music Festival of peace, art and music.
Though Post said she is most excited to see Bon Iver because of his mellow sound and a personal connection to the song “Skinny Love,” she can’t wait to hear Gardens and Villa as well.
“I know that, regardless, the ambiance of Coachella is going to add to the experience and they are definitely on my must see list for this year,” Post said.
Communication studies sophomore Kat Ward said she is also going to the festival, but it will be her first time. She is most excited to see Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre because, according to her, their reunion has been a long time coming. She is also excited to see The Black Keys, A$AP Rocky and Explosions In the Sky.
“I expect (Coachella) to be sweaty, real sweaty,” Ward said. “But whatever, man.”
Ward said Gardens and Villa can be described as an ethereal garage rock with a lot of synthesizer. However, she said singer Chris Lynch sings with a raw howl that contrasts well.
“I would definitely see the band at SLO Brew and Coachella,” Ward said. “I dig the sound.”
The band members are all California natives, except for Hayden who is from Arizona. According to Hayden, Adam Rasmussen, Lynch and himself met during college in Santa Barbra. The trio met Shane McKillop and Dustin (Dusty) Ineman through playing in Santa Barbara, Hayden said.
The band has played as Garden and Villa since 2008. It got its name when the members all lived together in the same place, on Villa Avenue. The members decided to plant a garden in the backyard; hence, Gardens and Villa.
“It’s pretty literal,” Hayden said. “The idea of living together and having a garden full of so much that we planted, definitely is significant to us.”
Though the band is still planning its Coachella set, it is hoping to do something special with it, Hayden said.
“Both shows (Cochella and SLO Brew) are sure to have beats, grooves and melodies that everyone can get down to,” Hayden said.
Gardens and Villa hits SLO Brew Saturday, Feb. 11. The all-ages event begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.