The 10th anniversary season of the city of Sedona’s free Red Dirt Concert Series continues every Friday in September from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Posse Grounds Pavilion with free musical performances from an eclectic group of performers.
“Just like the Friday, Saturday celebration that closed out the spring series, we’re opening the fall series the same way,” Special Events Coordinator Jason Vargo said. The series opens on Friday, Sept. 4, with Garrett James & The Wanderers opening and The Sea Monks headlining.
■ Friday, Sept. 4: The Sea Monks with Garrett James and the Wanderers
The Sea Monks cite a number of American roots genres from rock, rockabilly and honky tonk inspiring the currently Nashville-based trio composed of brothers Noah and Jonah Kapchinske and bassist Alaina Fidanzo.
“My brother and I have been playing together since childhood, so we have a lot of musical chemistry [and] can read each other’s minds a little bit musically,” Noah Kapchinske said. “That can create some cool moments. There’s definitely a lot of improvisation focus in our act, that comes from our background in blues and jazz.”
The trio prioritizes performing its original music across its 100 plus shows across the year, with four albums already on their resume.
“It’s at the very end of our tour, so we’ve been playing a whole lot this last month or so,” Kapchinske said. “I think we’ll be in a position to put on a real tight show in Sedona.”
■ Saturday Sept. 5: Five acts
“The next day, Saturday, Sept. 5, we’ll have five acts over seven hours, from 1 to 8 p.m,” Vargo said. “Holly Kirsten, who performs as Musicmamaa, opens the day as a solo artist. Then Salinas Road, a duo from Julian, California, with an excellent folk-rooted singer-songwriter sound. We’ve got Playful Banter, a fun-loving, warm duo with original music as well as unique takes on covers that will please and surprise people. Then La La Bones, a bluegrass band.
“We close the Saturday show with Flagship of Fools, a Flagstaff favorite jam band and Grateful Dead cover band, among other things.”
■ Friday, Sept. 11: Nolan McKelvey with Spencer McKelvey
It will be an evening of folk and original Americana during the Friday, Sept. 11 show.
Throughout his career, McKelvey has shared the stage with Americana legends including Greg Brown, Peter Rowan, Odetta, Los Lobos, Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Leon Russell and Jerry Douglas, as well as contemporary favorites like Jack Johnson, Son Volt, Josh Ritter and Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, a city press release reads.
“Whether performing in an intimate theater or on a festival stage, Nolan brings heartfelt storytelling, seasoned musicianship and an authentic Arizona voice to every show,” the city stated.
His opening act is Kingman-born performer Spencer McKelvey, who self-describes as dark folk/world music and has been plying his trade across Northern Arizona.
“He’s a highly regarded Americana songwriter, and we’re excited to have him perform,” Vargo said.
■ Friday, Sept. 18: Kilted Spirit and Elijah Ezequiel y Los Conjunto AddictZ
“Those two acts rated highly in our selection process, and each is incredibly unique and wildly different from anything else,” Vargo said. “I always try to build a coherent theme for each show while keeping as wide a range of variety as possible across the series, and these two stood out as unlike anything else — so I decided to flip the script and put them together. Kilted Spirit is essentially a Celtic rock band; Elijah Ezequiel is a [15-year old] accordionist who is phenomenal.”
Elijah Ezequiel y Los Conjunto AddictZ formed in January 2024 and specializes in Conjunto and Tejano music. Vargo added that he is excited to showcase genres that typically have not been part of previous Red Dirt concerts.
■ Friday, Sept. 25 Swigfoot and The Skavelinas
For three blissful hours, the dream of the ’90s will be alive in the red rocks when the city transforms into Skadona with the big brass sounds of Swigfoot and headline act The Skavelinas.
“We got two super high-energy, super fun Arizona bands closing out the series,” Vargo said. “Swigfoot is from Tucson, and The Skavelinas are from right here in Northern Arizona … it’s exciting to showcase that energetic ska sound locally. It’s a great way to cap off the Red Dirt 10-year celebration.”
“It’s going to be the funnest thing happening this summer with having Swigfoot there and us,” bassist Mauro DePasquale said. “It’s going to be high energy, family friendly fun, lots of good songs, lots of dancing and just a good time.”
The Skavelinas are set to have a big month with the release of their new album “Dry Heat” at The Copper Jackalope in Cottonwood on Sunday, Sept. 6, from 6 to 10 p.m..
“It’s original music. It’s a culmination of basically the last three years — the band’s been together for about three years,” bassist Mauro DePasquale said. “We had previously released a couple of EPs that were streaming, digital format only, so we tied those together to create a 10-track vinyl album.”
Concertgoers will have additional parking options with the addition of 35 new spaces in a new dirt lot next to the Sedona Posse Grounds Hub, with about another 20 spaces adjacent to the bike skills park.
“We’re really trying to encourage people to take the Sedona Shuttle [Connect] to the event,” Vargo said. “It picks up and drops off anywhere within city limits for $2 one way, so it’s a great deal. Anyone who rides the Sedona Shuttle gets a raffle ticket [every concert] and will be entered for a special prize, which will include, but isn’t necessarily limited to a bunch of Red Dirt Concert Series-branded swag.”
Beer will not be served during the fall series, Vargo said, because of lack of interest during the spring performances; however two food trucks will be on hand.
“We just encourage people to pack a picnic, get comfortable and plan to stick around the whole time [because] every act, every hour of every one of these concerts is going to be a great experience,” Vargo said. “For this quality of entertainment, in this unique and beautiful a venue, for free, is a pretty amazing thing.”
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