Everclear headlines BBQ, Brews & Blues

By Sarah Torribio, Reno.com

11:37 a.m. PDT June 14, 2016

Nonstop rock and blues including headliners Gin Blossoms and Everclear will provide the sauce for the
21st annual Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews & Blues Festival (http://www.eldoradoreno.com/reno-events/Great-
Eldorado-BBQ-Brews-and-Blues-Festival/), set for June 17-18. Organizers describe the event, a lively kick-off
to summer in Reno, as equal parts barbecue block party, beer-tasting event and music festival.
All performances are free to the public. Those with a taste for barley and hops can buy tickets to sample more
than 60 breweries from around the world, including the Eldorados Brew Brothers, Saint Archer, Lagunitas, The
(Photo: Handout)

Depot, Stoneyhead Brewing Company and more. A one-day tasting ticket which includes an unlimited beer-
tasting wristband and a commemorative mug costs $35 per person in advance or $45 on the day of the

festival. A two-day tasting ticket is $60 pre-sale and $75 if purchased on June 17.
The event runs along North Virginia Street in front of the Eldorado Resort Casino in downtown Reno. The thoroughfare will be lined with food booths,
many specializing in savory barbecue. A few new items this year include fried calamari with sriracha sauce, Brew Brothers Sciota-style smoked chicken
wings and beef brisket burnt ends with pickled watermelon rinds.

Big-time headliners
The festivals two biggest acts bear some discussion.
Gin Blossoms formed in 1987 in Tempe, Ariz., and had its major label debut in 1992 with the record New Miserable Experience. The band shot to fame
a year later when the single Hey Jealousy gained traction on alternative rock charts.
Melancholy has never sounded catchier And if you dont expect too much from me/You might not be let down than in the power pop classic,
penned by Gin Blossoms co-founder and then lead guitarist Doug Hopkins. It peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as did another Hopkins
tune, Found Out About You. Another track, Until I Fall Away, hit No. 13 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
They managed to score two more hits Til I Hear It From You from the Empire Records soundtrack and Follow You Down off the groups 1996
album Congratulations Im Sorry, both of which hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another song, As Long As It Matters, was nominated for a Grammy
for best performance by a duo or group.
The group broke up in 1997 and reunited in 2001 for a New Years Eve performance in Tempe. The Gin Blossoms now comprising bassist Bill Leen,
guitarists Jesse Valenzuela and Scott Johnson, drummer Scott Hessel and Wilson hasnt looked back.
Its released two albums of new material, the latest being 2010s No Chocolate Cake, and perform more than 120 shows a year.
This is what we most enjoy doing, Wilson said on the bands website. Its our job, and I know all of us are really grateful that we can earn a living
making records and entertaining people on the road.

If it doesn't kill you ...

Everclear is another alternative band that rose to prominence in the 1990s and continues to draw crowds. The group was founded in 1991 in Portland,
Ore., by lead guitarist and vocalist Art Alexakis.
Everclears first major-label album Sparkle and Fade (1995) yielded two hits, the grungy Heroin Girl, and the wistful cow-punk tune Santa Monica.
The bands follow-up album So Much for the Afterglow (1997) featured the modest hits Everything to Everyone and I Will Buy You a New Life, while
another single Local God graced Baz Luhrmanns Romeo + Juliet soundtrack.
In 1998, the albums third single, Father of Mine, peaked at No. 4 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 1998, Everclear won Billboards Modern Rock
Band of the Year Award.
The collective stars of Everclear rose further with the 2000 album Songs from an American Movie Vol. One: Learning How to Smile. The single
Wonderful, which again mixed pain with twangy cheer, reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 11 chart.
In a 2015 interview, Spin Magazine lauded Everclear, insisting that, despite the dysfunction in the bands songs, Alexakis was and still is capable of
instilling a sense of optimism in the mess.
I think a lot of my musics like that, Alexakis told Spin. Even our new record is really dark, but I think theres a lot of hope there. Sometimes, youve got
to squint a little bit to find it.

RENO GAZETTE JOURNAL

Contest: Name that beer to win Eldorado Brew Fest passes

(http://www.rgj.com/story/life/food/2016/05/18/contest-name-beer-win-eldoradobrew-fest-passes/84528212/)

The lineup
Friday, June 17
4th Street Stage
3:30 p.m.: USAF Rock Band Galaxy
5:30 p.m.: Shane Dwight
7:30 p.m.: Gin Blossoms
3rd Street Stage
4 p.m.: Buddy Emmer Blues Band
6 p.m.: Jason King Band

Saturday, June 18
4th Street Stage
12:30 p.m.: Jason King Band
2:30 p.m.: Hannah Jane Kile
4:30 p.m.: Maxx Cabello Jr.
6:30 p.m.: Everclear
3rd Street Stage
Noon: Buddy Emmer Blues Band
2 p.m.: Blues Monsters
4 p.m.: Ranell Carpenter Band
6 p.m.: AC Myles

Road Closures
From 10 a.m. June 16 to 8 a.m. June 19, the following roads will be closed: Virginia Street from Second Street to Fifth Street; Fourth Street from Sierra to
Center streets; Commercial Row from Sierra to Center streets; Plaza Street from Center to Virginia streets.
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