For our latest Sierragrass Session, we met up with the singing and songwriting old-time duo of Viv & Riley beside a placid stream under the oaks and the pine trees in Ahwahnee, California. The first edition of Sierragrass, a brand new festival hosted by AJ Lee & Blue Summit, was held in the spring of this year, and our series of live performance videos features artists and bands from the lineup.
Barefoot in the sand by the stream banks, Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno perform “Is It All Over” for their first selection. A song about the many different simultaneous apocalypses we’re all currently living through and staring down in the future, “Is It All Over” is gutting with its dichotomy of seemingly ancient old-time sounds and futuristic (and present-times) dystopia striding hand in hand. The original number, from their 2023 album, Imaginary People, works remarkably well in the pastoral California setting of Sierragrass, and feels as timely and convicting as ever. Will there be harmony singing on mars? Or in the lithium mines?
For their second choice, Riley picks up a fiddle, Viv a guitar, and we all strap into our chest waders to go down to “Chance Creek.” An apropos song for the setting, the instrumental is also pulled from Imaginary People. With galloping double stops and sprinkles of darker-tinged minor chords, “Chance Creek” shows how this duo effortlessly synthesize old-time, bluegrass, mountain music, and many more folk traditions into their own sound, bridging modern sensibilities and all the charm and patina of ages past. The worst part of their second Sierragrass Sessions song is that it goes by all too fast, leaving the small gathering of listeners – and all of us – wanting more. We’re so grateful to have been able to meet up with Viv & Riley in California for this lovely pair of performance videos.
Conceived, curated, and hosted by AJ Lee & Blue Summit, the very first Sierragrass was held May 9-11 at Sierra Meadows Resort in Ahwahnee, California, tucked into the shadow of the Sierra Nevada just across the Central Valley from Blue Summit’s home turf of Santa Cruz. For a debut, band-founded festival, the event was a smashing success. Our friends, the incredible team at I Know We Should, were on hand for this first edition of Sierragrass to capture live performance videos of artists from across the festival roster.
We’ve so enjoyed this series so far and have just one more installment coming soon, right here on BGS. Watch all of our Sierragrass Sessions here.
Video Credit: I Know We Should, Brad Wagner, Juan Soria, Charlie Peterson, and Luis Scampamorte.
