THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT (30&31) The String Cheese Incident has spent more than a decade making innovative, genre-defying music, and that each member has brought their own unique approach to the band's now five studio albums and countless live performances. The band is comprised of mandolinist/violinist Michael Kang, guitarist Bill Nershi, bassist Keith Moseley, pianist Kyle Hollingsworth, percussionist Michael Travis and percussionist Jason Hann.

 

ZAP MAMA (30&31) Zap Mama capture hearts wherever they appear. Their joyous a capella mix of Pygmy music, Central African and Arabic pop tunes, human beatbox sounds, AfroCuban rhythms with a touch of Soul and Gospel, is unique by any standards. With beautiful multi-part harmonies alive on top of full band and dance mixes, their entertaining, humorous and energetic performances are truly stunning.

 

ALO (31) Part musical explorers, part pop songsmiths, all-around dynamic performers, ALO went national after opening for Jack Johnson through the summer of 2005. Holding tight to their garage band energy that makes every one of their shows an event rather than just a performance, they lay down soulful melodies and swirling improvisation over precision funk grooves night after night.

 

MARK FARINA (30) Mark developed his musical tastes in Chicago - listening to house music on the radio, living in one of the country's most primordial breeding grounds for house. Around '88, while record shopping at Imports, Etc., he met Derrick Carter and a friendship began. Farina's "Mushroom Jazz" sound subsequently became popular through a long-running San Francisco club called Jazid Up, then through various Mushroom Jazz clubs thrown domestically and abroad.

 

TIPPER (31) Dave Tipper, a highly respected British Nu School Breaks producer and sonic innovator, co-founded London-based Fuel Recordings in 1996. A nimble-fingered turntablist, he owns one of the loudest automobiles in the world: a modified 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T capable of pumping out over 150 decibels. His recent live shows have incorporated both the bass-filled upbeat and the downbeat material.

 

BASSNECTAR (31) For the last decade, Lorin Ashton has helped develop the North American underground dance music scene. From touring full time as a DJ (an average of 125 shows per year), to his production & remixing under the alias Bassnectar, he has amassed a dedicated fan base, crossing over from hip hop to electronica to breakbeat to ragga/dub to the jam band scene and the greater Burning Man scene.

 

LOTUS (30) A five-piece ensemble, Lotus' music is heavily influenced by electronic music such as jazzy-house and drum 'n' bass and is mixed with elements of jazz, funk, and ethnic music from India, Africa, and Latin America. Lotus' seamless mixes and interlocking rhythms play like a DJ, but with a human touch. The result is a sophisticated yet accessible dance music with ability to react instantaneously to the crowd and atmosphere of a room.

 

CIRCUS CONTRAPTION (30&31) Expressed in from the Pacific Northwest, a veritable confectionery of exquisite novelties awaits you; fanciful fauna formations! Audacious dancing girls! Masterly aerial feats! Acrobatics both fiendish and melancholy! And as always, outlandishly original musical arrangements of the first quality, performed by the unparalleled Circus Contraption Orchestra! Designed to stimulate all aspects of the Human Organism -a unique experience for every constitution.

 

THE PNUMA TRIO (31) Formed in December 2004, in Memphis, Tennessee, the Pnuma Trio mixes classical, jazz, funk, hip hop, and drum and bass influences. During their short career, Pnuma has toured the country extensively, playing over 150 shows, having shared the stage with the Disco Biscuits, Lotus, Zilla, Michael Franti, and others. The Pnuma Trio consists of Alex Botwin on bass guitar, Ben Hazlegrove on keyboards, and Lane Shaw on drums.

 

BLACK & BLUE BURLESQUE (31) Born from the belly of the Yard Dogs Road Show, came four of the hottest high heeled vixens to strip across this great land. They have teased and titillated crowds on both sides of the Mississippi. Eight legs in a flurry of stripes and fringe. They won't stop. They can't stop. They were born to DRIVE YOU CRAZY!

 

THE INDIGO BELLY DANCE (31) This will the fourth Sea of Dreams appearance for The Indigo. All veterans of other Bay Area Belly Dance companies and long-time students of master teachers, the Indigo are in the words of Spoon, "An absolute delight to all your senses, and even to a couple more you may not know you have." The Indigo is Rachel Brice, Michelle Campbell, Mardi Love, Sharon Kihara & Zoe. (Here's their tribe site)

 

GAMELAN X (31) With roots in the Balinese "Baleganjur" (Marching Band) tradition, Gamelan X utilizes gongs and drums from Bali, which are interwoven with other world and western instruments in very non-traditional ways, integrating voice, percussion, horns and other instrumentation into into a unique form of participatory theater and dance.

 

MYSTIC FAMILY CIRCUS (30&31) BANTU Mystic Family Circus (MFC) is a non-profit multi-cultural collective of over 400 performers, artists, visionaries, and educators. Our mission is to activate a conscious, peaceful, and sustainable culture through performing arts, community building, creative expression, and education. Our circus is based on the African Bantu's story of a new tribe made up of all cultures stepping up to the front lines as a family of Peace Warriors.

 

XOX BURLESQUE (31) XOX Burlesque is a multi-talented champagne pop trio of performers, designers who move and shock and shake with their own fashions and their own moves in all kinds of ways - burlesque stilting, fire dancing, belly-dancing, ritual performance, singing, and aerial silk and vaudeville butoh.

 

SHADOW CIRCUS CREATURE THEATRE (31) Combining folklore, mythology, Lovecraftian monsters and pop-culture parodies, Shadow Circus Creature Theatre has been one of San Francisco's most popular and outrageous puppetry troupes since it's formation in 2000.

COTTON CANDY CABARET (31) Cotton Candy Cabaret is a delicious quartet from San Francisco, spinning sweet sounds with a wicked, dark center. Operatic vocals from Heidi Kooy soar above a pink, sticky melange of accordion, violin, (Linda Robertson) celeste, harmonium (Matt Cannon) and upright bass (Tom Edler). Together, they create a delicious cabaret confection!

THE ZOOPY SHOW (31) Three monsters, the last surviving creatures of planet Zoopy have stolen a spaceship and crash landed in a convent in South America. Upon encountering the aliens, the nuns are suddenly transformed into fabulously outfitted Zoopy Girls. The Zoopians turn the remnants of their ship into musical instruments and commence the "space funk conversion" of the unzoopy world.

PELE'S TEARS From Kaua'i, Pele's Tears performs spellbinding and passionate music. Michael Olson woos audiences with his flamenco-infused guitar. Kashia has dj'd as well as played percussion for a multitude of Bay Area musicians. Travis Wernet brings original and haunting poetry. Ken Becker enters the mix with his heart-rending cello. Papillon performs Ritual Belly Dance, holding the flame of life with a rare passion.

GODDESS ALCHEMY PROJECT Goddess Alchemy Project synergize their unique skills to weave a tapestry of evolutionary artistic expression. The work of the collective is grounded in the ancient ways of women's wisdom and offers an opportunity to experience this medicine in its modern hip-hop-influenced context.  In collaboration with many artists and collectives, the Goddess Alchemy Project creates alliances to further empower community and evolutionary activation.