STELLAR MUSICIANS TO PERFORM AT EAST COUNTY FEST

By Miriam Raftery

Our East County Fest 10-year anniversary celebration for East County Magazine on August 25^th at Mission Trails features an array of top musical talent from East County including prominent jazz/pop/ classical/Nuevo Flamenco guitarist Miles Moynier, award-winning fingerstyle guitarist Jim Earp, talented and creative performers from Visionary Dance Theatre, and the San Diego Native American Flute Circle, honoring 12,000 years of Native American history in our region.

Miles Moynier performs an extensive variety of solo instrumental guitar music including Nuevo Flamenco, Classical, Jazz and Popular fingerstyle selections.  He currently has six CD releases on iTunes and Amazon.com. Listen to his beautiful music here: www.milesclassicalguitar.com

He has performed at concerts, weddings, receptions and special events extensively throughout Southern California for more than 25 years, including at every major venue in San Diego County. He is on the preferred vendor list at many (e.g., The Prado, Hilton Torrey Pines, Estancia Hotel, Hotel Del Coronado, etc.). He has six CD releases and is a former Professor of Guitar at Point Loma University. He’s also been honored in the Wedding Wire Couple’s Choice Awards every year since 2014.

Jim Earp is an award-winning fingerstyle guitarist, and singer/songwriter and recording artist with Solid Air Records. He has eight solo instrumental guitar CDs. His second CD was among 10 winners in Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s “Homegrown CD Awards,” which deemed it among the finest independently-produced acoustic guitar CDs in the country for 1999-2000. His latest recording, a collection of solo original and popular tunes done is Hawaiian slack-key or "ki ho'alu" style, won first place in San Diego’s “Guitar Wars” contest in 1995, and was a “top five” finalist in the 2005 and 2009 International Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas.

His songs have made their way into songbooks and guitar compilations alongside many top names in the music industry.  He’s shared the stage with many prominent musicians. Guitar Player Magazine summed up his music this way:  “Jim… delivers an appealing mixture of British folk (Jansch, Renbourn, Legg) and California freestyle (Hedges, de Grassi, Ackerman.) He mixes an uncanny ear for melody with an edgy percussive attack… throw in driving rhythms, beautiful crystalline tone, and deft… technique… and you’ve got one fine player. “  Taylor Guitars clinician Doyle Dyke has said he considers Jim Earp a "great writer and musician, and a great man." Find Jim Earp and his music at https://jimearpguitar.livejournal.com/ and https://www.g7th.com/artist/JimEarp.

Visionary Dance Theatre is a San Diego-based dance theatre company, established in January 2009 and now based in La Mesa. The organization strives to create dance theatre on the cutting edge, with a mission that takes pride in “Diversity that has no limits in its creative process.”  Their performances and choreography tackle tough topics as well as general entertainment “in the hop of opening minds and spirits to a world of all its possibilities.”

Driven by the Vision of Artistic Director Spencer John Powell, Visionary Dance Theatre strives to enrich the community and its own company members through the shared experience of dance, theatre, and art. Included in this Vision is the belief that dance is for everyone. VDT brings together dancers & performers of all skill levels to create an environment of shared passion, growth, and opportunity for all of its members. The organization has a rich, collaborative history with artists both near and far, commissioning works from many prominent artists as well as performing original works. Learn more at www.VisionaryDanceTheatre.org.

The San Diego Native American Flute Circle players perform traditional Native American music, a tradition that dates back thousands of years.  The group performs frequently in free Sunday afternoon concerts at Mission Trails Regional Park overlooking Mission Gorge, an ancestral home of the Kumeyaay Native American nation.  

Their mantra? “We play for ourselves, for the universe, for everybody who wants to listen, and for any creature of the world which wants to observe us."

For tickets and more information about East County Fest, our 10 year anniversary celebration the evening of August 25th at Mission Trails Regional Park Visitor Center, visit http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/east-county-fest-august-25-party-decad.... 

The event also features food and wine tasting from 17 restaurants and wineries, artists, authors, NBA superstar Bill Walton, auction, raffle and stargazing.

Our thanks to major sponsors SDG&E and Diego Party Bus,  and to our food and wine sponsors:  Bekker's Catering, Farmer’s Table, Red Lobster, Cucina Basilica, Giardino’s Neighborhood Cucina, Por Favor, Downtown Café, Café 67, Lemon Grove Bakery, Baron's Market, Richard's Honey, Brew Coffee Spot, Granite Lion Cellars, San Pasqual Winery, Campo Creek Vineyards, Casi Cielo Winery, and Lenora Winery.

We also thank: artists Chuck McPherson, who will create a painting live for our auction, artists Gloria Chadwick and Jackie Hanson, wildlife photographer Debbie Merrill, Richard Lederer (UT columist and founding cohost of "A Way With Words on KPBS), Sunbelt Publications authors Richard Carrico, Jim and Terri Varnell, Don Endicott, Reina Menasche, Bette Pegas, Linda Hawley and Del Hood, musicians Miles Moynier, Jim Earp, Visionary Dance Theatre and San Diego Native American Flute Circle, prize donors Vineyard Hacienda, Runway Fashions, Ramona Ranch Winery, Hatfield Creek Winery, Fusion Glass, and Diego Party Bus for providing shuttle service.

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