After a decade of playing music together, tomatoband, a local, experimental jam band, is calling it quits. The group recently released a new album, Bocadillo in May but felt that it was time to step back and experiment with new projects.
“Building tomatoband has been the art project of my dreams. It’s taken so many different forms, and we’ve gone so many places both musically and geographically with the band,” said keyboardist Alex Irwin. “I’m ready to try some different grapes and put my energy into different sounds, but tomatoband will always be such a huge part of my musical fabric.”
To celebrate the band and all the people they’ve met along the way, tomatoband is hosting a music and arts festival on June 26 at The Barrel.
“The psychedelic circus is coming to town on June 26, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to go out with a bang,” Irwin of the upcoming festival.
During the fest, dubbed Tomatomania, artists will be selling their work along with local vendors including farmers, boutique clothiers, wellness and holistic centers.
The festival runs from 2-11 p.m. with performances by Weigh Station, The Destinators, DJ Moldybrain and, of course, tomatoband, which will play two back-to-back sets from 8-11 p.m. Rebel Taqueria food truck will also be in attendance, serving up tacos, burritos and more.
“It’s difficult to say ‘goodbye’ to tomatoband after all these years. I prefer to think of it as ‘see you later.’ It’s really amazing to listen back to all of the songs we’ve recorded over the years, how each of them represents a unique part of that decade,” said guitarist Charlie Mitchell.
“We couldn’t be happier to be surrounded by friends as we close the curtains on tomatoband. It’s sure to be a party, so we do recommend wearing water-wings.”
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