Music picks for this weekend's Whole Earth Festival

Whole Earth Festival: the weekend that college bros sport tie-dye, sorority girls don floral headbands and everyone pretends to be a hippie.

But seriously, I love Whole Earth Festival. For three days, UC Davis is awash in bright colors, face paint, hula hoops, garlic fries, yoga and chill vibes. And for much of the time, excellent music.

Find the whole schedule of events here, and below, some sonic highlights:

– There’s a lot of world music to choose from, but I’d be keen to check out The Fanna-Fi-Allah Sufi Qawwali Ensemble, a leader in Pakistani music that focuses on divine love through mystic poetry. That happens on Sunday at 1 p.m.

– As far as touring bands go, Patchy Sanders is an Oregon-based family band in the peasant folk-meets-Celtic tradition. They play at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Thick As Thieves, which might be the most famous band at Whole Earth this year. The Los Angeles outfit blends pop, classic rock and rap.

– Both of Sacramento’s leading New Orleans second-line bands have sets: City of Trees Brass Band at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday and Element Brass Band at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday. Always a good time.

– If you’re craving some rowdy dancing, I predict you’ll find like-minded spirits for ragtime blues outfit Miss Maddy’s F Street Stompers at 2 p.m. on Saturday, or eight-piece soul band Joy and Madness at 7:10 p.m. on Saturday.

– For some sweet, indie folk from a UC Davis alum, check out Alicia Murphy at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. For some crazy electro-swing with circus beats, also from a UC Davis alum, check out DJ Straightnasty at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

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