Inquiring minds wonder: What were the first sounds of Fiesta 2026? Officially, those were beamed out to the multitudes from the front makeshift proscenium of the Old Mission’s La Fiesta Pequeña (“the little Fiesta”) on Wednesday night. Unofficially — or more precisely in a famously “official unofficial kickoff” way — those first sounds consisted of the tune “Where Do Dreams Go,” delivered piping hot and fresh by Spencer the Gardener (STG) at M. Special early on Wednesday evening.
Fiesta feeds off the power of traditions, year after year. This one started in 2005. If you’re going to stage a major citywide party, you’ve got to have a warm-up pre-party happening. That service was supplied by Santa Barbara’s favorite party band, STG, before a packed and dance-throbbing throng on M. Special’s back patio, on a perfect summer’s evening. Just add Spencer Barnitz’s trademarked menu of ska, surf, cumbia, spy, soul, and salsa.
The party started, and the charismatic leader had to use two words to convey the spirit in the “room” — “Fiesta 2026!” Say no more. Then the band launched into his old, presumably autobiographical hit “Boy with the Two Big Heads,” with its infectious ska + salsa groove (skalsa?). Another STG classic, going back to 1993, is “Disaster on the Half Shell,” which pumped up some serious R&B funk spirits into the patio, with Cainan Birchim’s thumping bass and crisp-cooking horn parts.
Barnitz mixes up his band’s set lists, which seem to flow organically rather than sticking to a prix fixe plan, between his strong stash of originals and select covers. “Where Do Dreams Go” is the final song, in a stripped-down acoustic version but fleshed out in a New Orleanian groove here, on the band’s most recent album Shine On. The album was released as part of a concerted wave of STG action including the release of Robert Redfield’s documentary More than a Party Band: A Documentary (link).
The latest album is also the source of one of Barnitz’s best recent songs, “Tragedy of Dreaming” (speaking of the dream theme), with its tender tale and Lou Reed–ish flavor. Another newbie, “To the Sea,” kicked into being by Brett Larsen’s accordion, lives, genre-wise, somewhere between a sea shanty and reggae chugger.
Larsen is one of the veteran members of the aggregate, along with background singer (and sibling) Liz Barnitz and drummer Robert Rachell. STG’s personnel has been changing a bit in recent times, but the essential sound remains intact and in dance-able motion. Joining the current party are guitarist Luis Medrano, trumpeter Mary Beughalin, and tenor saxist Evan Laflamme.
An STG show is always a crowd-inclusive affair, as Barnitz name-checks avid fans and friends, and makes a point to note birthdays in the house. “You’re dressed for the occasion,” he pointed to a woman in full Spanish regalia, “or any occasion.”
As Barnitz reminded the crowd in this Fiesta-phonic moment, “we have a Spanish album on Spotify, and guess what it’s called — Fiesta” (hear it here). From that album, and as a staple of the STG songbook, the band’s Spanish-language “Juana Cubana,” and other Latin American fare, done up in the band’s own musical patois.
Fiesta has deep roots in Barnitz’s life and soul, as he explained to me, for a pre-Fiesta Independent cover story in 2022 (link). “I’m a child of when Fiesta was looked upon as a really fun time in Santa Barbara,” he remembers. “We all loved it and it was one week out of the year where your parents were happy, you went to a parade and it was like, ‘Oh look, now I’m singing this song in Spanish.’ It had a profound influence on me. I have been surfing Mexico and just been traveling for a while, singing songs to Spanish all my life. It’s not a big hat and a shot of tequila.”
Barnitz can also take kindly to sitters-in, when the situation is warranted. On Wednesday, he invited the recent Teen Star champion Brynn Wood to show her wares on John Denver’s “Country Roads.” In a full circle connection, Barnitz mentioned that his band had played at her parents’ wedding. He has that kind of cross-generational lineage going for him. A gutsy and extended crowd sing-along was in order.
Next up, STG goes genuinely official, headlining “Fiesta Friday” at Buena Onda. The boy with the two big heads rocks on.
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