Can’t Beat the View — and the People Watching — at the Palm Tree Music Festival 

The debut Palm Tree Music Festival was quite a scene and definitely the first festival of its type in Santa Barbara — well, technically in Carpinteria, which is the address of the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, where the approximately eight hour event, labeled by the organizers as “Palm Tree Music Festival Montecito,” actually took place. 

The eclectic lineup of performers on October 4 reflected the audience in many ways. If you were over 40, you were definitely there for John Mayer, the incredible guitarist and winner of  seven Grammy Awards who’s sold more than 17 million albums worldwide. (And, as one of my fellow festivalgoers told me, he used to date Katy Perry, which also makes you pretty famous around these parts.) If you were in your 30s, you were most likely there to see Sofi Tukker, who lit up the stage at the Santa Barbara Bowl last November (see my review here). And if you were a 20-something, you were almost certainly there to look fabulous and take selfies with other 20-somethings — and of course listen to tunes by Palm Tree Crew Co-Founder Kygo (in the headline position), Austin Millz, and Victoria Nadine (and take selfies with them too).

Needless to say, the people watching was definitely fabulous! Sofi Tukker was highly entertaining once again, although with fewer dancers than their last local appearance, which Sofi made up for with some high energy moves that got the crowd going. 

Mayer sounded great and, as promised by my many friends who’ve seen him play with the Dead & Company, his fingerstyle guitar playing was mesmerizing both up close and on the big screen. His large, 10-piece band was tight as well. By the time he got to his biggest hits, “Waiting on the World to Change,” and “Gravity,” a couple had gotten engaged, someone had propositioned him for a date on the upscale dating app Raya, to which he jokingly responded about his own charms: “This is as good as it gets with me. It’s all downhill from here.” Known for jamming, his 12-song playlist was shorter than most of his shows, but with Kygo still to follow, his time on stage was pretty restricted.

The event itself was fun, and sold out, so there’s obviously an audience for this kind of show. But by the time Kygo rolled around after John Mayer, I was too tired to enjoy his set because there was absolutely no seating available in the VIP area (at least not where you could see the stage). Branded as an upscale, lifestyle experience, this seemed like a bit of an oversight. Or maybe I’m just getting a little too old for this kind of a festival experience. But I heard similar grousing from the few other people I knew there. 

That being said, it was a beautiful evening, filled with solid music, with a stunning moon overhead and daytime views of the mountains and the ocean, so there’s really not a whole lot to complain about. I wouldn’t be surprised if the festival, or others of this type, return to the area again. palmtreemusicfestival.com