What started as a community music bash to let off steam at the end of high season in April of 2007 has grown into a nationally acclaimed music festival, with a new venue this year to accommodate even more people.
The 2007 music event was called the Encore Party, organized by Steve Jacobus, owner of Tierra Magnifica, the original venue for the event. It featured a string of Nosara musicians and a duo from Samara and drew more than 200 guests. After the event, people requested for the event to be held again the following year.
In 2009, Jacobus teamed up with Alejandro Gutierrez, who took on the role of music coordination since he is the lead singer of the ska band CALLE. Using his connections with the San Jose music scene to attract national talent to the first official Caricaco Music Festival, held on January 31, 2009, he created a lineup that included three San Jose acts as well as local Nosara favorites.
“By 2012 the Caricaco Music Festival had achieved national recognition. Over 750 music fans flocked to Tierra Magnifica, the majority coming from San Jose, to take in the relaxed vibes, sweeping vistas, delicious food, ice cold beers and Costa Rica’s hottest bands,” related Jacobus.
Gutierrez remarked, “My fondest memories of past festivals are Jippo playing Pink Floyd 2011, Zopilot playing at Sunset 2012, the first meetings ever for Caricaco with the biggest Guiones crew of friends and people’s faces walking in each Caricaco.”
In 2013, there was no Caricaco Music Festival, much to the disappointment of music fans. However, this year, on March 15, it is coming back bigger than ever, this time in an open-air venue at Finca Austria, in Nosara across the river, surrounded by mountains and forest. Gutierrez said this year’s goal is to attract 1000 people, and eventually he hopes to grow the festival into a 2-day event.
This Year’s Lineup
On Saturday, March 15, doors will open at 12:30 p.m., with activities, games and attractions for adults and children alike, as well as food vendors, merchandise and art on display. Activities will warm up with a yoga lesson and a show by the children of Del Mar Academy and Nosara Home School.
Music will begin around 3:30 and from then on will play uninterrupted, utilizing two stages so a band can play on one stage while another is setting up on the other.
The headline group, back by popular demand, is Sonambulo, who will have everyone dancing and feeling the psychotropical music madness. Other performers include: Colornoise, the experimental noise rock duo from Heredia; Daniel Patiño Quintana, who blew everyone away last year with his ukulele show and promises a new one-man surprise this year; Passiflora, a gypsy folk band with heavy vocals; Ojo de Buey, with latino roots reggae; Blackout, introducing a new project from electronic dance duo Huba Y Silica; Las Robertas, with their mixture of garage punk and 60s soul music; and Seka, Turrialba punk rockers mixing folklore, tango and ska.
Tickets are on sale at the Frog Pad in Nosara for $40. A shuttle service will be available from different parts of Guiones and Pelada to the festival all day. For more information, visit www.caricacomusicfestival.com.
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