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Being a bustling college town situated between podunk villages has its charm. Revel in knowing that Chico is less than a 45-minute drive in any direction to a casino, Sierra Nevada beer is cheaper than anywhere else and there is arguably a lot of amazing music happening here.
The unnaturally great history of music in Chico is probably due to its geographic location as the pit stop between Portland and San Francisco, but the amount of music festivals this town seems to have cultivated recently could be part of it.
Starting in the late 1990s, musical jack-of-all-trades DNA (yes, that's his real name) started the now defunct "Nowhere by Nowhere," the largest music/film/art festival in Northern California. It was a response to the epic South by Southwest festival in Texas and North by Northwest in Oregon, and featured roughly 150 West Coast-based bands over four days running the gamut of genres.
NXN ran for a few years and then sputtered out, leaving a hole in the vibrant music community.
The hole's been plugged thanks to a recent push by local movers and shakers to bring the festival vibe back to Chico.
It started last April when Wild Oak Records put on the "Chico Indie Fest," an all-day, multi-venue endeavor that brought 11 indie bands to town. The student-run record label followed up this year with the "Chico Rock Fest," a near 5-hour adventure last week.
In October, Jason Cassidy put on his "Palais Idéas," a four-day marathon festival featuring more than 70 musical experiments and other strange, adventurous and visionary music that featured everything from a 24-hour drone-a-thon to amplified rocks.
And, as if by an occult hand, the now second-annual Cammies have solidified Chico's music festival scene. The Chico Area Music Awards is a multi-week series of concerts that showcase and recognize the entire spectrum of musical projects in Chico.
Fans had the opportunity to vote on their favorite local artists, who will be honored at the Cammies award show on Saturday at the Senator Theatre from 7 to 10 p.m, featuring Aubrey Debauchery and Gorgeous Armada. Yours truly will be presenting an award.
Be there or be square.
Matt can be reached at entertainmenteditor@theorion.com
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