The year’s top event for San Diego’s Grateful Dead fans, The Second Annual Great Deadful
Festival takes place on September 13 & 14 at Banner Ranch in Julian. Set in the mountains
just outside the town, it’s a beautiful, tranquil area for a festival, probably as close to going back
in time and actually experiencing an outdoor 1960’s music fest as is possible, though with
modern amenities. For this year’s second edition, a second stage has been added, with music
on both days, from the likes of Easy Wind and Electric Waste Band.
The event is being produced by Melissa Block. “It started when I asked a local brewery owner’s
advice about hosting live music events at Banner Ranch, the campground my family owns in
Julian” she explained of the events founding. “We had hosted some other festivals already, but it
was EDM, and I wanted to start producing live music festivals there, playing rock, country or
blues. He suggested the Grateful Dead cover band, Easy Wind, noting that they played his
brewery often, and packed it. He saw the appeal of our campground as a venue and thought the
two would be a good fit.”
Block was already a fan of The Grateful Dead, introduced to their music by one of her older
brothers. “He is a huge Deadhead and used to follow them on tour with Jerry Garcia in a 1985
Toyota minivan covered with Grateful Dead stickers. There was a giant ‘Steal your Face’ on the
front hood, and I got that van as my first vehicle when I turned 16.”
While she didn’t get the pleasure of ever seeing Jerry Garcia perform, she did go with her
brother to see Dead & Co., featuring most of the remaining members, alongside John Mayer. “I
remember being there for the first time and thinking “this is what world peace must feel like, but
on a much, much, tinier scale” (laughs). I was amazed at the warmth and friendliness of
everyone. I was socializing the whole night and felt so relaxed and at home, yet I was
surrounded by strangers. It was a sea of tie-dye shirts and people nonstop smiling and dancing.
Dancing at their seats, dancing on the way to the concession stands, even dancing while in line
to get food. It was heartwarming to see people connecting, enjoying awesome music together in
a safe, friendly environment. I knew that atmosphere and vibe was exactly what I wanted to try
and recreate. Easy Wind was totally on board and had the great idea of Electric Waste Band to
co-headline with them, bringing San Diego’s two best Grateful Dead cover bands together on
the same bill for the first time, six hours of continuous Dead. This year we’re excited to expand
the festival with a second music stage, and another San Diego Grateful Dead cover band
called Diego Dead.”
Block considers Banner Ranch to be the perfect location for this event. “There was no
other place in mind for the festival,” Block said. “Banner Ranch is owned by my family and has a
magical quality about it. Native American artifacts of metate grinding stones and pottery pieces
were found and preserved on the property, and when you experience the land in person, you
understand why the Kumeyaay lived there, nestled in the valley, surrounded by beautiful trees
and mountain views, with a little creek and wild turkeys. After the Kumeyaay, it was Banner City,
a gold rush town founded at the same time as ‘rival’ town Julian in the 1870s, and once equal in
size, with its own ZIP Code, until unfortunately it was destroyed in the 1930s by fire.
Our general store was built in the 1870s, and pretty much all that remains of the Old West
‘ghost town’ now.”
She notes the venue space itself is naturally a great spot to take in both music and scenery. “It
is actually our campground area when not being used for an event, and we call it the Meadow,”
she said. “It’s a huge flat grassy space, completely surrounded by trees. You’re totally immersed
in green nature, yet in a large communal space, with bathroom amenities and our general store
on site. You can have the best of both worlds, relax in a natural environment but have
convenience and feel safe, while listening to music.”
How hard is it to put an event like this together? “There are definitely a lot of moving
parts,” Block said good naturedly. “But it’s manageable by properly organizing each thing that
needs to be done, and tackling it one by one, based on deadlines. We start about 5 months
prior, first securing the bands. I am the head producer, and key people are the assistant
producer, stage manager/sound engineer, and the onsite property manager. Then they
coordinate with or are responsible for about three people each. We bring on additional staff for
the weekend of event, and reach out for volunteers too, who get free admission in exchange for
their help. In total, about 25 people to make the magic happen.”
Is this a family friendly event? “Yes definitely!” Block said. “I’m a firm believer that you don’t
have to stop having your ‘adult’ fun just because you have kids. Last year there was a nice
sense of community where the kids played with each other, and everyone there had an eye out
and would help watch each other’s kids. We also start our set up of our annual Halloween
display walk called The Haunted Forest, which I specifically made for kids. We do a basic setup
of the walk for the festival, it has colored string lights and inflatables, as an activity available for
the little ones.
As big a Grateful Dead fan as Block is, she notes the band’s music brings out even
bigger aficianados. “I admit I’m typically a more hard rock and alternative girl,” she said.
“They’re not my usual genre, but I do consider myself a big fan, having seen Dead and Co.
three times. The last time was a few months ago in Las Vegas at The Sphere, it was
phenomenal. But Deadheads, the diehard fans, they are in a league of their own, following them
city to city. That’s why I hesitate to call myself a big fan when compared to how ’dead’icated and
loyal they are!” She mentions lthe song “Shakedown Street” as a particular favorite “I love the
syncopated bass line. I briefly played bass in my college days, so I am drawn to songs with
prominent bass. The song always gets me in the mood to dance and I also really like the lyrics.
The message I get from the song is basically that you get from a place what you bring to it.”
What is Block looking forward to the most on the weekend of the show? “Seeing all
the attendees having fun and dancing, connecting with old friends and making new
ones,” she said. “It feels like you’re hanging at a giant backyard party with
awesome live music with over 200 of your buddies.”
