For Dustin Burke, country and bluegrass roots run deep. On his left arm sits a banjo tattoo surrounded by green lightning; his grandparents met because of a bluegrass band. So when his 90’s rock and metal garage band burke. decided to switch genres, their next move was obvious.
At the time, Burke said the band was content staying in their garage. That was before they brought in bass player Jeremy Hogan, who pushed the band to start sharing their music.
“You know when you hear something beautiful, you have to share it with the world,” Hogan said.
Friday was the culmination of their work, as burke. opened the GoldenSky Festival with a 20-minute set on the Visit Sacramento stage. To get there, the band won a two-night battle of the bands known as the GoldenSky Rising Star competition.
“It was a very validating experience,” Burke said. “To go from ‘Let’s try to play country music’ to someone saying you’re one of the better bands. We don’t feel good enough for that; it’s a real honor.”
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Last year’s winner of the competition, Sofia Claire, returned to GoldenSky this year. Claire said she was thankful for the opportunities that competition brought her.
“It gave me a lot of credibility to be on a stage like this,” Claire said. “I opened for Uncle Kracker, Megan Moroney, Colbie Callat and two nights ago, I opened for Clint Black. We’ve been able to play stages all across California and really ramp things up.”
Claire rocked the Jack Daniel’s stage as the second performer of day two. The highlight of her 25-minute set was the performance of her new single “Wildflower.”
“It’s about picking up, leaving whenever you feel like it, following the soles of your feet and being like a tumbleweed,” Claire said of her new single. “That’s what my mom always called me.’”
Another local band, Moonshine Crazy, opened day three of the GoldenSky with a 25-minute set that had the crowd singing along to “The American Way.”
Moonshine Crazy was given the opportunity after GoldenSky reached out to their management company, Mason Entertainment. The band’s lead singer Jessica Spaid and lead guitarist Dave Shafer said it was a dream.
“I watched Clint Black from the audience’s side and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I am playing with some of my heroes, legends. I’m gonna be on the same stage in less than 48 hours,’” Spaid said.
For local and up-and-coming artists, GoldenSky was a major opportunity and stepping stone in their careers, but even for established artists it was still a significant experience.
David Nail, a country music artist whose career started in 2002, came to GoldenSky with the band he founded in 2018, The Well Ravens. Nail said he loves returning to Northern California because he found loyal fans in Sacramento early in his career.
“We did a couple radio shows and, ironically, met three sisters from Sacramento who ended up managing my fan club in the early years,” Nail said. “It holds a special place in my heart, we’ve done super well in California.”
Despite his star power, Nail said his band hadn’t played a festival that compares to the size of GoldenSky in a couple years.
“All the guys are pretty jazzed up,” Nail said. “There’s been a lot of anticipation on our crew’s part for the majority of the year leading up to this.”
After their set, Burke said the band is grateful for the opportunity and support from their family and friends.
“We are in our 30s, 40s, 50s; some of us have done the whole full-time musician thing,” Burke said. “This is a lot of fun because you don’t have to do the grind, you do it because you love it.”
