In a world…

…dominated by top 20 singles and over-produced commercial pop…

…one venue dares to bring you real artists and musicians right here, to Wenatchee.

And we’re doing it THIS WEEKEND – TWICE!

Friday night we’ve got the stratospheric, charismatic Eternal Fair from Seattle headlining and Animal Eyes from Portland as our opener.

Seattle Wave Radio predicted “Eternal Fair has the makings of another huge break-out band from Seattle” and we believe that as well.

In fact Seattle Weekly’s Todd Hamm also gave E.F. praises, writing of their full-length debut album: “Horse presents thorough arguments, points, counterpoints, and artfully drawn progressions; the grand, looping turns taken both instrumentally and lyrically are stylistic brushes with My Morning Jacket, yet venture forth on their own terms.”

Don’t believe us? Check this out:

And for a chaser, or perhaps we should say main course, we’ve got Seattle’s Susy Sun opening for Bellingham’s breakout golden band Learning Team on Saturday!

Reminiscent of Death Cab for Cutie or Minus The Bear (whom they’ve played with) Bellingham’s Learning Team is a band you’re going to want to tell your friends you saw before they blew up.

Beneath the complexity of this Pacific Northwestern five-pieces’ music is a beautiful simplicity, and that’s a large part of what has made Learning Team such a huge breakout success – a total lack of pretense.

As the Weekly Volcano wrote: “The band succeeds on the basis of the songwriting, much of which drops back in influence to the glory days of pristine indie pop like Death Cab for Cutie.”

But don’t take our word for it. Check out this video from The Learning Team and fall in love for yourself…

What’s Better Than Free Live Music? NOTHING. That’s What.

This Friday at 7 p.m. get ready for another of awesome FREE live music at Centennial Park in beautiful, historic downtown Wenatchee, brought to you by the City of Wenatchee and Caffe Mela.

We’ve got indie-rock darlings The Horde and The Harem in from Seattle headlining Friday’s show. This is a band of veteran Northwest musicians who have played festivals such as The Capitol Hill Block Party, Northwest Folklife and Bumbershoot. And you can see them HERE for FREE!

Check out this awesome music video for their song “Chasing Crows” to get a better idea of their sound:

Plus we’ve got local favorite’s The Wicks opening. This trio from Cashmere has a stomp-grass folk sound and will make you fall in love with stringed instruments all over again.

So join us on the grass of Centennial Park, in this family-friendly setting right in the Wenatchee Museum & Cultural Center’s backyard for another night of beautiful music in the heart of downtown Wenatchee.

Be Awesome. Join Us. BE The Street Team.

Join our street team! Meet music fans just like YOU and promote the budding live-music scene that’s soon to blossom in the Wenatchee Valley.

But WHY, you ask? Well, not only are there perks, like 50% off tickets to live shows, free merch and food, but you’re more than likely going to meet the awesome artists and bands that come through and play Caffe Mela.

Artists like: The Head And The Heart, Pickwick, Motopony, The Cave Singers, The Tallest Man On Earth, Ivan and Alyosha, The Maldives , Lemolo, Noah Gundersen and many, many more.

So what do we do? Well, we meet once weekly at Mela and talk about upcoming shows, eat free food, drink coffee and hand out posters and handbills for upcoming gigs that you and your homies then take out into the community and give to your family, friends and everyone in between.

And, more often than not, we give out free tickets to upcoming shows. Exhibit A: Leinie H., pictured above, our most loyal street team member and an all around B.A.M.F. of a music fan.

***PLUS: You can give us your input on who YOU want to see grace the Mela stage. Wenatchee is perfectly located between Seattle, Portland and the Spokane/Boise music markets and a lot of awesome artists and bands pass through here without a peep. All we need to do is snag them as they’re moving through and we’ve got a show! So join us today!

5 Reasons To See The Last Bison

Are you ready to experience one the biggest bands that Caffe Mela has ever brought to Wenatchee? Or do you need some convincing?

Old-school isn’t enough to describe the sound of Virginian-based band The Last Bison; I’m thinking 19^th century old-school. I have to give props to KOHO radio for my discovery of The Last Bison. I first heard the band here, confusing front man Ben Hardesty’s vocals for the more well-known Mumford & Sons. I was pleasantly mistaken.

I thought I’d do you a favor and list a couple of reasons you want to see this band:

You need to see The Last Bison if:

1. You appreciate this new wave of hipster/folk music.

I highly recommend coming out and having a listen before they join the likes of folk powerhouses such as The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, and Mumford & Sons — bands The Last Bison are so often compared to. Mela has done an excellent job of hunting down Northwest talent that are on their way to the top. Now, they’re bringing in the big guns. They will definitely not disappoint.

2. You are a Rachael Ray fan.

Yeah, we all know Rachael Ray has excellent taste in delectables, but who knew she was so ahead of the game in terms of musical geniuses? At the recent South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX, Ray hosted The Last Bison. The band easily kept concertgoers engaged into the early hours of the morning. Well done, Rachael Ray, well done.

3. You prefer REAL instruments.

So synthesizers aren’t your thing? No problem! The Last Bison is as real as it gets. According to their website, the band plays on a 75-year-old chaplain’s pump organ and uses Bolivian goat toenails on stage. Some more familiar instruments include a stand-up bass, two xylophones, violins, and a mandolin. But honestly, if a band takes the time to haul around that many instruments, you know it’s gonna be good.

4. You like M83’s “Midnight City”.

A lot of times, it’s hard for a band covering a song to outdo the original. Well… The Last Bison killed it. They take a folksy twist to the popular song and it’s beautiful. I’d recommend a listen:

So, why not? It’s cheap, it’s close and finals are OVER. It’s time to treat yourself. You won’t regret it.

If that’s not enough convincing, I suppose there is more pull to come see this amazing act. (FYI, this is for the ladies)

5. You like facial hair.

Oh hello there…

– By Elisabeth Miller

We Need YOU – To Join The Street Team!

You might have recently heard some of the hoopla about the Caffè Mela Street Team we’ve recently created. It’s a small but growing group that cares about cultivating a quality, contemporary live music scene in the Wenatchee Valley.

As you may or may not know, during the last five years we’ve brought in some pretty amazing Pacific Northwest artists including (but not limited to) Pickwick, Motopony, Hot Bodies In Motion, Ravenna Woods, Big Sur, OK Sweetheart and many, many more.

But in order to keep growing this burgeoning music scene we need YOUR help!

So join the Mela Street Team and do your part (not to mention it’s a great way to meet new friends). What we do is meet up at Mela a few weeks before any of big gig, talk about the upcoming artist, listen to some of the featured tunes and then hand out posters and handbills for you to give to your friends, family and whomever else you think would enjoy the show.

And did we mention there are perks? Oooohhhhhhh, yeah. But you’ll have to come to the next street team meeting to find out what they are (insert maniacal chuckle here).

Our next street team meeting is tomorrow at Caffè Mela at 5 p.m. and it’s focused on promoting our next big show – Portland’s own Radiation City with special guest Kevin Sur – coming up this Friday, Feb. 15 (a perfect Valentine’s Day date night if we do say ourselves).

As per usual the band we’ve booked is on its way up. Radiation City was recently on NPR’s “Top Ten Bands You Should Know About This Year” list. Here’s a video of theirs from KEXP’s musical festival called the Doe Day Sessions:

Time Entertainment had this to say about them:

• “After hearing their nostalgia-fueled retro dream pop, the fact that Radiation City is young may come as a surprise. Their charmingly evocative debut, The Hands That Take You, has a polished ’60s-inflected sound that belies their years — or at least implies that they raided their parents’ record collections. Their album and the follow-up EP, Cool Nightmare, are filled with mercurial pop songs and organ-driven melodies that pair perfectly with singer Lizzy Ellison’s elusive voice to create a languid pop sound that is evocative of groups that came before, yet still is very much their own.”

We couldn’t agree with that analysis more. So join the Mela Street Team and help us promote awesome shows and amazing bands like this one. And who knows, maybe you can help bring your favorite band to town…

They came. They saw. They rocked.

Ryan and Whitney rocking out

Saturday night we welcomed the very talented  didgeridoo-playing guitar phenom Blake Noble and  Seattle indie-rock power duo The Grizzled Mighty to  the Mela stage and the place was packed!

The G.M. have a harder sound than many of the acts we’ve booked but sometimes you just got to get the lead out, y’know?

But for those of you who like a mellower vibe, don’t forget our Tuesday night jazz sessions presented by VIM Sports at 7 p.m.

And mark your calendars for our next big show, Radiation City on Feb. 15th at 8 p.m. This 5-member Portland based band has an atmospherically-old school sound and the haunting melodies intertwined with their beautiful voices take you on a journey of sound. It’s really an experience!

Check out this video for their song “Construction” shot in Minneapolis, MN.

On their Facebook page they describe their sound as, “Your parents’ record collection spent some time on the Event Horizon, and this came out.”

We think that’s a pretty good way of putting it. Get your tickets online today and we’ll see you at the next show!

We’re Just Getting Started…

The Mela Green Room

We here at Caffè Mela have a reputation for being THE spot for live music in the Wenatchee Valley. And that’s a reputation we’ve worked very hard to cultivate.

Last year we welcomed tons of great Pacific Northwest bands to Mela and treated Wenatchee to live music that you’d have to travel to Seattle or Portland to see otherwise.

To the left you can see the Caffè Mela Green Room, with all the posters for past shows proudly displayed. And we’re here to tell you that we’re going to double down on our commitment to great live music and bring even MORE bands to Wenatchee to rock your faces off.

If you weren’t at our New Year’s Bash featuring Noah Gundersen, Hot Bodies In Motion and the incomparable Motopony then you truly missed out. But have hope! We’re just getting started…

Motopony – I Am My Body – LIVE at Caffe Mela from Voortex Productions on Vimeo.

Check out this great video from New Year’s (if you were here you’re probably in it). And then make plans to see the next few great bands we’ve got lined up in the coming months. Tomorrow night we’re going to treat you to some inspired, gritty blues rock from Seattle indie darling duo The Grizzled Mighty. Here’s a video of them performing live on Seattle’s indie rock radio KEXP.

Doors open tomorrow night at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 and the very talented Blake Noble will be opening for The G. M. Check out our website here for all the details and ticket information.

And if you can’t make it tomorrow night, mark your calendars for our NEXT big show. We’re welcoming the up-and-coming Portland phenomenon Radiation City to Mela Feb. 15th. It’s the perfect date night for Valentine’s Day!

Larry Murante gave me goosebumps..

I can't say that about very many things.

 

CLICK HERE: Recorded Live At Caffè Mela

mmm….Music

 

A shot of the guitar played by Greg Ruby of Hot Club Sandwich

A big thanks to all who came out to hear Hot Club Sandwich this weekend! The Seattle area group is a 6-piece all string gypsy jazz ensemble that will swing your plaid socks right out of your shoes if your not careful.  They did an excellent job combining their soaring technical musicianship with down to earth with and humor that kept us onlookers at ease despite being unable to sit still.  The event was one of five recent performances presented by KOHO 101.1 including Beth Whitney, Star Anna, Junkyard Jane,  and Adrianne Gonzalez.

Also this weekend was a listening party for the new Michael Carlos album entitled Damage and Remainder.  Our first event of its kind was attended by MC fans and band members, studio personnel and others… all who learned about the fascinating behind the scenes of writing, recording, and producing one of the most important local albums to date.

Prairie Flyer!!

One of the best regional bluegrass acts stopped on their way through to play a one night engagement at the shop. Check out the clip for something a little different. Prairie Flyer features Jim Faddis on lead vox and guitar, Andre Vachon on mando/dobro and vox, Jason Stewart on banjo and vox, Dave Hackwith on bass, and Steve Blanchard on guitar.

We all had a hootin good time with our first bluegrass act. The entire night was recorded but this was the only tune that I have video for (from my Canon digital camera no less!) We look forward to having them back when they are in our neck of the woods!