Beer Art & Music Festival Hits Santa Monica For A Good Cause!

Santa Monica, CA – From all levels of fund raising, a revolution is brewing: pairing art and music with craft beer to raise money for a good cause.

18th Street Arts Center, in association with Library Alehouse, is bringing the first Craft Beer Festival to the Westside of L.A.

When: October 2, 2010 1pm – 6pm
Where:18th Street Arts Center – 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica 90404

B.A.M. Fest, which stands for Beer, Art and Music Festival, is a celebration of locally produced art, music and the finest craft beers around. With 20-plus breweries, 4 bands, 3 galleries, open artist studios and gourmet organic food provided by the Green Truck, B.A.M. Fest 2010 is poised to draw a fun crowd and become Santa Monica’s next hip annual event. All proceeds benefit 18th Street Arts Center, a Santa Monica 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tickets WILL sell out, so buy early!

COST: Pre-Sale Tickets: $30/person before September 1, 2010. After September 1, 2010: $35.00/person, gets you a B.A.M. Fest logo tasting glass and unlimited sampling, 5 hours of live music, exploration of artist studios and galleries and the joy of drinking some of the best beers around.

Tickets will be on sale starting August 2, 2010 at: www.18thstreet.org/events/bam-fest and in person at the Library Alehouse, 2911 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA. 90405. For more information about B.A.M. Fest 2010 and 18th Street Arts Center visit www.18thstreet.org.

With the United States now boasting as many as 1,500 breweries – more than 90% of these fitting the small, independent and traditional craft brewery definition – the choice and diversity of craft beers has stimulated an increased interest in those passionate about culinary practices, innovation and creativity.

Like emerging artists, craft breweries are fairly new to the scene, only becoming a trend in the United States in the early 1990s. The website of the Brewers Association Craftbeer.com, states “as craft brewers have come of age, little did the world know that their full flavored craft beers would generate such passion and excitement.” And since “today’s craft brewers are often viewed as local personalities who practice their art with authentic intentions, and their beers are the expression of their individual passion and drive,” why not introduce them to arts and culture audiences at a fundraising event for local artists?

And the music lined up for B.A. M. Fest is just as diverse as the beer samples. From the blazing Blues infused sound of JT Ross and his rock-and-roll band Speedway, to the acoustic rock/pop music of The 3 Heads, the featured music at 18th Street’s festival is sure to make attendees groove. The Venice-based Makepeace Brothers evoke an American folk, blue-grass feel with what they call roots-based power-pop and the Christopher Hawley Rollers keep the party going with their very danceable mix of soulful lyrics, slide guitar, thumping bass and soaring percussion. All 4 local beach bands bring their own feel-good flavor to this cultural event.

For more info or to purchase tickets visit: 18thstreet.org/events/bam-fest