By Dustin Lothspeich

New music-laden fundraiser comes to Barrio Logan

Thanksgiving may be just around the corner but this year, the stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes — heck, even the turkey itself — all take a backseat to the almighty yam. Finally given its own celebration apart from its beloved plate-mates, YamFest is set to takeover Stronghold in Barrio Logan on Nov. 21. Contrary to the name, however, this all-ages festival is more about rocking out — than pigging out. You can save that for the following Thursday.

The organizers behind YamFest have gathered some tastiness of their own for one bountiful musical feast, with nine excellent San Diego musical acts set to take part in a fundraiser for local AIDS charity and food bank, Mama’s Kitchen.

The lineup includes both established veterans and burgeoning stars in San Diego’s garage rock, hip-hop, indie rock and post-punk scenes: Octagrape, Big Bad Buffalo, Future Crooks, Inspired and the Sleep, KIDS, The Bridge, Mechachief, Paper Thin, and Luwejee are all scheduled to perform.

Truth be told, it’s not often that so many different genres are represented on one all-inclusive bill — a point that isn’t lost on the musicians themselves.

“I’m looking forward to seeing so many different musical cliques come together under one roof,” said Jordon Krimston, frontman for Big Bad Buffalo. “It’s becoming increasingly common to find people searching for a band with a certain ‘sound’ to play their show. You have your ‘punk’ shows, your ‘rap’ shows, your ‘shoegaze’ shows — personally, I think that’s a bit exclusive and uninviting.

“The fact that Luwejee, a local upcoming acidic rapper, and Mechachief, an LA-based ‘Lightning-Bolt-meets-garage-rock’ duo, are playing the same show is awesome. Mixed-genre shows need to make a comeback,” Krimston said.

With the impending closure of The Che Café — UCSD’s iconic all-ages cultural center — fast approaching, Stronghold has become more than just another venue in town. Coincidentally, as its name implies, the club is now one of the last remaining refuges for young acts to perform in San Diego — and one whose stock, unsurprisingly, is on the rise.

“The Stronghold is really underrated as a venue, in my opinion,” Krimston said. “It’s usually a gallery/studio but I would love to see some more shows there — especially since San Diego is seriously lacking in all-ages venues right now. The room is big, but not too big; the atmosphere is awesome; and it just has a great vibe all around.”

Booking a show, much less an entire charity event, can be a very time-consuming and exhausting task. While it initially began as a meager attempt to resuscitate his dormant band, chief organizer Steve Fernandez quickly turned his aim toward something bigger — and more philanthropic.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really planned anything beyond a house show,” Fernandez said, laughing. “It feels good. [YamFest] started as an idea for a show for my band, The Bridge. We haven’t played at all in 2014 despite being pretty active otherwise, so I needed to plan a show. I thought late November would be a good time, and then the charity idea came up. Being so close to Thanksgiving, I felt like it was absolutely necessary to give back.”

Aside from the performances, YamFest will also host a crafts table, a videogame table, and have food for sale — with 50 percent of the total proceeds going to Mama’s Kitchen, the oldest and largest meal delivery service for people with AIDS or cancer, in the county.

Choosing that particular charity was easy for Fernandez, even though he wishes he could give more.

“Mama’s name is ubiquitous in San Diego as the biggest food bank around,” he said. “They help anyone who needs it, and to have those funds reach as far as possible is the goal of this event. I’d love to give 100 percent, but the Stronghold is rent-based, so someone’s gotta pay for that. I also wanted to be able to pay the bands even a little bit if I could, which I hope I will.”

Although the prospect of witnessing nine great local musical acts is more than worth the price of admission ($8), the opportunity to help others less fortunate is what YamFest is all about — even down to the name itself.

“Yams are often the food left behind during Thanksgiving,” Fernandez said. “And left behind as well, are the thousands of people that go hungry on that Thursday. We want to take it upon ourselves to make sure no one gets left behind.”

—Dustin Lothspeich is a local freelance music writer. Reach him at [email protected].

YamFest 2014

Nov. 21 at Stronghold

1835 Main St.

Barrio Logan

All ages, $8, 5 – 11 p.m.

Lineup:

Octagrape

Future Crooks

Inspired and the Sleep

Big Bad Buffalo

The Bridge

KIDS

Mechachief

Paper Thin

Luwejee