Regional

Kansas City, Mo., native Sole is about to get “skin deep” with her new CD, due out later this month. Red Zone/DreamWorks records will release “Skin Deep” on Sept. 21, with “4,5,6,” as the first single from the album, according to a press release.

As the Mill City Music Festival came to a close on Monday, another Minnesota event began gearing up for two full days of tunes. And this one will be a little bit closer to the Iowa border.

The Harvest Festival has lined up plenty of jam bands to keep you rockin’ on Sept. 10 and 11. Headlined by Leftover Salmon and The Big Wu, the event also features Soul Farm, Mango Jam, Madison African Band, Big Tasty, The Zen Mothers, Pretty Good Bluegrass Band and Cousin Dad. Playing on an acoustic second stage will be The Jones Gang and Lost Marbles.

“The Harvest Festival is done right and has a family oriented vibe,” event publicist R.J. Brodsky said. “All of the bands know each other and get along.”

This tight-knit feeling is what the festival is all about and is why Harmony Park began hosting the gathering back in 1992.

“Brother and sister Jay and Terry Sullivan had a vision of a place where local jam bands could play outside in a summer festival atmosphere and keep the jam scene growing,” a press release said.

The festival has grown since its origination, with the most recent gatherings drawing over 2,000 people to the park. This year, the event has become an “alternative to other venues that big bands can play,” Brodsky said.

Brodsky, who last weekend attended “Bask in the Grass” with headliner Soul Asylum, found that Harmony Park’s productions were better.

“The vibe is kinda like a small-scale Woodstock toward a jam band style of music,” he said, referring to the original Woodstock and not the riot-marked Woodstock ’99.

It’s a celebration of the earth with a great amount of thought put into it, he continued. Past attendees have enjoyed great music while minimizing the amount of garbage produced at the concert.

The Harvest Festival will continue this trend, while “offering thanks to the farmers that make it possible for people to walk into a grocery store and buy food,” a press release said.

To participate in this musical realization of where your food comes from (it doesn’t magically appear on your grocer’s shelves), hitch a ride to Harmony Park’s location in Geneva, Minn.

Heading north on Interstate 35 and take exit 18 traveling east on Highway 251. Drive north on Road 45 for about a mile. Harmony Park’s entrance is on the right.

Advance tickets are available at People’s Bar and Grill for $30. The day of the festival, tickets will cost an additional $10.

Free camping will be allowed for everyone at the festival.

National

Harvest Festival co-headliner Leftover Salmon will release a new CD from Hollywood Records on Sept. 14. According to a press release, the disc features sessions with John Popper, Taj Mahal, Waylon Jennings, Reese Wynans, Lucinda Williams and Bela Fleck.