Southern California has Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Chicago has Lollapalooza. Tennessee has Bonnaroo. Austin has SXSW. And now northern Arizona has Tilted Earth Wine and Music Festival. What began as Page Springs Cellars’ Harvest Festival morphed last year into the inaugural Tilted Earth Festival at Riverfront Park in Cottonwood, says Eric Glomski, founder and director of winemaking at Page Springs. This year, the event has expanded to two days, June 19 and 20, from 4 p.m. until midnight.
Music is at the heart of the festival, and this year’s lineup of folk and acoustic rock includes well-known acts such as Rusted Root, Robert Earl Keen and The Lone Bellow. The festival also features 17 northern Arizona wineries, eight gourmet food trucks from the Phoenix Street Food Coalition, and kids activities including an archaeological dig hosted by the Verde Valley Archaeology Center and a rock-climbing wall. In 2014, Tilted Earth raised more than $10,000 for local children’s charities. Proceeds from this month’s event will benefit Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters; Prescott Creeks, which preserves central Arizona watersheds; and the Verde Valley Humane Society.
“When we hosted the Harvest Festival at Page Springs, there was this great community vibe,” says Eric, a huge music fan. “There are moments in life when you look around, and you feel like this is what life is all about. I experienced that at the Harvest Festival, and now we want everyone to experience it at Tilted Earth.”
On June 18, the night before the festival begins, restaurants in Sedona and the Verde Valley will host winemaker dinners – further info can be found online. Eric wants to grow Tilted Earth to include visual arts as well as craft breweries and distilleries. “Our goal is to turn this into something like Austin City Limits but keep it rootsy. It’s about local businesses, and it’s about Arizona.” – Erika Ayn Finch. Photo by Grace Stufkosky for Tilted Earth Wine and Music Festival.
SEDONA CALENDAR: Events, activities, shows, happenings
