Colorful, High-Energy, Joy-Inducing MarchFourth to Perform at Miners Foundry Oct. 2

Nevada City, CA – MarchFourth, a larger-than-life, joy-inducing force of 15 musicians, dancers and acrobats will bring their celebratory spirit and colorful explosion of brassy funk, rock and jazz to the Miners Foundry stage in Nevada City on October 2. 

“We like to mash up genres of music and fuse it all together. We have so many players with so many musical backgrounds, we try to make it a musical gumbo, if you will,” said bandleader John Averill.

The Miners Foundry Cultural Center is pleased to present MarchFourth on Wednesday, October 2. The bar and doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m.  The Miners Foundry features a no-host full bar and snacks available for purchase. 

Based out of Portland with band members hailing from New Orleans and Washington, MarchFourth (M4) is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year. The band got its start playing on March 4 during Fat Tuesday celebrations more than two decades ago. 

Since then, the project that started as an instrumental party band has gone through many evolutions, with an eclectic music-making history with 200 musicians and performers over the years. 

“We now have vocals and guitar and lots of interesting arrangements,” said Averill, the band’s bass player who accompanies guitar, three saxophones, two trombones, two trumpets and a 4- piece drum/ percussion ensemble.

“We leave people happy and oftentimes very sweaty from dancing. We really want to uplift the room for two hours,” said Averill. 

With exceptional musical quality and a visual kaleidoscope of performers, MarchFourth is a spectacle of high-energy compositions, colorful costumes and irresistible charisma. M4 has been seen on stages from ESPN’s Espy Awards to festivals like Wakarusa, Bumbershoot and High Sierra Music Fest, to world-class venues like The Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl, The Fillmore and even a cultural exchange tour to China, sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

MarchFourth’s track “Gospel” (from their self-released album Rise Up, 2009) was featured as the closing credits theme song in the Disney/Pixar animated film, Monsters University. The band is currently working on a new album and in February will be part of the all-star Jam Cruise lineup. 

A mix of jazz, funk, rock and Eastern European brass band together with stilt walkers, jugglers and hula hoopers has made them a colorful, psychedelic, all-ages crowd favorite among “Burners” and festival goers up and down the West coast. 

“I think it’s the celebratory nature of the music and the dancing in the streets kind of vibe. It’s evolved over the last couple decades,” said Averill. 

No stranger to Nevada County, Averill grew up attending the annual Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival at the county fairgrounds in Grass Valley with his parents. He remembers his dad playing  mandolin and his mom playing bass, jamming for hours and hours in the campground with other musicians. Averill says he is eager to return to the foothill community. 

“I’ve been going to that area my whole life. I love the Miners Foundry. I think it’s a really cool spot and I’m a big fan of the Yuba River.”  

325 Spring Street, Nevada City, CA 95959 

Tuesday – Friday | 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

The Miners Foundry Cultural Center is a living historic treasure serving Nevada County as a cultural art and community events center producing 400 events annually. More than a venue, the nonprofit’s mission is to preserve, enhance and utilize the historic Miners Foundry for cultural, educational and social activities in Nevada County. It is a symbol of California’s rich historical heritage, providing an educational and social bridge from our past to the present and future. Membership supports ongoing events at Miners Foundry such as these and many others.