The Sagebrush Sounds Music Festival will be bringing 14 musical artists from all over Northern Nevada to Winnemucca for their first-ever event on Sept. 17, at the Haven’s Ranch at 8005 McNinch Rd. All of the proceeds will go to a local non-profit—the Frontier Community Action Agency (FCAA) — to help connect members of the community with resources in times of socioeconomic difficulty and raise awareness about the resources available in the community.
The event will have a blend of country, rock and grass roots music performances starting at 11 a.m. and the last performance going on at 11:30 p.m., food and drink vendors, as well as a diverse mixture of other vendors from the community. Tickets can be purchased for $20 before the event at Mucctownsound.com, the FCAA office, Brown’s Bar M, by calling or texting (775) 304-5497 or at the gates for $25 on the day of.
The FCAA has been a very active organization in the community, often working quietly in the background to help connect members of the community that are in need with access to food, application assistance, grief support, family resources, housing, tax preparation, and numerous other resources.
The FCAA is funded through grants, so a lot of the work they do must fall into certain categories outlined in often inflexible grant guidelines, but a lot of the time, people need assistance in ways that cannot be categorized in the guidelines.
This event and the donations raised through it will go to the FCAA Sunrise Fund, which was designed to “fill the gaps” and help people and families get “stabilized”, according to FCAA Case Manager, Lily Avalos. Without a continual funding source for the Sunrise Fund, this event is crucial in helping the FCAA offer essential assistance to the community.
A multitude of “gaps” arose for people throughout the pandemic, according to Avalos, like needing a tire patched in order to get to work, that would not fall clearly into any grant category, but would still help someone maintain their job and other responsibilities if they cannot afford to get their tire patched at the time.
“Even though we are connected to many social services types of programs, we definitely want to give a hand-up, not a hand-out,” said Avalos.
According to one of the event coordinators and performers and lead guitarist /vocalist for High Desert Habit, Eric Mercado, raising awareness for the FCAA and making sure that the community sees the funds that are raised is quintessential to the idea for the festival.
“You look at a town like Winnemucca and people get upset about the homeless problem or kids being rowdy, but if there are resources for them to get help and they were made aware of the resources, it would be a lot easier to clean up our community and have a nicer community,” said Mercado.
The unique event appeals to anyone that wants to put money towards a good cause, likes rock, grassroots, or country music, or enjoys delicious food and drinks.
Many of the other events in town that benefit charities can only cater to certain people if they are a 5k run or a formal banquet, but the music festival is aimed to welcome a range of different people.