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For the eighth year in a row, the Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA) will close out its 2016 Summer and Music (SAM) festival with fan-favorite Buskerfest on September 3 from 5PM to 11PM in DTLB’s East Village at 1st and Linden.

Expanding its footprint to better accommodate bands, four stages will be taken over with some of the best local and regional musicians, each performing low-tech, stripped-down sets while vying for wooden nickels from audience members. Attendees vote for their favorite bands with wood nickels and the act that collects the most nickels will be awarded a package designed to help them further their career. Pair this with Buskerfest’s rich musical history—past performers include Rival Sons, Cold War Kids, Delta Spirit, Everest, Beachwood Sparks, Avi Buffalo, Tijuana Panthers, Chicano Batman, Sam Outlaw, and others—and you have an incredibly distinct night of free live music.

“The layout for Buskerfest has always been important because we want attendees to be able to see as much as possible—while at the same time we want to pack as many bands as possible into a relatively short program.” said SAM co-founder Rand Foster. “A larger footprint allows us to increase our band count while minimizing the bleed when bands overlap, which should provide a more better experience for both the bands and the attendees.”

Headliners include Grammy-winning folk crooner Joseph Arthur; the Kingston Ska Collective that includes members of Hepcat, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra and numerous other bands; Long Beach’s own Greater California accompanied by their ever-evolving choir; self-described alt-country/dream pop outfit Janie; and newcomer Rafferty, best known so far for his song “newcomer ”Apple Pie” which featured prominently in Apple’s iPhone campaign last year.

The following bands and musicians will compete in this year’s Buskerfest:

The best night of Long Beach music starts at 5PM and runs until 11PM on Saturday, September 3, at the corner of 1st and Linden in the East Village of DLTB. And as always with Buskerfest, it’s free.

For more information about SAM, visit: www.summerandmusic.com