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The 19th Annual Monterey Beer Festival is Saturday from 12:30-4:30 p.m., returning to the Monterey Fair and Event Center after two years off.

Presented by the Monterey County Fair Heritage Foundation, the event serves as a fundraiser to benefit the ongoing maintenance of the fairgrounds as well as the awarding of scholarships.

A highlight of this year’s festival is the expansion of hard seltzer offerings, an alternative to what most people come to the festival for, the chance to taste a large variety of craft beers. Add live music by reggae/blues/rock band Jake Nielsen’s Triple Threat and DJ Fredo and his ATM Drums and you’ve got a recipe for a really fun afternoon. For those 21 and over of course.

Food trucks will be onsite serving up good eats to complement all the sipping, separate from the entrance fee.  Advance tickets are available at Eventbrite through www.montereybeerfestival.com where you’ll also find a full listing of the breweries. General admission tickets are $60 plus a $3.99 fee. For a designated driver, a ticket is $25 plus a $2.24 fee. Tickets are available at the door for $65, and a new clear bag policy is being implemented. Clear plastic, vinyl or PVC that does not exceed 12-by-6 -by-12 inches is acceptable if you plan to bring anything along other than your ID, money, and a smile. A one-gallon freezer bag is also fine. Ladies who bring a purse must be able to fit the purse in the clear bag.

“Once you get your wristband and Monterey Beer Festival cup, the breweries will pour whatever you want,” said MCF Heritage Foundation Event Coordinator Stella LePine. “Breweries are coming from all over along with our local breweries. We’re getting a really good response from locals. Last time we probably had about 3,000 people attend.”

Twenty breweries are slated to set up shop, offering numerous types of beer and those growing-in-popularity seltzers. Pours end at 4 p.m. Also pouring will be California Seltzer Co., which has a shop at Lovers Point, Pacific Grove. Sierra Nevada will bring some of its hard seltzers and Jiant Kombucha will be pouring hard kombuchas.

Some of the breweries are well-known to local beer drinkers, as this area has a nice selection of brew pubs to choose from, including Alvarado Street Brewery, Dust Bowl Brewing Company, Other Brother Beer Company, and Peter B’s Brewery, among others. And some of the out-of-area names most are familiar with include Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Farmers Brewing Company, Federation Brewery, New Bohemia Brewing Company, and more.

Appearing on the Monterey Beer Festival Stage will be Santa Cruz power trio Jake Nielsen’s Triple Threat. Nielsen is a guitarist and singer with an inspiring backstory. Born with cerebral palsy, the use of his legs is limited but he has always been determined not to let that bring him down. With his family’s support, as a kid he participated in every sport he could.

With a long line of professional cowboys in his lineage he grew up around the rodeo scene and went on to ride calves and continued to do so until he was 13. He garnered plenty of attention and was written up a lot and became a respected young man who inspired many.

He then discovered a love of music and started playing guitar when he was 15, learning quickly, and at 17, he started his first reggae/rock band FUBAR. They secured gigs locally and at festivals that brought the band out on the road around the West Coast, opening for bands like Passafire, Israel Vibrations, Rebelution and more. As a Monterey Battle of the Bands winner in 2007 and a Swagg Award recipient for best reggae album in 2010, his profile continued to rise.

His current band has bassist Dave Palmer and drummer Kyle Talty, two of his oldest jamming buddies. They’ve got a set list of songs that covers a wide range of styles, from reggae to blues and rock and funk, sure to get beer festival attendees dancing. The band’s latest recording, “Everyday Thing,” is due out Aug. 20.

There’s an interesting array of small-scale events going on in the area. A sister duo, Leah (Song) and Chloe Smith, based between Southern Appalachia and New Orleans, appears Sunday at Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur, presented by FolkYeah! The sisters work with an array of international musicians and the band incorporates everything from simple harmonics with banjos and fiddles, to a wide variety of drums, kalimbas, beatbox, djembe, baliphone, congas, didgeridoo, tablas, spoons and washboard creating a full mix of world, folk and soul music.

For a time the two were known as R.I.S.E. and created music in support of community activism. Coming out of the school of self-production and distribution of their music, they sort of remind me of Ani DiFranco and how she came to prominence.

Tickets are still available for the boutique outdoor appearance in Big Sur under the redwoods at the time of this writing, show begins at 8 p.m., doors 7 p.m. and it appears parking at the venue is allowed rather than having to take a shuttle. Visit www.folkyeah.com for a link to Eventbrite tickets, single $140 plus $22.29 fee, or package purchase of two or four tickets with less of a fee than if bought as singles. If you’d rather pay less to attend an indoor show at The Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz presented by The Catalyst, they appear Friday night, 8 p.m. with general admission tickets for $35 plus fee, $40 at door.

I’d like to give you a heads up for this next Thursday, Aug. 4, 8 p.m. at the Golden State Theatre for the appearance of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a New Orleans funk, jazz, a rock band that local audiences have come to love after seeing the band’s powerful performances at the now defunct Santa Cruz Blues Festival and several times at the Monterey Jazz Festival. The all-ages show has tickets that range from $29.50 to $69.50. General admission tickets are for an open standing room space, and there are reserved seats also available at www.goldenstatetheatre.com with a link to Etix.

While there are lots of good local bands appearing this week throughout the clubs and restaurants in the area, I’ve picked out a few I think you’d enjoy. Thursday at Folktale Winery & Vineyards free with reservation for food and wine, Two Rivers will be playing from 4-6 p.m. Vocalist Richard Bryant and guitarist Kyle Kovalik, two of our finest, will play a varied setlist of familiar popular tunes. Call the venue and make that reservation.

Thursday at Pearl Hour, 214 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey, 8:30 p.m., 21+, The Bassment appears to funkify your world. This group is a favorite of many here and I’m a fan of the cooperative group of groovy folks. Go out to hear them and have a lovely craft cocktail while you’re at it.

This last-minute booking for The Money Band at The Wine Bank in Carmel Rancho Friday night will bring out the dancing folks looking for rock covers from all decades. Lead duo of singer Zoe Alexander and guitarist Steve Moseley will keep you rocking out from 7:30-10:30 p.m. for no cover. How about that?

And as always, my buds in Meez831 are going to rock out at The Urban Lounge in Monterey, Friday, 7-10 p.m., no cover. Original rock’n’roll with the heart covering alternative to progressive and always with a groove. These guys are the real deal with bassist/singer Robert Melendez, guitarist/singer Jason Slate, keyboardist/singer Donnie Dickman and drummer Michael Kobrinsky.

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