Ep. 37 Festies Recap: San Francisco Leonard Cohen Festival

Sunny & Clark spent a night at the San Francisco Leonard Cohen Festival and got an honest look at how his music lives on in the community. The festival is put on by Conspiracy of Beards, a Bay Area choir dedicated to performing Leonard Cohen’s music.

In this episode, Sunny & Clark tell Vanessa all about their experience at The Great American Music Hall, where they saw the Red Room Orchestra perform the score from the film McCabe & Mrs. Miller—a soundtrack built entirely on Leonard Cohen’s tender, sardonic songs.

Shout-out to Clay Smith, the festival’s director, for inviting Festies into such a memorable night.

For more Festies content, please follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @FestiesPodcast

Sunny's Festival Corner

1. Noah Kahan's Out of The Blue

2. The Music Fest at Steamboat Springs

3. ALTer EGO

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Transcript

Catching Up On Recent Shows

Sunny 0:00

Hey Vanessa.

Vanessa 0:01

Yeah Sunny?

Sunny 0:02

What do you call two best friends that love music festivals?

Vanessa 0:06

Hmm, I guess you'd call them Festies.

Clark 0:32

Music. Festivals. Friendship. Festies

Sunny 0:41

Welcome back, Festies.

Vanessa 0:43

Hi.

Clark 0:44

Yo

Vanessa 0:44

I just want everyone to know that I did go see Doechii on November 7th.

Sunny 0:48

Yeah.

Vanessa 0:48

Again. And it was great.

Sunny 0:51

She's calling back to our ACL vlog.

Vanessa 0:53

Yeah, I said I was gonna go back and see her because I loved her so much at Austin City Limits, and I did, and I wanted to go with all my sisters, and we made it happen. So it was really fun. She was um obviously did a lot more songs because it was her show.

Sunny 1:08

Yeah.

Vanessa 1:08

Um, she had this like huge speaker, or it was like it looked like a boom box.

Clark 1:13

Yeah.

Sunny 1:14

That was at Outside Lands.

Vanessa 1:15

She didn't have all the dancers, but the big boom box was there, and it was really fun.

Sunny 1:20

Did you get your fix of being in a crowd of people rapping all her lyrics?

Vanessa 1:24

Yes, I did.

Sunny 1:24

Okay, awesome.

Country Contrast With Alexandra Kay

Vanessa 1:25

I was at Doechii and I was like, this is gonna be so different than my concert I'm seeing tomorrow in Reno. Cause it was a country concert.

Sunny 1:32

Who was it?

Vanessa 1:33

Um it was Alexandra Kay, who is this girl that I've known forever on TikTok, and she just started out making TikToks and then she just kind of like has blown up and so yeah, it was awesome. She was great. She has a really good voice. They compare her voice to like Dolly Parton. She's like the Dolly Parton of

Sunny 1:49

Oh wow.

Vanessa 1:49

Actually, I shouldn't say they. This is the only person I've heard say this is uh Jelly Roll's wife, but um

Sunny 1:53

one person said this.

Vanessa 1:54

One person, Jelly Roll's wife, said she's like the Dolly Parton of the generation. She does have oh my god, did I even the Dolly Parton of this generation? I did not I was mumbling that

Clark 2:04

put a space in there.

Vanessa 2:05

Sorry, yeah. Um, but yeah, she does have a really great voice, and I'm so happy we got to see her.

Clark 2:10

Yeah, that sounds dope.

Invitation To SF Leonard Cohen Festival

Sunny 2:12

Yeah, I was a little sad because Clark and I both had tickets for Griz, and then he got sick, and I was like, I know Vanessa's out of town, but I'm gonna go check her location anyways.

Vanessa 2:20

Oh, yeah.

Sunny 2:21

And of course Reno. I was like boo. So we had we had Griz, Vanessa had Alexandra Kay, and then rewind a week ago, Clark and I went to the San Francisco Leonard Cohen Music Festival.

Clark 2:42

Yeah, my aunt just turned 60 and she had a party on the first of November.

Sunny 2:49

Shout out to Ann.

Clark 2:49

Yeah, Auntie Ann.

Vanessa 2:51

Oh, she's a festie. She's a she's a real

Sunny 2:54

she's a festie.

Vanessa 2:55

She's a festie!

Clark 2:56

Truth.

Vanessa 2:57

She's always liking our stuff. I love that.

Clark 2:59

Uh Sunny and I almost crashed with her in the city when we were at Portola music festival.

Vanessa 3:05

Oh, really?

Clark 3:06

Yeah, because she's like, we can hear it from our house. That's like, you just come come on over. We'll probably be awake because we hear it, you know.

Sunny 3:13

Okay, sorry.

Clark 3:14

But yeah, we uh we went to her birthday and her partner, Josh, was part of this group called the Conspiracy of Beards, which is this really cool all-male choir that does covers of Leonard Cohen songs. So he had been involved with that, and one of the members of it is the director of this festival, and that's uh Clay Smith.

Vanessa 3:38

Oh, okay.

Clark 3:39

I think Josh was chatting with him at the party about our podcast, and then all of a sudden Clay like appears next to us and was like, Hey, so you guys uh festies? You guys got like you know, yeah,

Conspiracy Of Beards Backstory

Vanessa 3:53

you got recognized?

Great American Music Hall Vibes

Sunny 3:55

Yeah, it was it was so funny. So he hopped in and and he was like, Hey, I'd love to have you come to some of the performances we're having for the uh SF Leonard Cohen Festivals. So I was reading the about page that the Conspiracy Beards have, and the whole idea came from a artist and performer in the Bay in the Bay Area named Peter uh Kadyk or Kadyk in 2001. But he sadly passed away before he could realize it. But his widow actually asked his brother Patrick and their other friend Daryl Henlin Henline, who's still the director of the Conspiracy of Beards now in 2003 to get together a group and perform at an event. And they did, and it was like nine people and it went really, really well, and people were super into it. So it grew and grew and grew, and they've been performing in a nonprofit and trying to do good work with like civic responsibility uh so like stuff in the Bay Area having to do with um you know different organizations and working with other nonprofits to to do cool events. It was at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in the tenderloin. That's a beautiful venue. Have you been there, Vanessa?

Vanessa 5:15

Yeah, I think I saw classix there. Oh, with Josh.

Sunny 5:19

Did they have tables set up? Yeah, no, that would be so wild. Yeah.

Vanessa 5:23

That's what used to be Ruby Sky, right?

Sunny 5:25

Nope.

Clark 5:26

Nah. This place is like

Vanessa 5:27

never mind.

Sunny 5:28

That's August Hall.

Vanessa 5:29

August Hall. That's what I'm thinking.

Clark 5:30

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Sunny 5:31

I'll give that to you. The names are similar.

Vanessa 5:33

A Hall, okay.

Sunny 5:34

It's a hall.

Clark 5:35

Great American music hall sounds like such an old school, and it is like mirrors on the walls with all this crazy crown, like crazy molding and stuff. Ed would have a field day just like going, what is this place?

Sunny 5:50

Yeah, all the like ornate columns and like just the beautiful decor all around. But it was actually built in 1907, very soon after the earthquake.

Vanessa 5:58

Oh wow.

Sunny 5:58

It's that old.

Clark 6:00

Yeah, and if uh anyone saw our reel that we posted from Sunny and I going, they have the marquee with the old school lights all around, you know, and it's so there's just historical feeling to it, and the performance we saw there, I think it was such a cool performance to have there.

Red Room Orchestra Performs McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Sunny 6:18

Yeah, can you Explain it more what type of performance it was.

Clark 6:21

Yeah, yeah. So it was the Red Room Orchestra, which is an orchestra that does scores from films. They always have a couple string players, they had a couple vocalists, their piano players, kind of like their director normally, uh, guitar player, bass player, and a harp. So the movie score that they that the Red Room Orchestra was performing was uh McCabe and Mrs Miller, which is a movie by uh Robert Altman, uh, who is a super prolific filmmaker. We've never seen this movie. It's like a western,

Vanessa 6:54

yeah,

Clark 6:54

and it's about this man and woman who basically the man is like a you know professional gambler and hustler and stuff, and he has a whorehouse in this little town, and this woman comes and goes, No, no, you can make this whorehouse way better. And then they have like this whole love story, but then it's just super dark. The director was like, It's a movie about murderers getting murdered and players getting played, and it's just like, okay, all right, like

Vanessa 7:25

let's watch it.

Clark 7:26

Yeah, we were really like, Okay, we really need to see this film, and the music is super interesting because Leonard Cohen has such a distinct tongue-in-cheek, but also morose, but also you know, his music is kind of all over the place in a lot of different ways, and it kind of works perfectly for how all over the place this movie is, too.

Sunny 7:49

They had like actors in between some of the songs read some of the scripts and like act out some of the parts. So that helped give some context too for the movie.

Clark 8:00

Sometimes in theater it's called a Romeo and Juliet balcony because it's like

Sunny 8:03

oh yeah,

Clark 8:04

the stage has a balcony built into it. And so the two actors that were portraying Mrs. Miller and McCabe.

Vanessa 8:11

It's almost like a musical.

Clark 8:12

They weren't singing or anything, they were just doing a couple scenes that happen in between the score.

Vanessa 8:17

Um it sounds fun.

Clark 8:19

Yep.

Sunny 8:20

There was a few numbers where the four female vocalists did some harmonies, and that was some of the most beautiful harmonies I've ever heard. It was so pretty.

Clark 8:30

Absolutely blown away.

Sunny 8:32

The Conspiracy of Beards, they were all sitting together in the balcony and they were just having like the best time.

Clark 8:38

Yeah. All the guys from Conspiracy Beards are up in the balconies like, ooh, you're just like like kind of popping off, you know. Kind of add this like context. Yeah.

Vanessa 8:48

Yeah. So was this like a week-long festival or was it held in different venues, or was it the same venue?

Festival Lineup Across Venues

Sunny 8:54

So there were two other events other than the one that we went to, and the other ones were at the Blue Shield Theater at Yerba Buena Gardens for the Arts. And that was also The Conspiracy of Beards and The Crux, which is another band, and Jenny Lim, who is a poet. The other one was also at the same venue, but it featured uh Perla Batalla. That show was called A Letter to Leonard Cohen, A Tribute to a Friend.

Clark 9:19

Yeah, Perla Batalla worked with Leonard Cohen a lot and was like a a touring uh vocalist with him, and I think they collaborated on some music as well. There was one other one that Sunny didn't say, but it was already sold out by the time we were going to the first event, and it's Conspiracy of Venus, which is the sister group to the Beards.

Vanessa 9:40

Oh,

Clark 9:40

it's an all-female choir. Um and they were that was already a sold-out show at at the Lost Church. So four total all through that week.

Sunny 9:52

Yeah.

Vanessa 9:53

So who is Leonard Cohen?

Who Leonard Cohen Was

Sunny 9:55

I'm super embarrassed as a musician and songwriter that I have not delved into Leonard Cohen's catalog, which is very extensive. But yeah, he's a Canadian singer-songwriter, and he uh writes a lot about love and faith and just the human condition all around, so people really connect with his music and he's also looked at as a poet as well.

Clark 10:20

Totally.

Sunny 10:20

Um, his biggest song is probably Hallelujah, which was

Vanessa 10:24

I was gonna say, is that the guy that does Hallelujah?

Sunny 10:26

Yeah, yeah. He wrote the song and then it was I I believe it was made famous by um Jeff Buckley.

Clark 10:32

Yeah, his version is up there. So Leonard Cohen was born in 1934, uh and he passed away in 2016 at the age of 82. But in his lifetime, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Uh he also won a Grammy uh Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sunny 10:51

So um it makes sense why there can be a whole festival dedicated to this man.

Clark 10:58

Yeah.

Nonprofit Roots And Shoutouts

Sunny 10:58

Uh yeah, I'm really uh grateful that we got the opportunity to go to this. Thanks, Clay, for hooking us up. The SF Leonard Cohen Music Festival is a nonprofit, correct?

Clark 11:09

The festival is an event that's put on by the Conspiracy of Beards.

Sunny 11:16

Uh-huh.

Clark 11:16

So it's underneath the same guidelines they have.

Sunny 11:20

Got it. Okay.

Clark 11:21

The have a number of sponsors and stuff.

Sunny 11:23

Oh, yeah.

Clark 11:23

Check us out on the sponsor area of the stuff.

Vanessa 11:26

I just saw that. I just went to their website and saw that we were at the bottom of the sponsors list. That's so cool.

Sunny 11:31

Check us out. Yeah, thank you, Clay, for putting us up there. That's very kind of you.

Clark 11:37

We'd love to do an interview with him, especially since he has done this festival for a number of years now.

Vanessa 11:45

How long has it been going on?

Clark 11:46

Yeah, I think this is the fifth, fifth or sixth year. Yeah. But um

Sunny 11:51

six, seven.

Clark 11:52

Yeah, we'd love to, we'd love to.

Sunny 11:55

I'm sorry.

Clark 11:56

You're gonna cut that out.

Vanessa 11:57

I can't believe you even know that.

Clark 11:59

You're gonna cut that out. As long as you don't do the fucking hand sign for it.

Vanessa 12:03

I mean, can we just give it to her? I'm surprised she even knows what that is.

Sunny 12:06

What do you mean it's everywhere?

Looking Ahead To Next Year

Clark 12:08

Well, it's because South Park had an episode about it. She wouldn't know it from internet culture.

Sunny 12:14

Um, but yeah, look out for this festival next year.

Clark 12:18

And uh give a follow to SF Leonard Cohen Fest on Instagram. They're putting up stuff. We collaborated with them on a reel of our experience at Great American.

Vanessa 12:31

Awesome.

Sunny 12:32

Yeah.

Clark 12:32

Yeah. Sounds like you guys had a really good time at the SF Leonard Cohen Music Festival. That's another new one for us this year. Yeah.

Sunny 12:40

I know. I was like, we said we were done with festivals and

Vanessa 12:44

new ones.

Sunny 12:45

We never are.

Vanessa 12:46

We never are.

Sunny 12:46

There's always another one.

Clark 12:56

Sunny's festival corner.

Sunny 13:00

January 8th to the 11th. We have Out of the Blue Festival 2026. It's in Cancun, Mexico. This is actually Noah Khan's festival.

Vanessa 13:09

Noah Cahan. I'm a huge fan.

Sunny 13:10

Yeah.

Vanessa 13:12

I love Noah Khan.

Clark 13:14

Noah Cahan. I'm such a big fan.

Sunny 13:19

This sounds like my kind of festival. It's at a resort in Cancun. And then there's different packages to buy that are all inclusive. Food and drink for the whole time are included. There's an oceanside stage, and then a bunch of pool parties with different sets all throughout the resort.

Vanessa 13:36

That sounds really fun, but I will not be going to Mexico anytime soon. It's like very dangerous right now, even in resort like American.

Sunny 13:45

I was thinking of the same building areas, but um headliners are Can you guess? Yeah. Noah. Noah Khan. Mumford and Sons and Caamp. Is that how you say it? Caamp with two A's?

Clark 14:00

Uh-huh.

Sunny 14:01

Just Camp.

Vanessa 14:02

Cay-amp.

Sunny 14:03

K amp.

Clark 14:05

K Hamp.

Sunny 14:06

Noah Khan and Caamp Okay. Other acts, are role model and flip turn. Oh, I love both of those.

Clark 14:14

I know. I I saw those on there and I was like, well.

Sunny 14:19

It's like 600 bucks a person.

Vanessa 14:21

That's not bad at all.

Clark 14:23

For an all-inclusive thing like that, right?

Vanessa 14:25

Ed and I made the decision that we're not doing anything big from here on out until we move.

Sunny 14:31

Yeah. Good call. January 5th to the 10th. We have the music fest Steamboat in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I believe I've talked about a festival in this same area.

Clark 14:43

You have. You have, for sure.

Sunny 14:44

Oh, I have. Was it skiing?

Clark 14:46

I don't, it wasn't this festival, but

Sunny 14:48

it was something else.

Clark 14:49

Yes, but that same place.

Sunny 14:51

Basically, it's skiing during the day and then shows at nighttime. There's five different mountains and 80 bands. It features Texas country and Americana artists. The lineup is in alphabetical order, so I just picked out some randoms. We have Alex Lambert playing, Hope McGregor, and Magnolia Brothers. January 17th, we have Alter Ego, which is in Los Angeles at the Kia Forum. It's an iHeart Festival.

Vanessa 15:17

Doechii?

Sign Off And Listener CTA

Sunny 15:18

Headliners are Green Day, 21 Pilots, and Cage the Elephant. Other acts on there are Sublime and Almost Monday.

Vanessa 15:26

So no Doechii?

Sunny 15:27

No Dochi. Nope.

Clark 15:30

Other people can say the words Alter Ego.

Vanessa 15:32

No, only Doechii can.

Sunny 15:34

Alter Ego. Okay, that's it for Sunny's Festival Corny. Festival Corny. That's it for Sunny's Festival Corner.

Vanessa 15:40

Sunny's Festival Corny.

Sunny 15:42

It's kind of corny.

Clark 15:43

Sunny's Festival cornhole. Sorny's Festival Corny.

Vanessa 15:49

Sorny's Festival Corny.

Sunny 15:51

 All right, close us out Vanessa, jesus

Vanessa 15:54

All right, Festies. Thank you so much for listening. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube at Festies Podcast and leave us a five-star rating review wherever you listen to us. And we'll talk to you next week. Bye.

Sunny 16:07

Bye.

Clark 16:08

Bye. Festies.