Arts DEVO

Things are getting Medieval, for real this time When it comes to end-of-the-world prophecies, a Viking Apocalypse sounds like one of the more badass ways to close up shop on Earth as we know it. And, it turns out that the foretold end times are actually upon us and our final day as a planet will be this Saturday, Feb. 22.

Apparently, last November, the JORVIK Viking Centre of York, England, sent out the Norse god Heimdallr to sound the Gjallarhorn (or “yelling horn”) and set in motion the 100 days leading up to Ragnarök, a battle royale between the gods during which the sun and moon will be devoured by wolves and the Earth will be consumed by water in anticipation of new, better days.

The modern Vikings’ reasons as to why the world is ending this particular year include the apparent Ice Age that is nigh and the fact that some giant oarfish (or was it Jormungand, the Midgard serpent?!) washed ashore here in California last year. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the fact that, according to the center’s online calendar of events, the date happens to coincide with the final night of their 2014 Viking Festival, which doesn’t bode well for the kids who’ve signed up for the Have-a-go Sword Combat battle-skills workshop on the 23rd. “Great Oden’s raven!” indeed!

Moving on In the event that we Nor Cal warriors are able to survive the battle, there are a lot of interesting music festivals we can look forward to during the new age, or at least over the next few months:

• CAMMIES: The Chico Area Music Awards are coming a little early this year. The 12 genre showcases will happen April 3-5 at various venues around town, and the finale is going down April 13 at the Chico Women’s Club. The CN&R’s selection committee members are finishing up picking their faves, and we’ll be announcing the nominees in the paper and online on Thursday, Feb. 27. Go like the CAMMIES at www.facebook.com/chicocammies to get all the updates.

• Nor-Cal Jazz Festival: The inaugural festival takes place over two days, April 26 at Redding’s Old City Hall, and April 27, at the Sierra Nevada Big Room. There are a ton of amazing artists scheduled, including Grammy-nominated pianist Mark Levine and local faves Bogg (who recently had some musical equipment stolen, and are holding a benefit next Thursday, Feb. 27, at Café Coda). Visit www.norcaljazzfestival.com for more info.

•New name for Concow fest: The organizers of the annual Wild Mountain Faire are changing the name of their annual summer music fest to Sacred Movement. The “healing and arts festival” will take place at the Lake Concow Campground June 27-28, and proceeds will go toward a community center being built on the grounds. Visit www.facebook.com/sacredmovementmusicfestival for details.

•Funk in the forest: Groove-minded buddies Spencer “DJ Spenny” Rouse and Bob “Bustolini’s” Backstrom are putting on a two-day funk fest in Belden, called For the Funk of It!, Aug. 15-16. Scheduled acts include Moksha, Tracorum, Mojo Green, among others. Find “For the Funk of It!” on Facebook for more deets.

DEVOtion It’s a time of mourning in the DEVO world this week as Devo guitarist/ keyboardist Bob Casale died suddenly of heart failure on Feb. 17. He was 61. Casale, along with his brother, bassist Gerald Casale, was one of the founding members of the band and he’s the second member of the influential art-rock band to die in less than a year. Longtime drummer Alan Myers died of stomach cancer on June 24, 2013.