Craft beer makers, local vendors and San Diego bands The Wide Eyed Kids and Veni Sun join local music artists like Bobby Thompson, NASH.V.ILL and The Low Kings at Jambridge

Two San Diego bands will bring Pacific vibes to Ambridge on Sept. 23.

The Wide Eyed Kids and Veni Sun each make their Pittsburgh area debut as part of Jambridge, the music, beer and artists’ festival back by popular demand after last year’s successful rookie endeavor.

Taking place from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the lot beside Merchant Coffee, Jambridge also features Beaver County’s popular Bobby Thompson & The Groove and highly praised Pittsburgh bands like Good Brother Earl, NASH.V.ILL and The Low Kings.

The five regional beer vendors are festival co-founders Fermata Brewing, fellow Ambridge brewery Altered Genius, and Allegheny City, Hop Farm and Inner Groove breweries.

Among the merchants are Ambridge mystery/humor author J.R. Mason, and InnerGroove records of Monaca, with nine food trucks/trailers: Slurp-N-Burst Boba Tea, Cousins Maine Lobster, Bridge City Brinery, Crop & Kettle, Skyway Drivin’ Ice Cream, the Steer & Wheel, Pita My Shawarma, Marburger Farm Dairy and Pittsburgh Tortas.

Musically, the California connection hails from a few Fermata Brewing owners taking a West Coast trip and becoming so smitten by Veni Sun and The Wide Eyed Kids, they convinced both bands to travel 2,500 miles to play Ambridge.

“We are stoked to head to your neck of the woods and play some music for y’all,” Jared Henry, frontman of indie-chillout act Veni Sun, said. “I think what we’re most excited for is to connect with a new audience that we have yet to play for. The East Coast is home to some great culture, people and landscape − that to me is the biggest allure − sharing our music with you guys and receiving your culture and vibes. What the people at Jambridge can expect from Veni Sun is good warm energy and catchy music that will make the crowd move and smile.”

Chandler Norton, guitarist-vocalist for reggae-indie act The Wide Eyed Kids, echoed similar sentiments.

“We are super excited to come out for Jambridge,” Norton said. “We can’t wait to share some of our new music in a new place. We will definitely be playing our latest releases ‘When There’s Two’ and ‘A Good One,’ and bringing the beach vibes.”

The Wide Eyed Kids started in Honolulu as an indie-electronic dance music duo that grew to a trio on the mainland, opening for rapper Shwayze and punk-reggae band Bumpin’ Uglies and contributing music to Disney+’s Hawaiian-set “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.”

The Jambridge schedule:

10 a.m.: Paging Doctor Moon, indie-pop.

11 a.m.: Noa Jordan, indie-rock.

Noon: Good Brother Earl, rock/Americana.

1 p.m.: Turtle Park, grunge-pop.

2 p.m.: Nash.V.ILL, high-energy rock

3 p.m.: Norside Organ Trio featuring Steeltown Horns, blues, jazz, funk and rock.

4 p.m.: Bobby Thompson & The Groove, bluesy rock.

5:30 p.m.: The Wide Eyed Kids

7 p.m.: The Low Kings, Celtic rock

8:30 p.m.: Veni Sun

Not to be missed is that noon set from Good Brother Earl, back in action with a new album, “Dog Years,” named “Release of The Week” recently by 91.3-WYEP. The album is reminiscent of the band’s early 2000s success, which included airplay from multiple Pittsburgh stations and representing the region at the Lollapalooza and Rolling Rock Town Fair music festivals.

Good Brother Earl has performed this year in Ambridge, inside of Fermata Brewing, “where the folks there and the crowds have been very welcoming,” singer-guitarist Jeff Schmutz said. “It’s so refreshing to play for people who genuinely appreciate original music. Some of the places we play like to hear more covers, but the Fermata crowds have been very supportive and encouraging in hearing our original stuff.

“We were honored when they asked us to play Jambridge,” Schmutz said. “It’s so cool to see a lot of the small businesses, breweries and food trucks around the Ambridge area come together to celebrate the town. They really have a good thing going there, very supportive of each other. We are looking forward to eating, sampling some great beers, hanging out with our musician friends and of course performing.”

Good Brother Earl keyboard player Skip Sanders will pull double duty that day, also performing in the Norside Organ Trio joined on stage by the Steeltown Horns, which played on Good Brother Earl’s previous record, “Fiction.”

“They are all fabulous musicians,” Schmutz said, also urging Jambridge attendees to catch The Low Kings, “who are an absolute blast playing Irish-style upbeat rock. We are looking forward to being introduced to the other local acts, too.”

Sample the bands and more Jambridge details at jambridge.org, where you also can donate to help the festival’s mission of offering 12 hours of free live music in a community gathering.

Clapton delivered in Pittsburgh

“He’s a god!” came a well-timed bellow from a fan in the back of Sec. 101 in PPG Paints Arena on Sept. 8, amid a nuanced part of a brilliant guitar solo from Eric Clapton during the hallowed “Layla”.

“Clapton is God” graffiti − a staple of Swinging ’60s London − set a lofty expectation the blues-loving rock star has lugged with him for 55 years. On opening night of his tour, in Pittsburgh, Clapton lived up to his legacy, and then some.

Clapton’s guitar mastery − the fluidity, controlled dynamics, clean tone and above all the feeling with which he played − powered one of the summer’s top local concerts.

Highlights abounded.

From a funky, rhythm and blues-ish “I Shot The Sheriff,” to an irresistibly rhythmic, finishing-soft-as-a-feather cover of J.J. Cale’s “Call Me The Breeze,” to the “Layla” Clapton nimbly strummed on an acoustic guitar held together by duct tape, a predominantly seated but utterly appreciative, knowledgeable and respectful crowd got plenty to cheer.

Not rare for artists his age, the 78-year-old Clapton’s vocals sounded soft on the first few songs, but picked up strength − he just needed to warm up − and soon reached impressive power, as on “Tears in Heaven,” which took on a bit of the keyboard hue of Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale.”

Clapton’s expertly picked band, with Andy Fairweather Low, Nathan East, Sonny Emory, Chris Stainton and Paul Carrack, plus backing vocalists Sharon White and Katie Kissoon, helped their band leader achieve a raw, rugged goodness on “Crossroads” and classic rock elegance on “Wonderful Tonight” that ended with splendid electric guitar picking by the man a crowd of 14,000 or so came to see.

From their crackling, hard-driving “Cocaine” late in the set, to the outstanding set opener “The Shape I’m In,” no doubt a tip of the cap to The Band’s recently departed Robbie Robertson, sealed the deal. If you saw Clapton’s 2013 show at the then-named Consol Energy Center, you saw a fine concert; but this most recent one was superior.

Wish I had more space to tell you what a fine job Texas blues icon Jimmie Vaughan did as the opening act.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at [email protected].