Giveaway: ‘Embracing the Dance’
Now in its 60th season, the Santa Cruz Symphony presents Embracing the Dance, a concert showcasing the work of celebrated American composers John Adams and Leonard Bernstein, as well as Ludwig van...
View ArticleMusic Picks Nov 8-14
Live music highlights for the week of November 8, 2017. THURSDAY 11/9 ELECTRONIC CUT COPY Melbourne ‘s Cut Copy is nearing two decades as a band. In that time, they’ve covered a lot of territory...
View ArticleGiveaway: Jeremy Pelt Quintet
Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt picked up the trumpet early, and by high school he had a keen interest in jazz. The Berklee College of Music grad went on to play with the Mingus Big Band after college, and has...
View ArticleMusic Picks November 15-21
Live music highlights for the week of November 15, 2017. WEDNESDAY 11/15 AMERICANA BABY GRAMPS There aren’t many musicians as unique or downright odd as Seattle-based artist Baby Gramps. Known as “the...
View ArticlePreview: Gwar Returns to the Catalyst
Santa Cruz, are you ready to be slayed? From deep within the bowels of Richmond, Virginia, the heavy metal space aliens Gwar have surfaced and they are showing no mercy. On Nov. 17, they return to the...
View ArticleGiveaway: The California Honeydrops
Lech Wierzynski doesn’t have a typical American funk and soul artist backstory. For starters, he was born in Warsaw, Poland. But as a youngster, he was introduced to the music of Sidney Bechet, Louis...
View ArticleMusic Picks Nov. 22-28
The best live music for the week of November 22, 2017. WEDNESDAY 11/22 REGGAE MEDITATIONS Formed in 1974, the Meditations are an impressive Jamaican harmony group. They sang backups on songs by Bob...
View ArticleGiveaway: The Pixies
The secret to the Pixies’ success is that listening to their music is like talking to the preachy-preach about kissy-kiss. It’s like looking up at the sky in a poetic kind of way, what you call it...
View ArticleMusic Picks Nov. 29 – Dec. 5
Music highlights for the week of November 29, 2017. WEDNESDAY 11/29 JAM HIGGS What is “cosmic California rock,” you ask? Short answer: Southern California band the Higgs. Long answer: a whole...
View ArticleGiveaway: Charlie Hunter Trio
Charlie Hunter is a favorite of contemporary jazz guitar fans. A musical and improvisational wizard, he plays custom seven- and eight-string guitars, allowing him to play melodies, rhythm, chords and...
View ArticleLove Your Local Band: Psychic Astro Club
“We are a sort of an outer space cyborg club looking in at the Earth,” says Tony Assi about his band Psychic Astro Club. The group plays psychedelic rock with hints of jazz and mellow slowcore indie...
View ArticleLove Your Local Band: Jacob & The Ghost Train
Jacob Martin studied acting in school, and lived for a while in Los Angeles, where he gave his dream of being a professional a shot. He did get some work, but something unexpected happened that was...
View ArticleGiveaway: China Cats New Year’s Eve Bash
Any mention of famous rock ’n’ roll New Year’s Eve performances would have to include the Grateful Dead. The legendary Bay Area band made a practice of celebrating the dawn of the new year in high...
View ArticleMusic Picks Dec 20-26
Our picks for the best live music for the week of December 20, 2017. WEDNESDAY 12/20 NEW ORLEANS/R&B STAR LA’MOAN As the story goes, performer Marla Stone adopted the name Star La’Moan for a...
View ArticleLove Your Local Band: Urban Theory
On local indie group Urban Theory’s debut release, 2015’s Perpetual Summer, the members blast through ethereal, moody tunes. Between the rhythm guitar, second guitar, keys, and vocals, there are a...
View ArticleGiveaway: Pacific Mambo Orchestra with Herman Olivera
If you need a little bit of mambo in your life, don’t miss the Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Considered one of the best Latin big bands in the world with its fusion of mambo, salsa, cha-cha-cha and Latin...
View ArticleMusic Picks Dec. 27—Jan. 2
Live music highlights for the week of December 27, 2017 THURSDAY 12/28 R&B GINA RENE Holidays got you down? Maybe your uncle had one too many dips in the spiked eggnog? Or maybe you’re one of the...
View ArticleLove Your Local Band: Cosmic Pinball
Bret Bailey has been drumming in local jam bands for years. He was hoping to do something a little different, so he figured he needed to start his own project. “Usually the people singing are the ones...
View ArticleGiveaway: Tommy Castro & the Painkillers
Soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro is an unofficial ambassador for the San Jose music scene, having grown up in the South Bay’s musical mixing bowl of lowrider soul, San Francisco hippie rock, and Bay...
View ArticleGiveaway: Tickets to White Buffalo
The professional name White Buffalo suits singer-songwriter Jake Smith perfectly. A big guy with a big voice and a lumberjack-like appearance, Smith emanates a feeling of Old West authenticity and a...
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