Live Music This Week
Check out the latest hot concert picks happening around town.
See more area activities on our events page >
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Tuesday | March 9
Sleepy Sun
You know you’re doing well when you’re a little California band that came out of Santa Cruz being played on a not-so-little show called Californication. With its haunting gospel-inspired ballad, “Lord,” seducing millions of television viewers on an episode of the cable series last November, Sleepy Sun continues its rise. About to take its Sabbath ’n’ folk psych rock to SXSW and then on tour with Arctic Monkeys, this Atrium show with local friends Green Flash opening will be a sweet chance for the band’s hometown following to really embrace what’s flown the coup. | LK
INFO: 9:30 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $5/adv, $8/door. 423-1338.
Wednesday | March 10
Wild Rovers Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. 423-1338.
Opening for Young Dubliners
>> See Love Your Local Band >
Young Dubliners
There’s something about the hypnotic sound an electric reel creates that borders on the psychedelic, and Celtic rock gurus Young Dubliners are at home in the land of leprechauns and toadstools. Opening for such diverse acts as Jethro Tull and Johnny Lang only means that the Young Dubs are able to reach across genres, grabbing the Guinness out of any fan’s hands—all while burning down the barn. Lead vocalist Keith Roberts may have been born in Southern California but he channels the bubbling excitement of an Irish spring. | DNA
INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $12/adv, $15/door. 423-1338.
Joe Bonamassa
If you’re good enough to tour with B.B. King when you’re 12 years old, you’ve got some mean chops. Twenty years since making headlines for such a feat, guitar aficionado Joe Bonamassa is set to release his eighth studio album, Black Rock, a further explication of the man’s dexterity-driven talent. Guitar Player magazine just named Bonamassa the best blues guitarist in their reader’s poll for the third consecutive year, so it’s safe to say the New York-raised musician has a coveted resume—and the winner of this week’s Be Our Guest contest will get to see those fiery fingers in action. | Zach Stoloff
INFO: 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 10. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $33.50-44.50. 423-8209.
Thursday | March 11
John Gorka and Patty Larkin
Dueting on “Déjà vu” for Patty Larkin’s just-released 25—an album of 25 love songs (on which each song features a famous folk friend) celebrating her 25-year career—John Gorka and Larkin appropriately share the Rio stage for an evening of folk guitar firepower (Larkin’s Celtic-influenced fingerpicking spirals audiences into a daze) and resonant lyricism. Gorka and Larkin are equally adept at crooning heartrending ballads accented with comedic storytelling, transforming the mood at any venue into that of an intimate house show. | LK
INFO: 7:30 p.m. Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $29/door. 479-9421 or go to snazzyproductions.com.
Friday | March 12
Trombone Shorty
The list of names Trombone Shorty has performed with—U2, Lenny Kravitz, and Green Day—is impressive, but that’s far from the most notable aspect of Troy Andrews. As Trombone Shorty he’s been playing trombone and trumpet since childhood and has been a band leader since age 6, coming from New Orleans’ hardboiled jazz scene. In 2007 the city’s top music mag, Offbeat, named him the best contemporary jazz artist; high honors for the 24-year-old brass aficionado. Zach Stoloff
INFO: 9 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $15/adv. $19/door. 423-1338.
Cool Band Now
7 p.m. Friday, March 12. Storey House, 215 Storey St. Santa Cruz. Free. myspace.com/coolbandnow.
>> See Love Your Local Band >
Saturday | March 13
Michael Martyn
Michael Martyn’s been around. In fact, the Americana-bleeding singer-songwriter—who celebrates his 60th birthday Saturday—has been around the Bay Area and Central Coast for 35 years now. The Boulder Creek resident has a distinct storytelling feel to his alt country stylings, infusing some Eagles-like vocal harmonies on top of (mostly) stripped down acoustics. For this show, Martyn brings along a four-piece backing band to help out. | ZS
INFO: 8 p.m. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. $10. 603-2294.
Roy Zimmerman performs at 7:30 p.m. at Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. Tickets are $18 in advance, $22 at the door. For more information, call 479-9421 or go to snazzyproductions.com. >> See Feature Article >
Sourgrass
If you didn’t already know Sourgrass came out of Santa Cruz, it wouldn’t be hard to guess that the bluesy foursome was a local product. Sometimes rock, sometimes funk, sometimes blues, Sourgrass has all the ingredients you’ve come to expect from homegrown rock and roll exports, a concoction the band describes as “disturbingly nasty.” The group has been on hiatus for a bit, but it’s back and ready to bring it to Moe’s. | ZS
INFO: 9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $10/adv, $13/door. 479-1854.
Sunday | March 14
Wake the Dead
As a Santa Cruz music writer, you can find yourself spending a lot of words on world music, as well as the Grateful Dead. Well, if you’re a fan of both, Wake the Dead offers traditional Celtic interpretations of songs by the world-famous jam band. Covering an impressive array of instrumentation—uilleann pipes, pennywhistle, Celtic harp, and jaw harp, to name a few—the septet will have Deadheads dancing like Michael Flatley. | ZS
INFO: 8 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $18/adv, $22/door. 427-2227.
Chris Chandler and Paul Benoit
Juxtaposing the quick wit of spoken word activist Chris Chandler (whom the late great Utah Phillips once called “the greatest performance poet I have ever seen”) with the musical lashings of blues and roots guitarist Paul Benoit, this is a collaboration that promises just as many punchlines as punchy guitar work. Known to dish out a mosaic of mediums, including poetry, folk music and short films, the dynamic duo brings a refreshing, and cerebral, take on the concert experience. | LK
INFO: 9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10/door. 429-6994.
Tom Freund
Adding to his guitar, Tom Freund is versed in double bass, mando, piano and more, and the singer-songwriter has been called one of the best in his field by veterans like Jackson Browne and Ben Harper. Plus, the guy can do a mean acoustic jazz version of 2Pac’s “California Love.” With a slick folk rock show that ranges from the slow walk of Charles Mingus to the reflective joy of Jason Mraz, Freund’s sometimes recalls a young Tom Waits. One listen transports you to a hole in the wall club where the determined notes float through the air as thick as blue velvet—and this week it’s a Moe’s Alley debut, with local openers Our Satori adding to some roots rock fire. | Mat Weir
INFO: 8 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $7/adv, $10/door. 479-1854.
Monday | March 15
John Scofield New Jazz Quartet
While his set-up this week with Mulgrew Miller (piano), Ben Street (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums) comes to us under the moniker of “New Jazz Quartet,” preeminent guitarist John Scofield trades in his affinity for cutting-edge electro-fusion and funk for some good old swinging bop finesse. After decades of dipping his jazz guitar into an assortment of genres with head-turning results, Scofield and his current crew (for the month of March, at least) revisit the style he explored during his first days at Blue Note when he recorded with Joe Lovano and his original quartet. Following a four-night run at Yoshi’s, Scofield’s visit—regardless of accompaniment—is a workshop for any guitarist. | LK
INFO: 7 & 9 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $25/28 early show, $20/23 late show. 427-2227.
Tuesday | March 16
Tim Barry
Sometimes a lot of space is a good thing. When fronting a strident rock outfit gets old, there are those who move on to become milder folk troubadours. Such is the case for Tim Barry. Long hailed as the frontman of Virginia’s favorite harbingers of hardcore, Avail, Barry now takes the minimalist approach; he just released his third solo effort, 28th and Stonewall. Substituting the electric crunch with an acoustic axe and country porch musings, Barry eschews the rock mayhem for a milder temperament and twang—much like his friends and occasional tourmates Kevin Seconds (7 Seconds) and Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music). Seconds rounds out the show lineup this week with added bonus Fire Whiskey, who also supplied opening duties for Ragan when he hit up the Blue in 2008. | LK
INFO: 9 p.m. Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $8. 423-7117.
Caroline Waters
Caroline Waters has the kind of deeply resounding voice that lets out a smooth and sultry blend of jazz and R&B. Seasoned with sensual lyrics and forays into chamber pop, the fiery singer and multi-instrumentalist leaves little room to question why she was Norway’s youngest musical ambassador before even reaching the age of 10. Now touring on her fifth and latest release, Exposed—a dedication to influences like Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, Waters acknowledges her recent material as the “most vulnerable to date.” | MW
INFO: 7:30 p.m. Don Quixote’s, 6275 Highway 9, Felton. $10. 603-2294.
Wednesday | March 17
Tater Famine Be Our Guest
Santa Cruz’s punkgrass band appropriate for your St. Patrick’s Day, the Tater Famine trio kicks out a tasty set of Mat Warren’s thumping stand-up bass, Johnny Dodds’ melodic and whiskey-laden lyrics, and plenty of choruses to keep the Crepe Place patrons booming in unison. Matteo Brunozzi makes it clear that this ain’t your mama’s mando, wielding his strings with a grating force faster and louder than a potato peeler during the first signs of the real Irish famine. If you like hard driving acoustic rock, Tater Famine will likely leave you, you guessed it, hungry for more. | LK
INFO: 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 17. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave. Santa Cruz. $7. 429-6994.
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IN THE Q
Audrye Sessions, Oakland’s emerging polished rock quartet - Friday at The Crepe Place
Ginny Mitchell, Swinging country and folk from the local singer-songwriter - Sunday at Don Quixote’s
Skerdio, Emcee Radioactive and Skerik’s sax fuse hip-hop and jazz - Tuesday at Moe’s Alley
Wild Rovers, Double-dose of St. Paddy’s Day Celtic merriment, Wednesday at The Crow’s Nest and The Catalyst


