Tag archives: blues
Over 30 years, 15 albums, and untold thousands of miles on the road, blues guitarist/singer-songwriter Tommy Castro has played everything from horn-fueled R&B to blues-tinged rock ‘n’ roll to Memphis-infused blue-eyed soul. But in 2021, with more time on his hands due to pandemic closures, he decided to step way outside of his comfort zone […]
The Music Academy launches its new season of projecting Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series at the recently technically upgraded Hahn Hall with Luigi Cherubini’s rarely performed Medea, with Met soprano star Sondra Radvanovsky as the mythic sorceress who will stop at nothing in her quest for vengeance. The Met-premiere production recorded live transmission at […]
Last Sunday afternoon, Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan played at the Cold Springs Tavern. November 3 will find the acoustic blues duo at the roadside bar in the woods below the San Marcos Pass again. So will three of the four Sundays after that. No surprise there – Santa Barbara’s “Good-Time Ambassadors of the Blues” […]
Tipping the charts at a double sold out concert, UCSB Arts & Lectures knocked it out of the ballpark in early March with a triple-header of blues legends at the Arlington Theatre, presented with additional support from Sharon and Bill Rich. The blues is America’s heartland music, one that is respected worldwide as our country’s contribution […]
Stephen Dombek had the unusual experience of hearing one of his compositions from the audience when the Quire of Voyces performed his setting of “Hodie – Christus Natus Est (Today Christ is Born)” at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art at December’s 1st Thursday art walk. Normally, Dombek would have been among the baritone section […]
The idea of Conspiracy of Beards – the Bay Area-based all-male choir that sings its own original, a cappella arrangements of Leonard Cohen songs – was conceived of in a dream by a co-founder’s brother. San Francisco performance artist Peter Kadyk even journaled about the dream, which came complete with the choir’s name, before he […]
Aside from having one of the great names in pop music history, the Cowboy Junkies also more or less created their own genre, creating almost excruciatingly slow, country-blues based folk-rock that emphasized Michael Timmins’ songs and his sister Margo’s vocals. It was 30 years ago that Cowboy Junkies proved the appeal of such quiet and […]
On April 13, the evening before Tax Day, three musicians’ musicians packed the house, literally a house turned French restaurant, called the Little Door. The restaurant decided to have a popup menu with Full of Life Flatbread’s Chef Clark Staub, former Capitol Records Marketing VP. The trio was “Morganfield Burnett” (Larry Edwards) on harmonica, Chas […]
Derrick Curtis is justifiably proud of his two decades of producing BASSH, the locals-only teachers and dancers social dance showcase that marks its 19th year on the stage this weekend. Nearly left for dead after his producing partner Santa Barbara Dance Alliance dissolved and leaving the Lobero almost a decade ago, Curtis more or less […]
Jazz and blues legend Alberta Hunter – who reigned from the 1920s-1950s – did what would be almost unthinkable nowadays, setting aside her life as an artist at the peak of her career to become a hospital nurse shortly after her mother died. But when she was forced to retire at age 70 (though she […]
Returning to the live performing circuit but no stranger to it, Jonathan McEuen performed an “Americana Showcase” in Carpinteria on March 24. With him were Mark Corradetti [Nashville] on lead bass, Phil Salazar fiddle [Ventura], Alvino M. Bennett drums [Chicago/Burbank], Sean Ingoldsby [Ojai] bass, and Mark Searcy acoustic guitar [Ventura]. The opening set show-cased 11 […]
Buddy Guy gave an over-the-top, full-on performance at the Granada Theater on March 16 to a sold-out crowd, as part of the UCSB Arts and Lectures program. At 81, with the energy of an 18-year-old, he shared his passion and music genius with a non-stop, 2-hour gig. Here in our midst was a wise respected […]
On March 3, the SBBS celebrated its 41st anniversary with an all-star gig at the Carrillo Rec Center. Packing in the all-generational blues fans and band groupies, the celebration was SRO with the peeps dancing in the aisles to the balcony. There were 20 volunteers meetin’, greetin’, and servin’ barbecue and cake. It is the […]
Gaby Moreno moved from Guatemala to Los Angeles at 18 to pursue a career in music, and really never looked back. Not even musically, at least not for almost a decade. The singer-songwriter who blends blues, jazz, ’60s rock ‘n’ roll, and Latin American influences into something she calls “Spanish folk-soul” fell in love with […]
Curtis Salgado harmonica and singing added color to both Robert Cray’s band and Roomful of Blues for years before he started making records on his own about 25 years ago. Five years after that, Salgado, who also has an attention-grabbing highly emotive blues voice, started playing with Portland-based guitarist Alan Hager. Just this week, the […]
