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Hi friends,
It was a fantastic experience last weekend on the Rio with Frans Lanting and Chris Eckstrom turning their Nat Geo-style eye to the wonders of the Monterey Bay. On this thankful season, avoid wasting of that thanksgiving for the great fortune of living within the 831.
Now, on with the show.
This Just In!
One among the greats is coming to Santa Cruz when the uniquely talented Bonnie Raitt visits the Civic Auditorium on March 21. Also newly booked is popular novelist (and longtime Monterey County resident) Jane Smiley, who visits Bookshop Santa Cruz on Jan. 18. Underappreciated singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock might be on the Kuumbwa Jazz Center on March 22, the good duo Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore are rebooked at Felton Music Hall on Feb. 25, and probably the most bizarre standup comedy acts you’ll ever experience — his name is Neil Hamburger — involves the Catalyst on Jan. 26.
Take a look at my fastidiously curated and always updated planning guide, Down the Line, for the staggering riches and amazing selections awaiting Santa Cruz audiences. It’s our look ahead at the very best shows, concert events and events through the remainder of the yr at clubs, stages and venues all around the county.
B9
Here they’re, nine needed know-abouts for the week ahead. Welcome to the B9:
- Starting on Thanksgiving Day, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk might be welcoming visitors to a “Winter Wonderland.”
- Sax man Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas bring their joyous “Sound Print” project to the Kuumbwa.
- Mountain Community Theater comes all the way down to Santa Cruz with the opening of its recent production, “Now And Then.”
- The idiosyncratic genius of Bill Callahan, who also records under the band name Smog, might be on display at Moe’s Alley.
- A sure-to-be eye-opening performance is about for Cabrillo’s Crocker Theater called “Deep Roots Dance Fest,” an exploration of dance from the African diaspora.
- Pleased Birthday, Ludwig! We’re all slightly late for the massive 250th, however the Baroque Festival might be celebrating.
- All of the cool kids are going to be hanging with Smoke Chaser on the Crepe Place. Will you be there?
- Comedian, filmmaker, musician, freethinker, Santa Cruz’s most interesting person — Noel Murphy is all of that.
- The Oakland-based DJ often known as The Polish Ambassador mixes funky beats with activism. He’s visiting Felton.
Three-dot gazette
Friends and fans of the late Santa Cruz singer-songwriter Mary McCaslin will gather together Sunday at 3:30 p.m. for a celebration of her life. Mary died Oct. 2 of a degenerative neurological disease on the age of 75. And though she and her husband, Greg Arrufat, had been living in Southern California for greater than a decade, it was her last wish that she be buried in Santa Cruz, where she lived for a long time. A lot of us knew Mary as a beautiful local performer, but she was a central figure in Western-oriented folk music of the Seventies, a lot in order that her death warranted an extended Recent York Times obituary. Mary might be interred at Oakwood Memorial Park in Santa Cruz. It’s a fantastic weekend to open the windows and play a little bit of Mary McCaslin …
Coincidentally, country star Lacy J. Dalton might be in the realm this weekend, playing two shows — Thursday at Moe’s Alley, and Saturday down in Carmel Valley. Lacy J., a longtime Santa Cruzan, was also a big collaborator with Mary McCaslin. The 2 women and a 3rd, singer-songwriter Ginny Mitchell, made up the “Girls From Santa Cruz,” which was a PBS special from almost 20 years ago. Lacy J. and the band Fringe of The West will perform in Santa Cruz and Carmel Valley, each to learn KSQD in Santa Cruz, which is raising money to expand its signal to cover the complete Monterey Bay …
Congratulations to the local music organization El Sistema Santa Cruz, which was recently named one among 10 finalists from across the country for the celebrated Accelerator Awards: The Lewis Prize for Music. El Sistema brings free musical instruction to colleges across Santa Cruz County under the direction of Isabelle Tuncer. The Accelerator Awards provide long-term and single-year support for organizations that encourage young people through music. Also nominated is the East Bay cultural center and folklorico band Los Cenzontles, who’ve performed quite a bit in Santa Cruz County. The winners of the awards might be announced Jan. 10. …
Award-winning Santa Cruz poet Charles Atkinson might be the focal point on Saturday afternoon at Cabrillo College. That’s the launch party for his latest collection, “Poems, Recent and Chosen,” just published by Hummingbird Press. The brand new book is a comprehensive profession retrospective for Atkinson, opening with a few dozen recent poems before jumping back into different periods in Atkinson’s writing life dating from the early Nineteen Nineties into the 2010s. Saturday’s free event takes place at 2 p.m. on the Horticulture Constructing on the Cabrillo campus. If you happen to can’t make it, try Atkinson live to tell the tale the air at KSQD with Julia Chiapella as a part of “The Hive” radio show on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. …
Attention all aspiring poets: Catamaran Literary Reader is now taking submissions for its 2023 Poetry Prize for West Coast Poets. Catamaran is in search of previously unpublished manuscripts of poetry from writers living in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and/or Hawaii. The judge for the prize is the Pulitzer finalist Dorianne Laux, and the deadline is April 20, 2023. For more submission details, go here.
Earworm of the Week
My favorite musical act lately is known as Khruangbin — and, no, I can’t pronounce it thoroughly, either, however it’s something like CRUNG-bin. They’re a trio originally from Texas who’ve vaulted into international stardom, because of their beguiling live shows and their impossibly cool stage presence (two of the three perform in similar black wigs while the bald drummer does his own thing, call it the modified ZZ Top). Above all, it is a groove band that creates a hypnotic sonic vibe that can take you into outer space. Khruangbin mostly goes with no singer, but even when there are vocals, they’re a dreamy, lost-in-the-mix enhancement to the feel of the song. The band has been recording for lower than a decade now, and lately they’re doing a whole lot of collaborating, including with Paul McCartney, of all people. I just can’t get enough of Khruangbin. The band’s airy, relaxing grooves bring me to places in my mind while I’m pondering or writing or simply relaxing. The track “Friday Morning” is a fantastic intro to a sound that can get into your bones, if you happen to let it.
Where in Santa Cruz County Am I?
So how well do you notice the little things if you’re out and about across Santa Cruz County? We’ll post images from places which might be accessible to the general public somewhere in Santa Cruz County. You tell us where it’s, as specifically as you’ll be able to … or, higher yet, send us your personal photo of the identical thing.
A whole lot of parents walk past the surfer dude above every single day. Do you understand where he’s? Hint: It’s probably not up within the mountains somewhere.
Last week’s answer: Yes, that’s a clock above, however it’s a famous one.
Yep, it’s the gorgeous old clock outside the Shopper’s Corner market, a beloved touchstone of Midtown Santa Cruz. The clock might be seen, in fact, heading down Soquel Avenue toward downtown, at S. Branciforte Avenue. It’s best viewed on foot, munching something delicious you simply bought at The Buttery, crossing the road to purchase a bottle of wine at Shopper’s. But you knew that already.
That’s all I got, friends. Come at me with comments, ideas, complaints, or thundering insights. Due to all Lookout members on your faith and support, and please, spread the word on what we’re doing.
