The 12th Annual Cuesta College Music Faculty Concert is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 in the Cuesta Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 students, seniors and SLO Jazz Fed members, and $15 general admission. Get tickets online at: www.cpactickets.cuesta.edu or call 546-3198. The Cuesta music faculty performs a variety of classical, jazz, and folk music and proceeds benefit the Music Student Scholarship Fund. Scheduled to appear are Inga Swearingen, Ron McCarley, Michael Walker, Jumi Kim, Marcy Irving, Ken Hustad, Jeff Miley, Jennifer Martin, Chad Ruyle, Alexander Kato-Willis, George Stone, Bob Bennett, and David Becker.
The Cal Poly Choirs’ Winter Concert is set for 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 in the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly. Tickets are $12 and $14 for the public and $9 and $12 for students, and available at the PAC Box Office, Mondays–Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Call (805) 756-4849 or order online at: www.calpolyarts.org. Titled “America … America,” the show includes music from an array of American traditions — musical theater, spirituals and American classical. PolyPhonics and The University Singers will be accompanied by Susan Azaret Davies and Paul Woodring. The choirs are conducted by Music Professor Thomas Davies. Works by Randall Thompson, Kirke Mechem, Morten Lauridsen, Craig Kingsbury, and J. Aaron McDermid will be performed.
Portland, Maine-based singer-songwriter, Caroline Cotter, will play Last Stage West at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 3. Free admission, generous tips encouraged and LSW has a great barbecue fare. Cotter’s debut album, “Dreaming as I Do,” has received national recognition reaching No. 5 on the Folk DJ charts in February, with the second most played song of the month, “Bella Blue.” With a captivating, soprano voice and award-winning songwriting, Cotter’s songs take you from an intimate Parisian salon to the mountains of Colorado and into the depths of the human heart. LSW is located on Hwy 41 about half way between Morro Bay and Atascadero.
The San Luis Obispo County Jazz Federation will present New York City-based guitarist, Joshua Breakstone, in a trio setting at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 (doors open at 7) in the Unity Concert Hall, 1130 Orcutt Rd., SLO. Tickets are $20 general admission, $15 Jazz Fed members and $10 students. This is an encore performance for Breakstone as part of the Jazz Fed’s Marilyn Greenberg Memorial series. Local players Dylan Johnson on bass and Darrell Voss on drums will join him. A veteran of the New York jazz scene, Breakstone has played and recorded with many jazz heavyweights, including Kenny Barron, JoAnn Brackeen and Pepper Adams. Advance tickets available at: https://joshuabreakstone.brownpapertickets.com and at BooBoo Records in SLO, 978 Monterey St. For further information, see: wwwslojazz.org or call 546-3733.
Cal Poly’s Theatre and Dance Department will present Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 25-27 and March 3-5, in the Spanos Theatre on campus. Tickets are $20 for the public and $12 for students, Cal Poly faculty, staff and seniors. Parking is included in the ticket price. Tickets are available through the PAC Box Office from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. To order by phone, call (805) 756-4849. The Crucible is a suspenseful examination of the Salem witch trials and explores the political and economic factors, vendettas and desires that sparked the infamous witch hunt that was instigated by a group of teenage girls. Miller’s classic play considers a community divided and the pursuit of individual integrity within a landscape of compromise. In the photo are actors Sabrina Orro and Jacob Corsaro. Photo by Nesrine Majzoub
Atlanta-based folk-pop band, The Good Graces, will swing through the Central Coast on their West Coast Tour, playing at 7 p.m. Friday, March 4 at Last Stage West. Last Stage West is located about halfway between Morro Bay and Atascadero on Hwy 41. No cover charge and LSW has great barbecue fare for dinner. Formed in 2006 by singer-guitarist Kim Ware, the 4-piece band recently released its third studio album, “Close to the Sun,” and is on its first West Coast tour. The LSW show is the only locally scheduled show before they’re off the next night to play in Carmel. The Good Graces play “minimalist, catchy folk pop tunes of heartbreak and hope.” See: www.sonicbids.com/band/thegoodgraces for more on the band.
The SLO Comedy Festival returns to the Central Coast March 3 to March 6. The premiere festival hosts 48 professional headlining comedians from all over the world, each with varying comedic styles, guaranteeing that there will be something for everyone. Comedians have been seen on Conan, Kimmel, Last Comic Standing, Comedy Central, Comics Unleashed, Gotham, and more. All the talent will be in town for the entire festival, hanging out in all the named venues, creating what is going to be an electric atmosphere and an unforgettable weekend that will leave you with a comedy hangover on Monday morning. The festival begins Thursday, March 3 with three shows: two at the Mission Theater (beer and wine will be served) and one at Steynberg Gallery, followed by the opening party (free to attend), which kicks off at 9.30 p.m. at Creeky Tiki, join us for some “Schmoozing with Comedians”. Shows will continue Friday and Saturday commencing at 5 p.m. ranging from PG13 to adult at various venues in Downtown SLO. The finale “all ages show” (under 17 must be accompanied by an adult) will take place at the Fremont Theater on Sunday March 6 at 7:30 p.m.(beer and wine will be served). The finale will feature the “Best of the Fest”, bringing you the best performers from the entire festival, you know they’ll be great because you choose them. Audience members from Saturday vote for their favorite comedians to be on this show. Immediately following the show will be the “Wrap Up Party” (free to attend) karaoke with comedians at 9:30 p.m. until close at Mother’s Tavern. For more information, visit www.slocomedyfestival.com for lineups, drink specials, and parties. Ticket prices range from $5 to $25.
Comedy Central star, Andrew Kennedy, is coming to San Luis Obispo to perform a live comedy show to help fight cancer, set for 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday, March 10 at the San Luis Obispo Country Club, 255 Country Club Dr. Tickets are $45 and include pizza, popcorn, a drink ticket, and an opportunity to take fun photos in a photo booth. Available online at: www.alongcomeshope.com/events/comedy. Sponsored by Along Comes Hope, the “Comedy for a Cure” show is “a high energy fund-raising event” said Jenny Mulks Wieneke, CEO and Founder of Along Comes Hope. “The fact that he’s dedicating his time to help support our kids with cancer, reflects his passion to support our mission. They say laughter is the best medicine. I say, laughter and supporting our kids fighting cancer, are the steps to a cure.” For more information about the event email to: [email protected].
The Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 9 at the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly. Tickets range from $32-$66 and are available at the PAC Box Office, Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to curtain times. Call 756-4849 or order online at: www.calpolyarts.org. Acclaimed conductor Boguslaw Dawidow leads the famed Orchestra in a sweeping program of Wagner’s 
“Overture to The Flying Dutchman,” Chopin’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21” with guest piano soloist, Marcin Koziak, and Rimsky Korsakov’s “Scheherazade Symphonic Suite, Op. 35.” There is a free pre-concert lecture by Cal Poly music professor, David Arrivée, held in the PAC Pavilion beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sponsored by Jim Sargen in memory of Sophia Pankin.
The next Downtown Brown Bag Concert at San Luis Obispo First Presbyterian Church is set for noon Friday, March 4. Free. The show features Simply Saxes, a saxophone quartet, and coffee and fair trade chocolates will be available. First Pres is at the corner of Morro and Marsh streets in Downtown SLO.
Jazzy folk and blues duo, Nathan and Jesse, will play the next Red Barn Community Concert Series, set for 6 p.m. Saturday, March 5, a the Red Barn, located at 2180 Palisades Ave., Los Osos. Cost is $15 at the door (opens at 4:30) and there’s a potluck supper starting at 5 p.m. Bring a dish to share, place settings and BYOB. Nathan and Jessie’s music is a fusion of jazzy folk and blues played on National Reso-Phonic guitars and accordion. With dynamic, blended vocals, their trilingual performances honest songs of love, life, travel, with stories to match. Nathan and Jessie have two CD’s. Their most recent is “If I Could I Would.” Their self-title CD, “Nathan Rivera and Jessie Andra Smith” was also released in 2015. See the website at: www.nathanandjessie.com. Photo by Abe Perlstein.
SLOFOLKS is bringing Scottish music legends, the Old Blind Dogs to Coalesce Chapel, 845 Main St., Morro Bay at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 6. Tickets are $20 a person and available at Coalesce Bookstore, call 772-2880; and Castoro Cellars Winery in Templeton, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12. Castoro Cellars at (805) 238-0725 or (888) 326-3463 or online at: castorocellars.com/events. Castoro tickets also available at Boo Boo Records (with additional fee). The Old Blind Dogs have been serving up powerful and lively renditions of Scottish traditional music for decades. Widely considered THE pre-eminent traditional Scottish band, they bring fire to the stage with every ballad and reel. See: oldblinddogs.co.uk for more about the band.
Cal Poly student soloists will be showcased and celebrated at the Cal Poly Symphony’s Winter Concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 6 in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $12 and $14 for the public and $9 and $12 for students and available at the PAC Box Office, Mondays–Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Call (805) 756-4849 or order online at: www.calpolyarts.org. At the Showcase Stephen Jue, will perform York Bowen’s “Viola Concerto in C minor, First Movement;” Emelia Banninger, plays Carl Maria von Weber’s “Bassoon Concerto in F major, Third Movement;” and Mario Ojeda, performs Felix Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto, First Movement.” The vocalists are Kelly O’Shea, who will sing “Steal Me, Sweet Thief” from Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief,” and Chris Wall, who will perform “Pietà, Signore,” an aria attributed to Alessandro Stradella. The concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts, Music Department, and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call the Music Department at 756-2406.