The world-renowned Carpenter Trio of the Salomé Chamber Orchestra will play a benefit concert in San Luis Obispo at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28 at Congregation Beth David, 10180 Los Osos Valley Rd., SLO. Premium tickets including a pre-show gourmet reception are $64.29 and show tickets are $43.19 and available online at: www.eventbrite.com/e/salome-carpenter-trio-tickets-19591748447?aff=ebrowse. The show is a benefit for the Land Conservancy of SLO County.
Dellos Performing Arts Center in partnership Global Elite Management will hold a Scholarship Fundraiser Concert “Faith Not Fear” on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. Headlining the evening will be a special appearance and award presentation by the legendary choreographer Travis Payne. Performances will include: the students of DPAC, up and coming recording artist, Anastasia
Destiny, Michael Knight as Michael Jackson, and Shelli as Adele. Joining the performers in support of DPAC is world-renowned painter, Davood Roostaei. Roostaei, a life-long supporter of at-risk or impoverished children, will donate one of his works to the school for auction. The event takes place at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. Visit www.clarkcenter.org for more information.
The Luis Munoz Quintet featuring Teka will play the Cuesta College Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29. Tickets are $15 general and $10 students and SLO Jazz Fed members and available online at: www.cpactickets.cuesta.edu or call 546-3198. The band features Munoz on drums, melodica and composition, Jonathan Dane on trumpet, Teka on lead vocals and guitar, Brandon Statom on acoustic bass and Daniel Zimmerman on guitar. The band will play tracks from Munoz’ new CD, “Voz.” Free parking in Lot 2.
The Great American Melodrama in Oceano has taken Hitchcock’s “39 Steps” and added its brand for a farcical performance followed by a musical review in a tax deductible fundraiser for Save the Park, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 in support of the group’s efforts for Mother Nature. Tickets are $52 adults and $5 children. Call 772-5912.
New Zealand’s, The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra, will play the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29. Tickets range from $22.40-$58 and are available at the PAC Box Office, Mondays–Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Call (805) 756-4849 or order online at: www.calpolyarts.org. The Orchestra members are skilled performers whose signature sound features high-octane ukulele solos, heavenly multi-part harmonies and an impressive range of ukuleles. Flamboyant outfits, delightful theatrical effects and crowd participation complete the night. Local ukulele performers from Mission Prep and Templeton Middle School will be featured during the program. Show sponsored by Claudia Gilbert, La Cuesta Inn, Rabobank, and the SLO Strummers: Ukulele Society of the Central Coast. Additional support is provided by Western States Arts Federation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Basin Street Regulars Jazz Society will present, “Hot Swingin’ Jazz” from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 at the Pismo Beach Vet’s Hall, 780 Bello St. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 non-members. The day opens with a jam session, so bring your instruments and join in. Then at 1 p.m., the Bye Bye Blues Band from Monterey takes the stage followed by the Cal Poly Jazz Band. Food, drinks available and bring your dancing shoes. For more information call: (805) 937 8402 or go to www.pismojazz.com. Email: [email protected].
Symphony of the Vines — “A Hunting We Will Go” — is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 at the Park Ballroom in Paso Robles. Tickets are $30 for adults, $27 seniors, and $15 students with ID. Fifty percent discounts for groups. Get tickets online at: symphonyofthevines.org, call 234-5056 or at the Chambers of Commerce offices in Paso Robles, Atascadero, Templeton and Cambria, and at Boo Boo Records in Downtown SLO. Founder, Conductor and Music Director for Symphony of the Vines, Dr. Greg Magie, said the concert will feature sounds of hunting horns and dogs, and featuring music by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Honegger. The Vines orchestra specializes in small orchestra and large chamber ensembles, comprised of talented local musicians and guest soloists.
Several of Cal Poly’s student music ensembles will perform traditional and contemporary chamber music at a free concert at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5 in the Old Mission Church in San Luis Obispo. “A Night at the Mission” will feature a string quartet, saxophone quartet, clarinet ensemble, trumpet ensemble, brass choir, brass quintet, and woodwind quintet. The concert is free and open to the public. No tickets or advanced reservations required. The concert is sponsored by the Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts, Music Department, and Instructionally Related Activities program.
Local rocker, Jody Mulgrew, will celebrate the release of his newest recording with a special show set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Steynberg Gallery, 1531 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $15, and reservations are recommended, as seating is limited. Call (805) 547-0278 for tickets. Mulgrew, who hails from Morro Bay, will be joined by fiddler and singer John Nowel reviving a duet that played Live Oak in 2015 and has toured Europe together. Opening act is The Harmony People. The new record, “As the Sun Reclaims the Sky,” features nine new tunes written and recorded last year while Mulgrew was living and performing in Nashville, Tenn. Mulgrew’s two previous albums are, “Rocket Ship” (2011) and “Let Them Talk” (2014). See: jodymulgrew.com for more information.
The next Downtown Brown Bag Concert at San Luis Obispo First Presbyterian Church is bringing back the Mudskippers at noon Friday, Feb. 5. The Mudskippers play Dixieland style jazz just in time for Mardi Gras. First Presbyterian Church is at the corner of Marsh and Morro streets in Downtown SLO. Free. Fair trade chocolate and coffee available.
Singer-songwriter, John Hiatt, will perform a solo acoustic show set for Friday, March 11 at the Fremont Theater in Downtown SLO. Tickets are $40 plus fees and on sale now at all VALLITIX outlets including Boo Boo Records in SLO. Charge by phone at (888) 825-5484, order online at: www.vallitix.com. Hiatt is a legendary songwriter who has numerous hits of his own as well as songs recorded by other artists such as, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Iggy Pop, and Rosanne Cash who had a No.1 country hit with, “The Way We Make A Broken Heart,” among numerous others. Hiatt earned a Grammy nomination for “Crossing Muddy Waters,” while B.B. King and Eric Clapton shared the Grammy for their album, “Riding With The King.” Hiatt wrote the title track for that album. Hiatt has a star on Nashville’s Walk of Fame, has won a lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association, and is a member of Nashville’s Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Blues legend, Buddy Guy, will bring his 80th Birthday Tour to the Avila Blues Festival, set for Sunday, May 29 at the Avila Beach Resort and tickets are on sale now. Guy will be joined by Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, and Texas-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, Carolyn Wonderland, for the annual outdoor blues show. Advance reserved and general admission tickets range from $55 general admission to $110 for VIP tickets and are on sale at all VALLITIX outlets including Boo Boo Records in SLO; online at: www.vallitix.com or call 1 888 825-5484.
Blues icon and 6-time Grammy Award winner Guy’s latest album, “Born to Play Guitar,” topped Billboard’s Blues Charts last summer; his fifth No. 1 in a long and illustrious career that includes the 2015 Living Blues Awards Readers’ Poll – Male Blues Artist of the Year, Most Outstanding (Guitar) Musician, and Most Outstanding Blues Singer. Guy plays Chicago blues and has influenced some of the greatest guitarists in history including Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and John Mayer among countless others. He was listed as No. 30 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time. Clapton once described Guy as “the best guitar player alive.”
New Orleans native, Trombone Shorty, fronts a hard-edged funk band that employs hip-hop beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition. Trombone Shorty and the band have toured the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia and Brazil.
Wonderland is described as “A dollop of Janis Joplin, a slice of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a big load of soulful individuality,” and “a seething-hot Texas singer-guitarist.”
Tickets are now on sale for a “Gala Culinary Carnival,” a Mardi Gras themed fundraiser to support the Prado Day Center in San Luis Obispo from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 at the SLO Vet’s Hall, 801 Grand Ave. Tickets are $75 each and features a full dinner, and music by the Crustacea Jazz Band. There will be live auctions, wine tasting and more. Purchase tickets online at: SLOculinarycarnival.com.
Avant-garde organist, Cameron Carpenter, will return to the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2. Student and general tickets for the performance are $32 and $40 respectively 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. Carpenter was called, “extravagantly talented” by The New York Times. The L.A. Times said, “Carpenter is one of the rare musicians who changes the game of his instrument. He is a smasher of cultural and classical music taboos.” Carpenter will perform an eclectic repertoire from pop hits to classical canons on his groundbreaking, newly-introduced International Touring Organ or ITO. Sponsored by Mary T. Baiamonte in memory of Ward P. Sterling, Bert and Candace Forbes, and Roy & Linda Rawlings.
Americana music trio, Joe Craven & The Sometimers, will perform a CD release concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12 at Coalesce Bookstore Chapel, 845 Main St., Morro Bay Tickets are $20 a person and available by calling 772-2880 or at the store. Craven is an entertaining musician with a penchant for mischief, a teacher and student who draws an audience into his performances by including them as though they’re part of the show. His band includes bassist Jonathan Stoyanoff and guitarist Bruce MacMillan.
Award winning Americana string band, Moonsville Collective, will perform a Red Barn Community Concert, set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 in Los Osos. Cost is $15 at the door. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and at 5 is a potluck supper, bring a dish to share, place settings and BYOB. Concert starts at 6. The Red Barn is at 2180 Palisades Ave., in the South Bay Community Park Los Osos. Moonsville Collective carries on the traditions of old time, folk, country and rhythm and blues. Formed in 2012 in Southern California, the band has won numerous awards in Orange County, being named O.C’s Best Band bin more than one poll and “Best Bluegrass/Americana Band in Orange County” by CBS Los Angeles. Moonsville Collective is group of six highly talented multi-instrumentalists whose three part vocal harmonies are backed by a mix of dobro, slide guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo, 5 string banjo, resonator guitar, fiddle, mouth harp, kazoo, and a tight rhythm section of upright bass and loose drums. See: www.moonsvillecollective.com for more on the band. The show is made possible through the generous support and assistance of the entire Red Barn Community (a.k.a. Children of the Barn) and with support from KCBX Public Radio and Live Oak Music Festival.
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2201 Lawton Ave., SLO will host Inga Swearingen and Friends at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31. Tickets are $20 general, $5 students, and kids under 12 free. Tickets at the door or in advance online through Brown Paper Tickets on the UU website, see: www.uuslo.org. Swearingen and band will perform music from their soon-to-be released album, plus standard jazz numbers.
Russia’s premier Moscow Festival Ballet will perform a double full-ballet evening of Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo & Juliet” and Fokine’s rarely-seen work, “Chopiniana.” Starting at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 at the PAC at Cal Poly. Tickets range from $24-$60 and are available at the PAC Box Office, Mondays–Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m. Call (805) 756-4849 or order online at: www.calpolyarts.org. The Moscow Festival Ballet is known for having dancers that speak to the soul through the body. A free pre-show lecture will be held at 6 p.m. in the Philips Lecture Hall, led by Cal Poly Dance Dept. faculty emeritus, Moon Ja Minn Suhr. The ballet is sponsored by James R. Landreth in memory of Esther Landreth. Additional support provided by Western States Arts Federation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Piano virtuoso, Alexander Kato-Willis, will play the Cuesta Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5. Tickets are $10 students/seniors and $15 general admission. Call 546-3198 for tickets or buy tickets online at: www.cpactickets.cuesta.edu. Parking is free in Lot 2. Proceeds go to Cuesta College music student scholarships.
Suspended Motion Aerial Arts will bring back its annual cabaret-themed circus arts show, Cabaret Circus, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13 at 7 p.m. at the studio, 207 Suburban Rd., SLO. Seating is limited, first-come first-served. Advance tickets are $15 and available online at: www.SuspendedMotion.net, or $20 at the door if available. SRO available too. Local adult aerial artists will dance as high as 25-feet in the air to popular songs from Beyoncé, Elle King, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys and more. The performance will also reprise the studio’s flagship aerial cabaret number the “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago, on aerial silks. “Aerial dance is inherently alluring to watch,” said Suspended Motion co-owner, Regina (Gigi) Penton. “In this show, we really accentuate the sensuality and sass in these art forms and give audiences an unforgettable way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.”
The Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble and guest artists will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 in the Performing Arts Center t Cal Poly. Tickets are $12 and $14 for the public, $9 and $12 for students 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. The ensemble will bring a diverse program of music and dance from the Eastern Mediterranean. Cal Poly Music Department ethnomusicologist Ken Habib — composer, performer and scholar — will direct the 25-member ensemble.
