Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 5/23 – 6/5

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

One of the highlights we Venturans (Venturians? Venturanites?) look for every summer is the release of the Ventura County Fair music schedule. The fair has updated their website and once again it’s a well-rounded musical roster from Reggae to Country and most points in between. Of course, the biggest perk has always been that the grandstand entertainment is included in the price of admission.

Let’s get to it, the Ventura County Fair music schedule kicks off on the second night (Motor sports on the first night), with UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey on Thursday, August 2; the Plain White T’s return on Friday, August 3; it’s LeAnn Rimes on Saturday, August 4; there’s a full afternoon for your Sunday with what they’re calling Dia de la Familia concert, though the performers have not been named yet; on Monday, August 6, it’s Sublime with Rome (a musical collaboration between Eric Wilson formerly of the band Sublime and singer Rome Ramirez); there are two shows on Tuesday with The 5th Dimension at 1 pm and Frankie Vallie & the Four Seasons at 7:30; Boyz II Men perform on Wednesday, August 8, and we’ll most likely be hearing new music off their upcoming October release called Under the Streetlight; it’s country artist, Hunter Hayes performing on Thursday, August 9; and rounding up the music lineup will be Creedence Clearwater Revisited featuring two members from the original line up of CCR, with bassist, Stu Cook, and drummer, Doug Clifford, on Friday, August 10. There will be a professional rodeo over the final weekend in the grandstand arena.

Unfortunately, it happens every now and then that a band has to cancel due to illness, and so it went with Billy Vera and the Beaters Hi Hat Entertainment show on May 11, but they have rescheduled, so go ahead it mark it down for Friday, June 29, at the Hong Kong Inn.

Quick notes: Cubensis returns to Discovery for a show on Saturday, May 26; hip hop recording artist Antwon King has his album release party at Discovery Sunday, May 27; the Star Lounge continues with their Reggae Sunday afternoons with The Question, on May 27 and Bomba Fiya on June 3; Winchesters continues with live music over the weekend including Sunday afternoons now; and Jill Martini and the ShrinkenHeads perform island styled music at the Harbor Cove Café on the first and third Fridays of the month down towards the end of Spinnaker Drive in the Ventura Harbor.

And finally, don’t forget to tune in for my local radio show gone worldwide, I call it The Pam Baumgardner Music Hour and it features mostly local artists out of the 805. It airs Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 pm and Sundays at noon on KPPQ-LP, 104.1 FM here in Ventura and on the internet at www.CAPSMedia.org/Radio.

Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Please send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 5/9 – 5/22

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

I’m loving the effort to liven up downtown with businesses staying open later during May and holding special events like a Mom’s night out or a pub crawl. Kudos to the merchants! But of course, you know nothing livens up a place like live music, and you know who has been doing right? Just take a look at the venues in the Ventura Harbor! The Boatyard Pub is officially providing live music seven days a week so between the Boatyard, 805 Wine Bar, the Copa Cubana, Margarita Villa (also seven days a week), and even the Ventura Comedy Club where Tom Scott and LA Express plays time to time, the place is about as lively as you can get!

Nothing goes with warmer weather like a cold brewski, so you won’t want to miss Surf n’ Suds, the beer festival with a surf twist, on Saturday, May 19, at San Buenaventura State Beach. The daylong event not only has over 50 craft breweries, ciders and wine, but they’ll have entertainment from Crosscut 805, DJ Hecktik and After the Smoke.

It’s always a treat when Hi Hat Entertainment brings Billy Vera and the Beaters to town so you’ll want to get your tickets in advance at HiHatEntertainment.com for Friday, May 11, at the Hong Kong Inn. They’ll perform their #1 hit tune, “At this Moment” along with “Millie make some Chili” and other favorites.

It’s awesome that the Museum of Ventura County is offering more live music. On Friday, May 11, it’s “Out of the Ashes: Healing in Story and Song”; the chamber music ensemble, Camerata Pacifica, performs on Sunday, May 13; the weekly Munch series continues Thursdays afternoons where local artists perform at lunch time; and two-time Grammy winner Laurence Juber (lead guitarist for Paul McCartney’s Wings) headlines a fundraiser for the Ventura County Library Foundation on May 19. For more information and tickets, visit VenturaMuseum.org.

Quick Notes: cool shows at The Garage include the New Candys from Venice, Italy, on Thursday, May 10, and Jason Steady and the Soft Ponies from Omaha, NE, on Friday, May 11; Topa Mountain Winery in Ojai is hosting a Rose Soiree Event with music from The Salty Suites and The Dales on Saturday, May 12; Grapes and Hops hosts an earlier show on Mother’s day, Sunday, May 13 at 11 am with Stephen Inglis who will perform, “Cut the Dead some Slack” then it’s Dive Bar Steve and Friends at 3 pm; Caught Red Handed plays Plan B Wine Cellars on Sunday, May 13; Oxnard’s Strawberry Festival is over the weekend of May 19-20, and on the Main stage will be Hollywood U2, Highway Starr, Professional Americans, 40oz to Freedom and more; and finally, the Outlaws will be at Discovery on Sunday, May 20 with Crooked Eye Tommy opening.

Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Please send all information short or long to Pam@VenturaRocks.com, and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.