Ventura Music Scene 4/16/25 – 4/29/25

Posted on April 13, 2025 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Stecklestock marks the beginning of what I think of as the outdoor live music special events season which runs through the middle of Fall. This all-day family-friendly free concert runs 8 am – 6 pm on Saturday, April 26 and features local bands in a setting under the trees at Steckle Park in Santa Paula. Keep in mind the bands do it for the love of our music community so to help defray costs, donations are encouraged and happily accepted. This year’s line up includes Chicano 7, Premonition, The Tommy Foytek Band, No Biggee, Only Obvious, Lowered Expectations, Buena Onda, and The Charles Law Band.

There will be a Grateful Dead inspired concert on Sunday, April 20 (if you know you know), with groovy jams and Dead covers from such bands as Cubensis, Shaky Feelin’, Ellie Rollins Band and Chris Murphy. This Eventbrite ticketed event runs 3-7 at Las Palmas on Meyers Road in Ojai and is sponsored by the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy.

The Music Under the Stars summer series lineup was announced, but tickets won’t go on sale until Tuesday, May 6. The Saturday night consecutive concerts feature mostly tribute bands, or genre specific such as Conjunto Oye on August 23, “bringing the heat” with pulsating salsa, and Cuban rhythms with Puerto Rican flair. You’ll want to check out the City’s website for the full line up. All shows typically sell out, so you won’t want to wait until it’s too late.

If fiery Scottish music gets your toes tapping, then you’ll want to check out Scottish Fish at Namba Arts on Friday, April 18. Scottish Fish features five dynamic young women steeped in Boston’s vibrant Celtic scene who travel the world performing.

And congratulations to Bombay Bar and Grill as they continue to celebrate their 40th anniversary this month. By the way, you might want to swing by Thursday, April 24 when Kat Merrick from Totally Local VC and the Local Love Project will be the guest bartender with music in the house from Steve and Sally Williams and Frank Barajas.

Quick Notes: Boatyard Pub is still undergoing renovations for much of April; If you care to travel out Fillmore way, then you won’t want to miss the smooth Latin sounds of Tierra, Malo and Los Amigos at the Fillmore Town Theater on Saturday, April 19; Tony’s Pizzeria hosts Dead inspired bands on Saturday, April 19 with Shaky Feelin’, Katie Skene Band, Ashton Slater’s Grateful Get-Down and Chris Murphy with the show starting at 4:20 pm; Latin Grammy-winning artist, Twanguero, plays the Ojai Underground on Friday, April 25; and Parliament Funkadelic featuring the one and only George Clinton plays the Ventura Music Hall on Monday, April 28.

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 Music Scene 4/2/25 – 4/15/25

Posted on March 30, 2025 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

If country music is your jam, then you won’t want to miss KHAY Fest 2025 featuring Justin Moore, Locash, Dillon Carmichael and Caught Red Handed. The day will be chock-full of activities including a huge dance floor for line dancing, vendors, photo-ops, food trucks and more. The event will be held at the Camarillo Airport on Saturday, April 11 with proceeds benefiting First Responders, Ride for the Blue, and Food Share. You can find out more and secure your tickets at KHAY.com.

Who new Donny Most who played one of Richie’s friend, Ralph Malph on Happy Days is now a jazz musician based out of Colorado? Well, the Ventura Music Festival did and they’re bringing his 17-piece band to the Crowne Plaza for an evening of swing, jazz and big band classics on Friday, May 9. For more information and tickets go to VenturaMusicFestival.org.

The Ojai Playhouse has finally been renovated (again), and has reopened to mostly film screenings, but on Wednesday, April 2nd, Benmont Tench will perform. Tench was a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and played keyboards on all the Heartbreakers recordings. Do note if you plan to attend, tickets will not be available at the box office and can only be purchased via TicketWeb.com.

The Strawberry Festival music line up was recently announced. Along with all the strawberry concoctions, entertainment will be spread out over several stages. On Saturday, May 17, it’s Bruno & the Hooligans, U2Xperience, Tabu, Jayden Secor, Bad Habit, Smith, Upstream and Jeanne Tatum. And then on Sunday, May 18, it’s Radio Rebels, Kings of Queen, Son Mayor, Brandon Ragan Project, Jacob & the Good Vibes, Past Action Heroes, Santeria and Los Xiquenos. Free Shuttles will be available at six different locations to help alleviate traffic getting to the Ventura County Fairgrounds. For more information and advance tickets go to CaStrawberryFestival.Org

And congratulations to Bombay Bar and Grill as they celebrate their 40th anniversary this month. Do make it a point to swing by and give high fives to Diego and crew.

Quick Notes: Boatyard Pub will be undergoing renovations for much of April; Art City’s first Friday, 5x5x5 will feature Dear Southern Belle, Nick Jay and Pat Miskel on Friday, April 4; Ventura Theater tribute band night will be held on Saturday, April 12, featuring Ozzmania, Fair Warning, Natural Science and Fallen Angel; Aaron Burch Teen Collective, Unplugged, will be held at Namba on Saturday, April 12; Feros Ferio Winery in Ojai hosts Korel Tunador on Saturday, April 12, (Tunador has toured and played with such acts as Rob Thomas, Katy Perry, The Goo Dolls, Matchbox 20 and more); Tony’s Pizzeria Saturday, April 19 will have Shaky Feelin’ Katie Skene Band, Ashton Slater’s Grateful Get-Down and Chris Murphy from 4:20 – 11 pm; and Tierra, Malo and Los Amigos play the Fillmore Town Theater on Saturday, April 19.

Ventura Music Scene 5/3/23 – 5/16/23

Posted on May 3, 2023 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

As of press time, the 2023 Ventura County Fair had not announced their entertainment yet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t entertainment to be had at the fairgrounds in the meantime. First off, Surfer’s Point Live will host Boots & Brews in the parking lot with headliners Chris Young and Joe Nichols on Sunday May 7.

And then…Anderson .Paak announced on April 25 that .Paak House 23 will be held at the fairgrounds on Friday, May 12. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, .Paak, aka Brandon Paak Anderson, grew up in Oxnard and attended Foothill Technology High School. Two of his albums were named Oxnard and Ventura, both produced by Dr. Dre, the latter earned him a Grammy for Best R&B Album. The fact that .Paak could hold this event anywhere, but chose Ventura, speaks volumes about this talented homegrown artist. Find out more about .Paak House and the Brandon Anderson Foundation at PaakHouse.org.

The new season kicks off at Libbey Bowl with Beth Hart on Saturday, May 6 performing an intimate pared down show. Her back stories are entertaining enough, but I’m sure she’ll be really putting it out there without a full band backing her up.

And speaking of Libbey Bowl, the Ojai Music Festival dates include several concerts at Libbey Bowl. The festival runs Thursday June 8 through Sunday, June 11, with Rhiannon Giddens, Music Director, at the helm. I noticed at least one event has already sold out, so don’t wait until the last minute to try to snag a ticket. Find out more at OjaiFestival.org.

Bombay Bar and Grill will host a celebration of life in honor of Chris Husted who passed away last month. Chris was so a great guy, so well respected throughout the music scene. He had been doing sound on the road with Yachtley Crew recently. Friends will gather on Saturday May 13 from 2-8 with music from Shawn Jones, Guy Martin, Brion Shearer, Aaron Orbit, Rising Son, Yachtley Crew and more. 20% of the sales will go to the Chris Husted fund.

Quick Notes: Rey Fresco plays Tony’s Pizzeria Thursday, May 4; The Knotty G’s from South Carolina make a stop at Surfers Point Café on Sunday, May 7; there’s a free show featuring Old-Timey Country Bluegrass at Poinsettia Pavilion on Sunday, May 7; an in store meet & greet with Ohgeesy will be held at Salzers on Wednesday, May 10; it’s all about the punk rock on Friday, May 12 when Youth Brigade, Stalag 13, False Confession, The Afraid and Crucial Thought play the Oceanview Pavilion; Julie Christensen will perform an intimate show at the Ojai Underground on Saturday, May 13; and new dates added to the Ventura Music Hall calendar include Grateful Shred on June 15, Save Ferris on July 29, and Powerman 5000 on October 20.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 8/5 – 8/18

Posted on August 3, 2015 by venturarocks

Ventura Music Scene
It’s Fair to Say Ventura Rocks
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Rachel Flowers to perform at Scan Health and Wellness Center August 14, 2015.

I’m a tad giddy with anticipation for the 2015 Ventura County Fair: cinnamon buns, corn on the cob, livestock, carnival rides, vendors and of course another fine line up of music. I’m personally looking forward to the B52’s, Kevin Costner and the Modern West, The Band Perry, Lean Rimes, and call me goofy, but there’s no way I’m missing Huey Lewis and the News! Full line up of musical entertainment can be found on their ad here in the Breeze.

Squashed Grapes is bringing back Emmy Award Winning guitarist, Chieli Minucci and the Special EFX, on August. 7th; then the following morning you can cheer on the Squashed Grapes float in the Ventura Fair parade. Those same players will be appearing that evening at the Grape featuring Karl Hunter and Dirk Shumaker of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Franklin Murphy of Shaky Feelin’, Jacob Scesney, Trey O’Toole and RJ Root.

I’m super curious to see Gygax at Bombay’s on Friday, August 14, the band features Armand John Lizzy, Bryant Throckmorton, Justin Dempsey and Eric Harris. Members from local bands getting together to create a new band isn’t necessarily newsworthy in this town; however, this band is for the nerd in all of us as they center around the fantasy imagery and creation of role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Too weird? I seriously hope so!

Growing in popularity are the Second Sunday Suppers at Plan B. The next one is scheduled for Sunday, August 8 from 4:30 – 7 pm featuring Donna Greene and the Roadhouse Daddies.

Taking the place of over two decades of Bowlful of Blues, is the Inaugural Ojai Blues Festival scheduled for August 15 at the Ojai Art Center featuring Deb Ryder, Crooked Eye Tommy, Shawn Jones and Alastair Greene.

Just a few of the upcoming shows to look forward to at Discovery include Whitey Morgan on August 15, Eric Hutchinson on August 18 and Los Lonely Boys on August 23.

The Scan Health and Wellness Center at 6633 Telephone Road in Ventura is hosting its first ever Jazz Night on August 14, 5:30pm. Rachel Flowers is the featured artist with E’nuff Said opening. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Call Scan at 805-658-0365 for information and to secure tickets.

The music lineup for the California Blues and Brews Festival on September 20 includes Walter Trout, blues for the modern daze, Mr. Sipp, the Mississippi blues child; and Mingo Fishtrap out of Austin, Texas. You can get more information on the three-day beer festival event and line up your tickets at www.CaliforniaBluesFestival.com.

And finally, I’m sorry to report that Gladys Dietz passed away July 20. She opened Gigi’s cocktails 30 years ago, on New Year’s Eve 1985.

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

Ventura Music Photos: January 2015

Posted on January 25, 2015 by venturarocks

Billy O’s – FINAL Weekend of Main Street Location
Ill Repute & others. Thanks to Albert Munoz for photos!

Grapes and Hops – January 25, 2015
No Mad Trio: Rufus Philpot (Planet X) on bass, Steve Hass (Manhattan Transfer) drums, Matt Rohde (Associate Musical Director for American Idol, toured with Jane’s Addiction, Christina Aguilera).

Discovery – January 25, 2015
Natural Vibrations
Karlos Paez

W20 at The Watermark – January 25, 2015
Shawn Jones

The Saloon BBQ – January 25, 2015
Crooked-Eye Tommy

Discovery – January 24, 2015
Lee Koch

Josh Damigo (from San Diego opened for Lee)

Squashed Grapes – January 24, 2015
Karl Hunter Quartet

Squashed Grapes – January 17, 2015
Jacob Szekely

Bombay Bar and Grill – January 7, 2015
Tommy Marsh hosts The Session with guest Mikey Mo

: Tommy Marsh

: Mikey Mo

Ventura Music Photos: June 2014

Posted on June 14, 2014 by venturarocks

Amigos – June 29, 2014
Medicine Hat & Matt Armor

Bombay Bar and Grill – June 28, 2014
Derek Jennings, Shane Alexander & Alicia Murphy

W20 – June 22, 2014
Shawn Jones

Ventura Fairgrounds, Vans Warped Tour – June 22, 2014
Linkin Park with Jeremy of the Devil Wears Prada

Bombay Bar and Grill – June 21, 2014
Rey Fresco

Squashed Grapes – June 21, 2014
50/50 Band with Rachel Flowers (keyboards and flute), Tom Buckner (sax), Domenic Genova (bass) and Tina Raymond (drums)

Bombay Bar and Grill – June 20, 2014
8Stops7

Bloody Mary Morning

VENTURA MUSIC WEEK PHOTO GALLERY

Miscellaneous Shots

Discovery Ventura – June 15, 2014
Ventura Music Week Wrap Party

Winchesters Grill and Saloon – June 15, 2014
The Catterwailers

Saloon BBQ Co. – June 15, 2014
Ted Waterhouse

The Star Lounge – June 15, 2014
Robert Thomas Band

Ventura Harbor Carousel Stage – June 15, 2014
DejaBlu

Bombay Bar and Grill – June 14, 2014
Mandex

SolTree on back stage

Sans Souci, June 14, 2014
Iron Outlaws

The Hong Kong Inn – June 14, 2014
The New Vibe

W20 at the Watermark, June 14, 2014
Drunken Monkeys

Discovery Ventura, June 14, 2014
Jonny Two Bags
The Americans

Billy O’s – June 14, 2014
Whiskey Stone

Winchesters Grill and Saloon, June 14, 2014
Camp Franco

Squashed Grapes – June 14, 2014
Barrelhouse Wailers

Four Brix – June 14, 2014
Kelly’s Lot

The Sandbox Coffeehouse – June 14, 2014
Mitchell Blake

Amigos, June 13, 2014
Spencer the Gardener

Grapes & Hops – June 13, 2014
Otis Hayes III

Yolies, June 13, 2014
Alastair Greene Band – CD Release Party

W20 at the Watermark, June 13, 2014
Mini Driver

Saloon BBQ Co. – June 13, 2014
Mighty Cash Cats

Peirano’s – June 13, 2014
Tony Ybarra and Friends

Keynote Lounge – June 13, 2014
Crosscut

Squashed Grapes – June 13, 2014
Fausto Cuevas

Bombay Bar & Grill, June 12, 2014
Musicians Brew with Coso, Brian Nicolet, Joe Baugh, Adam Clark & Josh Myers

Amigos, June 12, 2014
Gypsy Blues Band with special guest BB Chung King

Rookees, June 12, 2014
Rubberneck Lions

Golden China Restaurant, June 12, 2014
Carl Sonny Leyland Trio: Swing Night

Saloon BBQ Co., June 12, 2014
Mark Sellers

Pulse Drumming Drum Clinic at Squashed Grapes, June 12, 2014
Brad Dutz & Nick Mancini

Squashed Grapes, June 11, 2014
Karl Hunter’s Jazz Hates Johnny

Rufus Philpot, Karl Hunter, Aaron McLendon, Andy Langham & Hans Ottsen.

Discovery Ventura, June 11, 2014
Dylan Schmidt and the Rhythm Souls

Green Art People – June 11, 2014
Shaky Feelin’

Milano’s Italian Restaurant – June 10, 2014
Bluegrass Jam (Every 2nd & 4th Tuesday of the month)

Historic Ventura City Hall, June 10, 2014
Visual Arts Event celebrating local photographers & videographers who capture our live music. Special screening of “Drummer Wanted: Dean Zimmer”