Tag Archives: Ojai Music Festival

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 7/28/21 – 8/10/21

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

You know the music scene is alive when large venue events sell out; such was the case for the Tequila and Tacos Music Festival over the weekend of July 24 & 25 with Vanilla Ice, Tag Team and Ozomatli performing. I will concede, the beverage of choice may have been the driving force behind the ticket sales, but the stage was rockin’ and that’s always a cool thing. Next up for Surfer’s Point Live (Fairgrounds’ parking lot), Scotty McCreery & Rodney Atkins on Friday, July 30, and then the Spencer Makenzie’s Throw Down Cornhole & Music Festival over the weekend of August 27-29 with Mandex, Dave Rea & the Acoustic DNA and three tribute bands covering the music of AC/DC, Journey & Guns & Roses. For more details and ticket information, go to SurfersPointLive.com.

I’m also happy to see the Ventura Theater lining up shows and the first one is one you should seriously think about seeing. Not only is Lukas Nelson son to Willie, but he collaborated with Bradley Cooper on A Star is Born, and his band IS the band in the movie. The band’s brand of Country Rock is a fun vibe and the talent is stellar, so you won’t want to miss Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real on Thursday, September 9.
More show at Ventura Theater:

The End of Summer Lockdown Tour – Friday, September 10
Mon Laferte – Wednesday September 22
Drakeo the Ruler – Friday October 1
Black Label Society: Doom Trooping over North America tour – Saturday, October 2
Yung Bleu – Tuesday, October 5
Pennywise w/ Dead Kennedys – Thursday, October 7
Pennywise w/ Strung Out – Friday, October 8 (sold out)
Elefante, Inspector – Friday, October 15
The Struts – Tuesday, November 2
GWAR – Tuesday, November 23
The Dead South – Tuesday, December 7
The Slackers – Friday, December 10

The Hueneme Beach Festival falls over the weekend of August 28 and 29, and I was looking over their impressive line-up of artists performing both days and was delighted to find out this one is also free to the public. Saturday features LAW, Fausto Cuevas y La Moderna, and Ozomatli, then on Sunday it’s Diggin Dirt, Arise Roots and Think:EXP. I love that the organizers put so much thought into their lineup, and so, just in case you didn’t know, a little bit about a few of the acts performing:

Fausto Cuevas is that caliber of musician that tours with Stevie Wonder’s band, most recently the 2014-2016 during the Key of Life world tour, though he’s performed previously with Stevie Wonder at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and at the 25th Anniversary of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden in 2009. The man is that good, and the grooves he lays down are immediately infectious so prepare to dance.

Ozomatli performed a few years ago during the Ventura Music Festival and more recently in July at the Tequila and Tacos Music Festival at Surfer’s Point Live. The six-piece band plays primarily Latin, hip hop and rock music and has quite the following, and again, prepare to dance.

Think:EXP is a supergroup with members Scott Page who has worked with Pink Floyd, Supertramp and Toto, Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction & Porno for Pyros, Kenny Olson of Kidd Rock and Norwood Fisher of Fishbone. The website, www.thinkesp.co describes the group, “Think:EXP strives to revolutionize the entertainment industry by bridging the gap between the human spirit and technological innovation with one-of-a-kind live, immersive concert experiences.” That certainly piques my interest!

Quick Notes: Tickets are now on sale for the Ojai Music Festival; The Garage on the east end of town took advantage of the pandemic downtime and now has a new look; Spencer the Gardener will return to Winchesters on Sunday, August 8 with their brand of fiesta party music; and Nardcore Tuesday nights continue at Rock & Roll Pizza in Camarillo with Bootleg Brigade and Last Point on August 3, and Sick Boy on August 10.

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 6/7 – 6/20

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

The Ojai Music Festival is underway taking over several venues and running June 8 – June 11. You’ll need tickets for most events, but there are several free concerts throughout the week. You can get information at OjaiFestival.org.

Rene Ponce gave me the lowdown on Goodnight Kiss when they recently played at Ollie’s Duck and Dive in Malibu. He told me they’ve played there several times, but this last time Kid Rock was in the crowd and accepted the band’s invitation to join them for a couple of tunes. How cool is that? The guys return to Ventura on June 17th when they open for Brothers Fortune at Bombay’s.

The Ventura Beach Club has been booked on Saturday, June 17th by Stay True and ideal Music Collective hoping to alleviate those “No-Warped-Tour-Again-This-Year-Blues” by lining up bands and DJs indoors and out. On the bill includes Split Second, Love Thing, Yearbooks, No Advisory, Two Brothers and Pretty Well. If you love punk, ska, emo & pop, you won’t want to miss this one.

Ones to Watch Productions (O2W) have announced that Grammy Award winning artist Lucinda Williams will be headlining this year’s Topa Topa Folk Fest at the Libbey Bowl in October. Leading up to the event, O2W will be hosting a folk fest showcase on June 17 at Topa Mountain Winery featuring Justine Bennett, Tim Curran, The Brambles and Shane Alexander. Get more information on all their events at TopaTopaFolkFest.com.

Quick notes: You can get your tickets for Roadshow Revival with Los Lobos headlining on Saturday, July 1 at Discovery at RoadShowRevival.com; The Wine Rack is rebranding itself as Vintura Tasting Room & Wine Rack; the Boatyard Café is undergoing some upgrades and I understand renaming itself as the Boatyard Pub; Alastair Greene is heading out to jam at the Chicago Blues Fest on June 10; Shawn Jones returns from Europe and will be at Grapes and Hops on Saturday, June 17; and finally don’t miss Alex Nestor when she plays at Café Fiore, on Friday, June 16, she opened Sunday (May 28) at the Simi Valley Cajun and Blues fest.

And finally, I’ve officially made a name change for my radio show on CAPS Media’s KPPQ-LP, 104.1 FM. I seriously thought about calling it Pam on the Rocks, but out of respect to Rodney Bingenheimer (Rodney on the Roq), I opted against it; and because I can’t use Ventura Rocks, my third chose, and apparent final choice is: The 805 Music Scene with Pam Baumgardner. The name alone encompasses more than Ventura, even more than Ventura County which is good. I still play indie artists from outside our area who have caught my ear, and I spin tunes from bands who have come here to play. Tune in and support local music Tuesdays and Fridays 5-6 pm.

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 6/10 – 6/23

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Classical to Reggae
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

Paul Chapman of UFO touring with Killer Bee

Paul Chapman of UFO touring with Killer Bee

We had a few heavy hitters play through the last few weeks including Paul Chapman of UFO who has been touring with Killer Bee, they played The Tavern on June 3, and Grammy winning songwriter Jeff Silbar (“Wind Beneath your Wings”) at W20 at the Watermark for their Thursday night Guitar Pull. By the way, I looked it up and found that a “Guitar Pull” is a southern tradition where a small group of musicians sit around and take turns playing songs on a guitar. You’re welcome!

I’m getting super pumped up for Roadshow Revival: A Tribute to the music of Johnny Cash. The event has moved to Mission Park downtown and will cover two days, June 27 and 28th. Both days are jam packed with National touring acts including the Reverend Horton Heat, Billy Joe Shaver and John Doe of “X”, but both days will also include plenty of local bands such as Medicine Hat, The Vonettes, 50 Sticks of Dynamite, and Big River (yep, they’re back!). Tickets can be bought at www.RoadshowRevival.com.

9 Mile Skid will play at Bombay’s on Sunday, June 14, to kick off the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary, Ventura style that is. And you won’t want to miss the The NaVaNaX CD release party also at Bombay’s on Friday, June 19; this show promises to be off the freakin’ hook!

The Ventura Jazz Orchestra will have a concert at the Poinsettia Pavillion on Friday, June 12th with appearances by Donna Greene, Smitty West and Remington Graham. Aaron Carter’s rescheduled show will be at Discovery on Friday, June 19. Café Fiore is once again offering Reggae on Sundays.

The 69th Ojai Music Festival runs June 10-14. They have music lined up throughout the week, some events start at Sunrise, others late night (10:30 pm) at Libbey Bowl, and several of the concerts are free to the public all held throughout Ojai. Piquing my interest is the Saturday, June 13, free concert at the Ojai Valley School where world renowned artists (including Glenn Kotche of Wilco) will play the music of Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin all on cello, electric bass and percussions. See www.OjaiFestival.org for information on all concerts, artists and pricing.

Surf ‘N’ Suds beer festival with a surf twist featuring over 50 breweries will also offer live music from Rising Son, After the Smoke and Crosscut. This event is held at the Ventura Harbor Saturday, June 13.

And finally, Ventura Music Week? It’s been postponed. I’ll get you details when I hear anything. It might happen during the Fall.

If 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 .