Ventura Music Scene 10/4/23 – 10/17/23

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

THIS JUST IN….10/6/2022…not included in the Breeze:
A fundraiser called Let it Flow Fest will be held at the Ojai Libbey Bowl on Saturday, October 14 (2 – 10 pm) with Pato Banton and Friends!  Others performing will be The Chillz, Ojai Department of Rhythm, Ted Lennon, Bernie Larsen and Cassidey Linder, Tyler Hammond Jazz Experience and SicNarf.  All proceeds to to Ventura County Community Foundation & the City of Ojai. for the restoration of historic Coyote Creek and supporting the community of Foster Park.  Get tickets at AXS.com

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Original article starts here:

We’re in the middle of celebrating Ventura County’s 150th anniversary, and the event not to be missed is coming up on Saturday, October 21 at Santa Paula Veterans Park. During the early afternoon there’s a Mountain to Sea Jubilee Family Festival free to the public, but starting at 2:30, a ticketed Jubilee Music Fest kicks off with live music from Charles Law Band, Whiskey Business, Rey Fresco, Mariachi Camarillo and the headliners, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy! There is limited capacity with presale tickets only, and they’re available on Eventbrite. There will be food trucks, a beer and wine garden and artisan fair. No outside food, drink, or dogs allowed. It’s festival style seating, so you can bring blankets or low chairs.

Tickets sold out quickly for Grammy winning and multi-platinum selling Soul Asylum show at the Deer Lodge for November 11. I’m a little sad to miss this one as I would have certainly plopped down $55 for such an intimate show with the band that gave us “Runaway Train” and “Somebody to Shove.”

Could be a blip in planning as two events are scheduled over the same weekend at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. I’m giving you the head’s up as parking could be limited; may I suggest riding your bike or hiring Lyft/Uber/Taxi? I understand that there will be a shuttle from the State Beach (San Pedro), but keep in mind parking is $10 there too.

First, the Seaside Highland Games return on October 14 and 15 with all the normal fun and games, as well as plenty of lively Celtic music from Stand Easy, Ploughboys, Brian Caldwell & Paul Castellanos, Browne Sisters & George Cavanaugh. Tickets can be secured through the event’s website at SeasideHighlandGames.com.

And then Boots and Brews falls on Sunday, October 15 to be held at Surfer’s Point Live in the parking lot of the fairgrounds. Headliner for this one is Jon Pardi with Niko Moon and recently added to the bill, Michael Ray. Tickets available on the event’s website at BootsAndBrews.com.

Quick Notes: the final Rock the Collection concert with DSB is on Wednesday, October 4; the Camarillo Old Town 9th Annual Wine Walk promises live music along with the wine, beer and vendors on hand on Saturday afternoon, October 7 (1-4 pm); Pier Under the Stars falls on Saturday October 7 from 4-7 pm with Ignition; the highly talented Phil Salazar and Tom Corbett performance at Namba is on Saturday, October 7; Sucka Punch Productions has a Tuesday night thrash/metal show at Mrs. Olson’s on October 10 starting at 5:30 with D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), ACXDC, Deathwish and Brat with advance tickets on Ticketweb; Cadillac Zack presents a special Thursday evening show with John Primer and Bob Corritore Band at Cantara’s on Thursday October 19 with tickets through Eventbrite; and just announced, Lee Ving returns to Ventura with Fear for a show at the Ventura Music Hall on Saturday, November 25.

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 10/5 – 10/18

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

There are a number of special events lined up during the next two weeks, and of course you’ll also want to map out your Halloween plans, I’m finding a number of venues are celebrating on the days leading up to the big night. If you go to the VenturaRocks.com calendar page, you can search “Halloween” and see what I’ve found out so far. I’ll give more details in the next issue of the Breeze.
Boots and Brews adLet’s start with Surfer’s Point Live hosts Boots & Brews (yes this is the second one in the past few months), and it falls on a Friday, October 14, staring Tim McGraw, Michael Ray and Bailey Zimmerman. So get off early from work, pull on your country boots and head over to the Ventura County Fairgrounds when the gates open at 3 pm, grab a cold one and enjoy some of the best country music around! Secure your tickets at BootsAndBrews.com.

Boccali’s in Ojai and their Boots & Bluegrass special event featuring live music from Drea & Kellen Van Allen. This ticketed event includes a family-style Italian dinner, non-alcoholic beverage (wine & wine available for sale though), and live entertainment on Thursday, October 6 from 5:30 to 8:30 in the evening. Ticket information can be found on the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

Seaside highland gamesThe Seaside Highland Games return to the Ventura County Fairgrounds this year over the weekend of October 8 and 9th with live music from the Angry Brians, Sligo Rags, Browne Sisters, George Cavanaugh and the Ploughboys. This Scottish themed event is family friendly and includes such competitions as bagpipping & drumming, drum majoring, fiddling, highland dancing, and heavy athletics. Tickets can be found at SeasideHighlandGames.org.

Saturday, October 8 is also the return of Surf ‘n’ Suds. This ticketed event features rows of vendors and with lots of alcohol samplings, and this year a mega sized beer pong competition. They’re back at their San Buenaventura State Beach location (entrance at San Pedro Street). The last time I went, I visited one of their vendors selling a unique wine opening device, and I ended up on a commercial which aired on several social media platforms, so you know, you too might can become a star 😊. Live musical entertainment will feature the Free Love Project, KingQueen Band and DJ FIU. For ticket information, go to SurfBeerFest.com.

Boccali’s in Ojai and their Boots & Bluegrass special event featuring live music from Drea & Kellen Van Allen. This ticketed event includes a family-style Italian dinner, non-alcoholic beverage (wine & wine available for sale though), and live entertainment on Thursday, October 6 from 5:30 to 8:30 in the evening. Ticket information can be found on the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

The Brite Room located at Music Freqs, at 2258 Pickwick Drive in Camarillo offers an all-ages live music venue with bands of all genres available to the under 21 crowd. You most likely will remember this is the space formerly known as Rock City Studios. Kudos for taking a chance, and making a safe place for kids to take in live shows. I’m hoping to share more of their listings in the future. Currently I have Feed the Beast, Disrupted Euphoria and Black Moon Lilith on Friday, October 7, and Ottto, Noah Weiland and Akila Fly on Saturday, October 8. Tickets are available via EventBrite.

Ojai Valley Day is Saturday, October 15 with lots of vendors, arts, activities and live music from 10 in the morning until 6 pm. I understand they’ll have two stages one of which is the Gazebo, and the other the Libbey Bowl where Abba Dabba Doo! (Abba tribute) plays at about 3 pm followed up by Spencer the Gardener, both of which are free to the public.

New shows on sale:
Ojai Underground:
Jamie Drake on October 15
Expandards on October 21
Perla Batalla on November 11 & 12

Ventura Music Hall
The Aquadolls, Sitting on Stacy & Strange Case on October 21
La Santa Cecilia on November 1
Sammy Johnson on November 3
Long Beach Dub Allstars on December 3
Zoso, the ultimate Led Zeppelin tribute on January 14, 2023

Ventura Theater
GlorRilla on January 14, 2023

Quick Notes: The Twist is switching hands early this month, current owner Teri doesn’t anticipate any major changes with the live music you’ve come to know and love; It’s a Flashback 90s night at Poseidon Brewings with Vinny Berry on Friday, October 7; Numbskull Productions present Dirty Rotten Imbeciles at Gigi’s on Tuesday, October 11; Cantara Winery is celebrating their anniversary on October 15 with Heart and Soul; and Rey Fresco will do an intimate performance at the Aqua Beachfront Bar located inside the Crown Plaza Hotel on Saturday, October 15.

By the time this issue rolls off the presses, The Fatty Vegan will have closed their doors for good. Sad times for you Vegans out there, but we’re much appreciative of all the live bands you brought to town. Best wishes for your family’s future.

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 10/9 – 10/22

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
I’m really looking forward to a number of special events of the next two weekends starting with C.A.R.Lfest on Saturday, October 12 at Promenade Park along the boardwalk at the beach. Funds are being raised to support the Canine Adoption and Rescue League serving Ventura County. Bands on the bill include Kelly’s Lot, Crooked Eye Tommy, Jim Gustin & Truth Jones plus a number of special guests (I hear Teresa James is just one of them). This one runs noon to 6 pm with the music starting at 1 pm; tickets are $25 and Bike Ventura will be on hand providing a free bike corral for those riding to the event.

Namba on Oak in downtown Ventura will have a special all-ages “Families Rock!” show on Saturday, October 12, where each band is comprised of moms, dads, and the kids! Don’t miss performances by The Cheesebergens, Sepiatone, and The Rockin’ Henrys. Namba will also host a fundraiser for the Ventura County Rescue Mission featuring Charlie Baker, Mark & Michael Lennon on Friday, October 18. For ticket information, go to NambaArts.com.

The Seaside Highland Games return to the Ventura County Fairgrounds over the weekend of October 12 and 13 with such fabulous bands as Cockswain, Nerea, Seven Nations and Sligo Rags playing both days.

The Ventura Marathon falls over the weekend of October 19 and 20 with the staging area moving from the pier to Mission Park downtown, and because so many runners (and those supporting them) love the suds, there will be a Ventura Brew Fest on Saturday. Music over the weekend will include Kistmit, Acoustic Generation, Lightnin’ Willie, Deadrock and Power Syndicate.

Quick Notes: I’m sorry to report that Andy is cutting back on live music at Copa Cobana (and the Blue Room) for now with the Jerry McWorter Trio on Tuesday and live bands on Sunday afternoon only; the Sushi House on Seaward has Gary Ballen playing acoustic favorites every Saturday afternoon 1 – 3:30 pm; though the Angry Brians won’t be at Seaside Highland Games, they will be performing at Grapes and Hops on Friday, October 11; before the DJs, there will be live music at 6 pm at Bombay’s on Saturday, October 12, with The Mighty Cash Cats and Silver Threads, then Saturday, October 19, with Solidmente and Kris Simeon; Alan Thornhill, Martin Young and Jim Monahan play Topa Mountain Winery on Sunday afternoon, October 13; there will be a punk show at Golden China on Tuesday, October 15, with D.R.I., Intent, Cholos on Acid and No Divide; Buck-O-Nine plays The Garage along with The Upbeat and The Robot Uprising on Friday, October 18; and finally, the Ventura Beach Club hosts The Apartment 805 with a tech night featuring Allan Guerrero, CMVib3 and more on Friday, October 18.

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. For updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 10/14 – 10/27

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
Erin Go Bragh!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
The Highland Way
The Seaside Highland Games came and went taking those gorgeous men and beautiful women in kilts with them. I stopped in to check out the Celtic music and I wasn’t disappointed; crowd favorites were The Angry Brians, Tannahill Weavers and Highland Way, I’m certainly looking forward to next year’s event and may even be bold enough to try haggis, but probably not.

Congratulations to Plan B Wine Cellars on their 3rd anniversary!  They partied in fine form with Jen Staves and the Bluzfish on Sunday, October 11.

Local hip hop artist, Michael Crawford drops his new album “Escape Artist” on October 16 with a CD release party at the Tavern. I was sent an advance copy and yeah, the man’s got talent.

Frost and Fire, a heavy metal festival will take over Bombay’s on October 17th with such bands as Manilla Road from Wichita, KS, Ashbury from Tucson, AZ our very own Night Demon over a half dozen more bands. There will also be a meet and greet with Tim Baker and Robert Garven of Cirith Ungol. Doors open at 4:30 pm.

Mike Toler is the official new owner of Amigos and he’s brought in his good friend Luke O’Dea to help out with booking bands, promotion and social media. I’ve been assured they plan to offer a variety bands 365 days a year. It’s all good news with the exception of losing Bernadette who will be returning to England this month. Mike is throwing her a farewell party on Saturday, October 17, so swing by to say goodbye and wish her well.

Three-time Grammy winner Tom Scott returns to Squashed Grapes October 24, and it will be another first for the Grape when they offer two seatings in one night. Both are only $10 with 7 and 9 pm show times.

Oh! And I have to share about the extraordinary night recently at Squashed Grapes when Bruce Forman performed the Red Guitar.  The place was at capacity, and you literally could have heard a pin drop the audience was so captivated. The second set Forman brought up his special guest whom he had teased earlier on social media stating he couldn’t say who it was for “contractual reasons.”  Well it turned out to be Tierney Sutton who sang requests the entire second set.  Five time Grammy nominated and the 2005 Jazzweek Vocalist of the year, Sutton heads up the Tierney Sutton Band  who have headlined the Hollywood Bowl, the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Yeah, it was intense and a privilege to witness.

And finally, don’t forget Kiefer Sutherland will be at W20 at the Watermark on Friday, October 23.  Ten-dollar tickets will be available the night of the show. Doors open at 7 pm.

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: October 2015

Bombay Bar and Grill – October 31, 2015
50 Sticks of Dynamite CD Release Party
50 Sticks of Dynamite


W20 at the Watermark – October 23, 2015
Kiefer Sutherland Band
Kiefer Sutherland Band

Pam Baumgardner, Kiefer Sutherland, Staci Brown

Pam Baumgardner, Kiefer Sutherland, Staci Brown

Mark Hartley & Kiefer Sutherland

Mark Hartley & Kiefer Sutherland


The Wine Rack – October 19, 2015
Mike Cregan
Mike Cregan


The Seaside Highland Games at the Fairgrounds – October 11, 2015
Highland Way
Highland Way Highland Way


Star Lounge – October 10, 2015
Drunken Monkeys
Drunken Monkeys


Discovery – October 9, 2015
Alastair Greene
Alastair Greene


Amigo’s – October 4, 2015
The Tossers
1004_Amigos_Tossers


Bombay’s – October 4, 2015
Ventucky String Band Ventucky String Band


Discovery – October 3, 2015
Agent Orange
Agent Orange


Boatyard Cafe – October 3, 2015
Camp Franco (photo credit: Candace Marshall)
Camp Franco


Squashed Grapes – October 1, 2015
Bruce Forman w/ Tierney Sutton

Taken from the Ventura Rocks Music Scene article:
“…Oh! And I have to share about the extraordinary night recently at Squashed Grapes when Bruce Forman performed the Red Guitar. The place was at capacity, and you literally could have heard a pin drop the audience was so captivated. The second set Forman brought up his special guest whom he had teased earlier on social media stating he couldn’t say who it was for “contractual reasons.” Well it turned out to be Tierney Sutton who sang requests the entire second set. Five time Grammy nominated and the 2005 Jazzweek Vocalist of the year, Sutton heads up the Tierney Sutton Band who have headlined the Hollywood Bowl, the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Yeah, it was intense and a privilege to witness.”

Ventura Rocks in the Ventura Breeze 9/30 – 10/13

Ventura MusVentura Breeze logoic Scene
The Hits Keep on Coming
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

The Pullmen

The Pullmen played to a packed house at Bombay’s on Friday, September 25th. Their new CD, “Going Dark” hits the streets October 9. They’ll be touring Europe through the end of October.

Keifer Sutherland will be rolling into town with his band on Friday, October 23, when he’ll be playing an intimate show at W20 at the Watermark.  Even though there are no advance tickets (everyone pays at the door day of the show), you should mark this on your calendar now. Only 120 people will be admitted and tickets are only $10. Mark Hartley, owner of W20/Watermark told me he’s really looking forward to this one and it turns out he’s a big fan of “24”.

Robert Cray’s latest CD/DVD was released this summer featuring some of the footage of his show last year in Ventura.  The “4 Nights of 40 Years Live” is available everywhere including Amazon.com and locally at Salzer’s. Shawn Jones opened for Cray that night and apparently open doors as he’s been asked to tour with The Robert Cray Band this month in Europe.  I asked Shawn about it. He said, “It’s one of the biggest honors of my career!  I have been a Cray fan for over 30 years now. This is another level of respect for me!  Knowing he is a fantastic guy as well helps; I am beside myself actually!”

The Wine Rack has been busy booking stellar bands and artists.  You can ease back into the work week with their Monday night residency though October with Michael Cregan, then the Tim Carroll band on Tuesdays with Doug Johnson on drums. They also have live music most Thursdays and every Friday and Saturday.  Dirk Shumaker (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy) and Trey O’Toole (Pulse Drumming) will be back on Friday, October 2nd, and I’m also looking forward to Christine Olive an Australian artist who is a surfer, environmentalist and singer/songwriter who has been touring the Southern California area making a stop at the Wine Rack on Friday October 9.

The annual Seaside Highland Games take over the Ventura Fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday October 9th and 10th with fun and games for the entire family including live music from Tannahill Weavers, Celtic Spring, The Angry Brians, Golden Bough and Highway Way.

And finally there’s a new performance venue – Namba – which will be featuring “Music Speaks” on four consecutive Sundays in October.  The event will be hosted and moderated by jazz vocalist and songwriter, Toni Jannotta.  The four early evening performances will be featured in this order: October 4th with three-time Emmy award winner Bill Richmond, October 11th with Alan Thornhill, October 18 Hekar Rivera and Steve Sunnarborg, and then finally on October 25th it’s Kiki Ebsen, daughter of the late Buddy Ebsen.  Namba is nestled in the middle of downtown Ventura at 47 South Oak Street. Call (805) 628-9250 for ticket information.

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 .