Ventura Music Scene
Lining it Up!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com

The holidays are a dim memory as 2015 rolls on and the venues in Ventura continue to offer some of the coolest bands around.  Congratulations to Discovery on their one-year anniversary.  The first year with any business can be precarious at best and so it’s been for Discovery, but they’ve made it this far settling permitting issues and working through their growing pains and we’re looking forward to another fabulous year for this innovative venue.   January 21 – 25 includes a Country night, Lee Koch who was featured on American Idol, Natural Vibrations & Junior Reid for reggae night and hometown favorites Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.  See their website for dates and prices at www.DiscoveryVentura.com.   Trust me; you’ll want to be a part of the celebration for sure!

Speaking of new businesses, Poncho’s is out, Padrino’s is in.  Haven’t heard of either?  Well it’s Zoey’s former location on Santa Clara.  Switching form Mexican to Italian food, it looks like the new owners are leaning towards jazz.

And as for Billy O’s? I can only imagine what the joint will look like after they close the doors on their final shows at 2819 E. Main Street.  Ill Repute, False Confession, Stop Breathing and almost ten more bands are lined up for Friday the 30th and then on Saturday the 31, the final night will see Death Benefit, All-a-Blur, Cupcake, the NaVaNax , Crazy D & the Nutz and a half dozen or so more.  As of press time, a new joint had not been found yet.

The Expendables will bring their own special brand of reggae to the Ventura Theater on Friday, January 23rd as they tour in support of their latest record, “Sand in the Sky” (mixed by Butthole Surfer guitarist & producer Paul Leary); then on Saturday, January 31, John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting with quartet will do a special performance with Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket opening.

The Ventura Music Festival announced their 2015 season and along with the traditional music you would expect, including a special night with Herp Alpert and wife Lani Hall on May 8th, it’s going to an extraordinary evening at the Ventura College Stadium with Grammy winners Ozomatli delivering jams mixing samba, hip hop, swing and soul.
This year’s Roadshow Revival, a Tribute to the Music of Jonny Cash will not only move to a new location, but will span over two days!  Mark your calendar now for June 27 and June 28 at Mission Park downtown Ventura for one of the most popular music events in our city. Bands will be announced soon.

And the Van’s Warped Tour will be coming through town making their annual stop at the Fairgrounds the week before Roadshow Revival on Saturday, June 21.  Bands are being announced weekly and tickets are already available online www.VansWarpedTour.com.

If you have any music related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing?  Send all information short or long to  Pam@VenturaRocks.com.