Ventura Music Scene 6/28/23 – 7/11/2023

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

Independence Day falls on a Tuesday this year with live music being offered at several venues including Ojai Valley Brewing with Blues Bullet immediately following the city’s annual parade downtown; Raging Arb and the Redheads along with the return of Jackass will rock Bombay’s during the afternoon (2-5); you’ll find the Corsican Brothers at Winchesters from 6-9; and Los Amigos play Margarita Villa in the Harbor from 7 to 10 pm. If you plan your day just right, you could possibly cover all venues and still see the fireworks show at Ventura College.

Ventura Music Hall artworkVentura Music Hall added a few dates to take note of including this year’s American Idol winner, Iam Tongi on July 22, Then, there’s the Kottonmouth Kings who play August 18, and another show I wouldn’t want you to miss is Henry Rollins on November 7; it’s his “Good to See You,” spoken word tour which is a seated event.

If you’re in the mood for aggressive rock/punk, then you won’t want to miss Nardfest over the weekend of July 7 and 8 at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Hueneme. Both days feature some of the greatest bands coming out of the Nardcore scene with Hirax, Downpresser, Dr. Know, Section H8, False Confession, Total Resistance, Burning Dog, Romper and Boilerman playing on Saturday; then it’s JFA, Stalag 13, Punk Rock Karaoke, Grim, iDecline, Crucial Thought, Char-Man, No Remorse, The Robot Uprising and Indignants on Sunday. This is an all ages show with tickets through EventBrite, or pay no fees at the venue’s box office.

artworkLibbey Bowl concerts over the next two weeks include The Long Run (Eagles tribute) on Friday, June 30, Gin Blossoms on Saturday, July 1, Toad the Wet Sprocket on Wednesday, July 5; Lyle Lovett & his Large Band on Friday July 7, and the Smithereens with Marshall Crenshaw and Dishwalla on Saturday, July 8.

There’s a new music studio called Creativity Through Music at Portside Ventura where they plan to offer ticketed events for a smaller intimate audience. Their first concert on Sunday, July 2 features Nicole Taylor, soprano and Natsha Marin on piano. Songs being performed will by Brahms, Rachmaninov, R. Strauss, Chausson and Hahn. You can find tickets on EventBrite.

Quick Notes: The Brite Room in Camarillo is offering an “adult” open mic on Wednesday, June 28; The Doug Webb Group will perform a special tribute to John Coltrane on Saturday, July 1 at the Grape; Heritage Square Summer Concert Series has the Brandon Ragan Project on Friday, July 7; Music Under the Stars kicks off the summer concert series with British Beat on Saturday, July 8 at the Olivas Adobe; Leashless Brewing celebrates their 6th anniversary with Morie & the Heavy Hitters and Kat Hall on Saturday, July 8; And Tommy Quayle returns for another night of his original music at Namba on Saturday, July 8.

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 – 6/21 – 7/4

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

The 2017 Ventura Music Festival is still a few weeks away, which means you should get your tickets now to attend one or more, or all of the events they have lined up. The theme this year is “An American Season” with the grand finale staring the one and only Michael Feinstein featuring stories and songs from the great American songbook on Sunday, July 23 at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. There will be performances all week long at different venues; I’m particularly looking forward to Perla Batalla’s tribute to Leonard Cohen on Friday, July 21, at the Ventura College Performing Arts Center. All the event and ticket information can be found at VenturaMusicFestival.org.

In case you missed the memo, Roadshow Revival has moved from downtown Mission Park to Discovery this year, Saturday, July 1, with Los Lobos headlining the day. There will still be two stages with bands playing all day long and an after party indoors that evening (separate cover charge for each event). Roadshow Revival started out as a tribute to the man in black but has since evolved into a celebration of American roots music. You can find the full band line up and ticket information at RoadshowRevival.com.

The City of Ventura will once again celebrate the Fourth of July starting with the Pushem-Pullem Parade at 10 am followed by the 42nd annual street fair downtown. Several stages will provide live musical entertainment including such bands as Rin Kon Tiki, Pier 101, Rhythm 805, Big Adventure, Raised on Vinyl, and more. Then later in the day catch the fireworks show and family picnic at Ventura College sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ventura; gates open at 5 with the fireworks at about 9 pm with entertainment including live music in between. The Rotary Club donates 100% of the event’s net proceeds to benefit charitable community programs in Ventura.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has released their latest CD entitled Louie Louie Louie, a tribute to three musical giants, Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan and Louis Prima. The entire CD from start to finish demonstrates Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s love, admiration and first-class musicianship in honoring the three Louies. I’m incredibly proud to include this one in my private music collection.

Quick notes: Jodi Farrell and TreCoustics played their final show at Grapes and Hops Friday, June 16; Congratulations to Topa Mountain Winery as they celebrate their one-year anniversary on June 25 with live music from Orgone and the Bryan Titus Trio; Ventura Theater announced Queens of the Stone Age will play there August 10; and don’t forget next month it’s Surf Rodeo July 15 and 16.

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.