Ventura Music Scene
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com
Pam@VenturaRocks.com
Live It Up, a Nordhoff L.I.V.E. club benefit concert will be held at the Libbey Bowl on Saturday, March 21 (2-9 pm), with several local bands including The Chillz, The Framers, Girldad, Looking West, Joystix, Easy Bear and Crescent City. This is an all-ages show with free admission, but donations will be gratefully accepted with proceeds going directly toward supporting students traveling to Arusha, Tanzania this summer for service work.
Supporting Namba Arts, which is one of the best listening rooms in the county, will be an intimate concert featuring the talented trio of Jodi Farrell, Michael Henszey and Mike Collins. This fundraiser is dedicated to supporting this jewel of venue, bringing together a night of acoustic and electric performance in an intimate setting. Along with the show will be a silent auction. This event falls on Sunday, March 22 at 6:30 pm.
Richard T. Bear & Friends play the Grape on Wednesday, March 25. Bear’s friends include heavy hitters such as Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney & Wings) on guitars, Ricky Cortes (John Mayall, Buddy Guy) on bass, and Tony Braunagel (Robert Cray, Taj Mahal, Rickie Lee Jones) on drums. Juber will open with an acoustic set.
Tommy Marsh, aka, Crooked Eye Tommy, brings back the Ojai Blues Fest to the Ojai Art Center with music starting Friday night, May 29, with the Guy Martin Band, and Smokey & Friends. Saturday has a full line-up of music with Ray Jaurique, Rae Gordon, TD Lind & the Aviators, Jen Staves & the Bluzfish, Ashford Gordon, Toni Dodd and Southbound Blues and of course a set from Crooked Eye Tommy.
The Boots and Brews line up was just announced for this year’s concert at Surfer’s Point (Ventura County Fairgrounds) where it’s all about celebrating good friends, cold beer and great country music. This year’s headliner will be Cole Swindell, along with Gretchen Wilson and Jayden Secor on Saturday, June 13.
Quick Notes: Now that the weather is agreeable for outdoor gatherings Tony’s Pizzeria and Margarita Villa are back to their normal schedules; Thursday night Grateful Dead Jams continue at Winchesters; there will be a rare early show at Sans Souci on Saturday, March 21 (4p) with Robin & the Love Letters, Scott Taylor and Quimby; the annual ARC of Ventura County’s “Let Go Out” event at Bombay’s on Saturday, March 21, with The Vonettes and Ray Jaurique Trio; Ozomatli plays the Ventura Music Hall on Saturday, March 21; Kelly’s Lot plays a day (2-5 pm) at the Deer Lodge on Sunday, March 22; two new album listening parties at Salzer’s Records with Courtney Barnett on Thursday, March 19 and Black Label Society on Thursday, March 26;
and Portland Oregon’s Tyler Berd with Eliza Noxon, play the Ojai Underground on Friday, March 27.
Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows that you would like help publicizing? Please send all information, short or long, to Pam@VenturaRocks.com. For updated music listings daily, visit www.VenturaRocks.com.