Another great week of live in the Bay Area. Here are some suggestion for this week..

Monday April 16th

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-12:30 AM Showtime Mike Olmos Presents The Sessions Mike is a such a great trumpet player. He leads his all star Sessions for a great night of jazz.. N/C

Mr.Tipples 39 Fell St, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime Le Hot Jazz The spirit of Django is alive and well in San Francisco. This is a great ensemble. Highly recommended!! N/C

Tuesday April 17th

Ashkenaz 1317 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley 8:00 PM-11:00 PM Showtime Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience has been shattering the myths about what indigenous Zydeco roots music is and is not. The two time Grammy award winning band, is one of the most respected and accomplished ensembles in American roots music today. Terrance will have the house rockin’!! $25 Cover Charge

Bar Fluxus 18 Harlan Pl, San Francisco 9:00 PM-1:30 AM Showtime Vibrason I saw this band recently. They are another great band out of the Bay Area. Very reminiscent of some of the Cal Tjader bands. $10 Cover Charge

If you live in the Santa Cruz area definitely check out The Rio Theatre for the Performing Arts 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz 7:30 PM Showtime The Dixie Dregs really know how to put on a great show. It has been a few year since I last saw them but their energy and musicianship makes them one of the great American instrumental southern rock bands. Highly recommended!! $50 Cover Charge

Wednesday April 18th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM Bay City Blues featuring Chris Cain is a weekly showcase of world class Blues music and superb instrumental talent. This event is a celebration of the Blues in all its forms and an adventure into the depth of a national genre. Hosted by the nationally recognized Chris Cain & his All-Star cast of Musicians, every week they invite a new special guest to accompany them on stage and present new, upcoming, & old talent from the blues world! Bay City Blues is our tribute and exploration into the Blues genre, it is a special event in which we all get to help, share, & “Preserve the Blues.” Highly recommended!! $20 Cover Charge

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Showtime Lulu & The Rent Party One of my favorite bay Area bands. They play an eclectic selection of jazz, latin, and pop tunes. They are really fun. Highly recommended!! N/C

Le Colonial 20 Cosmo Pl, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime Nick Rossi Trio Nick is a great jazz guitarist. He plays standards, swing, and bebop as well as anyone in the Bay Area. Highly recommended!! N/C

Cats Corner 2174 Market St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-Midnight Showtime Steve Lucky and the Rumba Bums perform vintage jazz, pounding boogie woogie rhythms, sultry ballads, and funky-swinging New Orleans R&B. This band simply gives you the beat to move your feet. This will be a fun show. $10 Cover Charge

Pier 23 Pier 23 The Embarcadero, San Francisco 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Showtime Mike Lipskin & Friends. One of the greatest stride pianists in the universe is performing along with Leon Oakley on Trumpet and Dinah Lee on vocals and other guests.. This will be a great three hours of hot jazz at a great venue and No Cover Charge!!! Highly recommended!!

Bottom Of The Hill 1233 17th St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime Headlining tonight is a really good alternative-indie rock trio Call Me James.. Alternative garage rockers Violet Island and indie pop rock band Faux Canada round out a really good show. $10 Cover Charge

If you live in the Santa Cruz area definitely check out The Rio Theatre for the Performing Arts 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz 8:00 PM Showtime Los Lonely Boys the American Chicano rock power trio play a style of music they call “Texican Rock n’ Roll,” combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. Highly recommended!! $28 Cover Charge

Thursday April 19th

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes Rick Estrin And The Nightcats Wildly fun, musically fearless and bursting with bravado, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats have created one of the blues’ most instantly recognizable sounds and no-holds-barred styles. Featuring the world-class talents of harmonica master, songwriter and vocalist Rick Estrin, guitar wunderkind Chris “Kid” Andersen, keyboard wizard Lorenzo Farrell and dynamic drummer Alex Pettersen, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats serve up sharp and incisive original blues and gritty roadhouse rock ‘n’ roll. Highly recommended..$24 Cover Charge

Black Cat 400 Eddy St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-12:30 PM Showtime From NYC, the hard-hitting Regularly featured in the top NYC jazz venues, the Ken Fowser Quintet are rising stars in the national jazz scene. Highly recommended!! $25 Cover Charge

Le Colonial 20 Cosmo Pl, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime Le Hot Jazz The spirit of Django is alive and well in San Francisco. This is a great ensemble. Highly recommended!! N/C

Mr.Tipples 39 Fell St, San Francisco 8:30 PM-11:30 PM Showtime.. The Ben Misterka Trio is such a fun band. I love Ben’s energy and the way he blends different genres drawing on influences from jazz/funk, gospel, and psychedelic soul. He is also along with Collectivity are great musicians. Highly recommended!! No Cover Charge

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime Three time Grammy nominee Bettye Lavette is no mere singer. She is not a song writer, nor is she a “cover” artist. She is an interpreter of the highest order. Bettye is one of very few of her contemporaries who were recording during the birth of soul music in the 60s and is still creating vital recordings today. To quote the late, great George Jones: “Bettye is truly a ‘singer’s singer’.” Highly recommended $42 Cover Charge

Cornerstone Craft Beer & Live Music 2367 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley 8:30 Showtime Fellini meets New Orleans..The internationally-acclaimed, genre-breaking force in the world of entertainment MarchFourth Marching Band is coming to the Bay Area. MarchForth is a sonic explosion delivered by 20 musicians, dancers and artisans who travel the world, year-round, taking audience members of all ages, from all walks of life, on a joy-inducing, foot-stomping, booty-shaking, soul-stirring journey that defies categorization. With exceptional musical quality and a visual kaleidoscope of stilt walkers, hoopers and Vaudeville-style dancers, MarchFourth whips audiences into a celebratory frenzy with an over-the-top spectacle of high-energy compositions, colorful costumes, and irresistible charisma! This is not a band that simply “puts on a show.” MarchFourth delivers a multi-faceted, indelible experience of pure joy. Not to be missed!!! $15 Cover Charge

Friday April 20th

Black Cat 400 Eddy St, San Francisco 10:00 PM-1:15 AM Showtime From NYC, the hard-hitting Regularly featured in the top NYC jazz venues, the Ken Fowser Quintet are rising stars in the national jazz scene. Highly recommended!! $25 Cover Charge

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 10:00 PM-1:00 AM Showtime Cosmo Alleycats is one of my favorite Bay Are jazz ensembles. The Alleycats are so good and so much fun and one of the better jazz bands in the Bay Area. Highly recommended. N/C

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:00PM and 10:00 PM Showtimes Toronzo Cannon has become one of Chicago’s most recognized and most popular bluesmen through the sheer force of his music, his songs, his live charisma, and maybe most impressively, his passion for what he is doing. He is Among the cream of the next generation of Chicago blues musicians. Highly recommended!! $30 Cover Charge

Bottom Of The Hill 1233 17th St, San Francisco 8:30 PM Showtime El Radio Fantastique is the band that would be playing at Salvadore Dali’s birthday party. They are the band that defies all labels and description, that floats effortlessly across genres while always conveying a sense of cinematic drama, reckless abandon, and broken beauty. Through lush arrangements, driving rhythms and pop hooks, the dynamic swell of emotion that emanates from this group is undeniably deep. The cabaret garage band Rikkha and self described “junk rockers” Junk Parlor are the warm up acts. This looks to be be a really good show!! $15 Cover Charge

The Boom Boom Room 1601 Fillmore St, San Francisco 9:30 Showtime Papa Mali the legendary New Orleans based, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer will be in performance. Highly recommended. $15 Cover Charge

Bird & Beckett 653 Chenery St, San Francisco Scott Amendola 3-in-1 with Raffi Garabedian & Zach Ostroff in performance. Scott always puts on a great show. $15 Cover Charge $10 for Students

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime Three time Grammy nominee Bettye Lavette is no mere singer. She is not a song writer, nor is she a “cover” artist. She is an interpreter of the highest order. Bettye is one of very few of her contemporaries who were recording during the birth of soul music in the 60s and is still creating vital recordings today. To quote the late, great George Jones: “Bettye is truly a ‘singer’s singer’.” Highly recommended $42 Cover Charge

Mystic Theatre & Music Hall 23 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma 8:30 PM Showtime. Fellini meets New Orleans..The internationally-acclaimed, genre-breaking force in the world of entertainment MarchFourth Marching Band is coming to the Bay Area. MarchForth is a sonic explosion delivered by 20 musicians, dancers and artisans who travel the world, year-round, taking audience members of all ages, from all walks of life, on a joy-inducing, foot-stomping, booty-shaking, soul-stirring journey that defies categorization. With exceptional musical quality and a visual kaleidoscope of stilt walkers, hoopers and Vaudeville-style dancers, MarchFourth whips audiences into a celebratory frenzy with an over-the-top spectacle of high-energy compositions, colorful costumes, and irresistible charisma! This is not a band that simply “puts on a show.” MarchFourth delivers a multi-faceted, indelible experience of pure joy. Not to be missed!!! $15 Cover Charge

Saturday April 21st

Black Cat 400 Eddy St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-12:30 PM Showtime From NYC, the hard-hitting Regularly featured in the top NYC jazz venues, the Ken Fowser Quintet are rising stars in the national jazz scene. Highly recommended!! $25 Cover Charge

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:00PM and 9:30 PM Showtimes Toronzo Cannon has become one of Chicago’s most recognized and most popular bluesmen through the sheer force of his music, his songs, his live charisma, and maybe most impressively, his passion for what he is doing. He is Among the cream of the next generation of Chicago blues musicians. Highly recommended!! $30 Cover Charge

SF Jazz 201 Franklin St, San Francisco 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes Terrance Blanchard brings his Grammy-nominated E-Collective, performing music of hope and healing from their forthcoming album Live, a collection of live recordings made in Minneapolis, Cleveland, and Dallas – three cities scarred by the violence and tension between law enforcement and their African-American populations.$35 $55 $75 Cover Range

Hemlock Tavern 1131 Polk St, San Francisco 8:30 PM-11:55PM Showtime Knightressm1 is the hard-driving, violin-fronted, power-rock trio formed by Emily Palen. Proving the violin is a viable and natural front instrument for the heaviest of rock and roll, Palen brings a refreshing take to the typical band landscape. Punk rockers Neurotrash & Sick Pidgeon round out what should be a good night of music. $8 Cover Charge

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 8:00 PM Showtime Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings have continued to bring the blues to its legions to fans around the world. He was indeed named for the singing cowboy. A singer himself and also a master slide guitarist with a distinctive and instantly recognizable style. Mitch Woods & His Rockett 88’s are the opening act for what promises tobe a great night of music. Highly recommended!!! $30 Cover Charge

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime With a style ranging through country, blues, Southern soul, roots rock, Western swing, jazz, and adult contemporary pop, Shelby Lynne has found herself embraced by audiences all across the spectrum of American music. Highly recommended!! $34 Cover Charge

The Back Room 1984 Bonita Ave, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime Wendy Burch Steel & Redwood play a unique cross-section of genres incorporating all the good and sweet aspects of folk, old-time, country, bluegrass and blues. Wendy’s voice is a joy to listen to. I highly recommend checking this group out. $15 Cover Charge

If you live around Santa Cruz I recommend checking out the Rio Theatre for the Performing Arts 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz 7:30 PM Showtime Robert Cray has created a sound that rises from American roots and arrives today both fresh and familiar. The five time Grammy award winner has been bridging the lines between blues, soul and r&b. Highly recommended!! $49 Cover Charge

Sunday April 22nd

Black Cat 400 Eddy St, San Francisco 7:00 PM-11:30 PM Showtime From NYC, the hard-hitting Regularly featured in the top NYC jazz venues, the Ken Fowser Quintet are rising stars in the national jazz scene. Highly recommended!! $15 Cover Charge

The Lucky Horseshoe Bar 453 Cortland Ave, San Francisco 4:00 PM-7:00 PM Showtime Bernal Hillbillies A great three hours of bluegrass music at a really great venue reminiscent of the jams at the Old Paul Saloon many years ago. N/C

Neck Of The Woods 406 Clement St, San Francisco 8:30 Showtime Indie rockers The Invincible Vacuum Cleaner Company, Swimming Bell, Brooklyn-based folk singer Katie Schottland new project, and dark net-folk duo Younger Youngest round out a really good night of music. $15 Cover Charge

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara, Vieux Farka Toure is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré. Vieux started his musical journey playing percussion, before taking up guitar and joining the group backing kora wizard Toumani Diabaté. He blends elements of Latin, rock, jazz, and blues into his sounds, creating an experience that transcends the boundaries of conventional genres. Highly recommended!! $28 Cover Charge

Video Pick Of The Week..

The Punk Singer The Punk Singer Trailer.. Filmmaker Sini Anderson explores the life and career of punk rocker Kathleen Hanna, the Bikini Kill front woman who became a pioneer of the “riot grrrl” movement of the 1990s.