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

Monday March 25th

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Showtime… The High Tide Trio is a sensational super instrumental band featuring Mitch Polzak on guitar and bass, Hank Maninger on guitar and bass, and Les James on drums. Les will not be playing guitar. Hank and Mitch will switch off on guitar and bass. Mitch and Hank will not be playing the drums. The band plays all sorts of interesting guitar instrumentals, including surf, country, jazz, bluegrass, and movie and TV show themes. Highly recommended!!!! N/C

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.. Highly recommended!!!! 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

Amnesia Bar 853 Valencia St, San Francisco 9:00 PM-11:55 PM Showtime.. The Earl Brothers are back. The bad boys of bluegrass, are irreverent energetic and a hell of a lot of fun. Highly recommended N/C

Cafe Claude 7 Claude Lane, San Francisco 7:00 PM-10:00 PM Showtime. Jinx Jones is one of the great guitar virtuosos of the Bay Area. I love the way he seems to move seamlessly from rockabilly to jazz to twang and back again, sometimes in the same song. Highly recommended.. N/C

Swedish American Hall 2174 Market St, San Francisco 7:00 PM Showtime.. Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz create candid music with deep emotional and personal resonance. The sisters, who record under the moniker Lily & Madeleine, boldly explore what it means to be women in the 21st century, and aren’t afraid to use their music to call out injustices or double standards. This fearless approach has permeated their three albums, which are full of insightful lyrics and thoughtful indie-pop. Highly recommended!!!! $18 Cover Charge….

Cafe Du Nord 2174 Market Street, San Francisco 7:30 Showtime… Ben Ottewell & Ian Ball two of the founders of the British rock band Gomez are on tour for an intimate run of duo performances this Spring. Taking a break from writing sessions for Gomez’s next record and prep for the 20th anniversary of Liquid Skin, the duo’s performances will draw from Gomez fan-favorites, highlights from their respective solo projects, and perhaps offer an opportunity to road-test some of their newest work. Highly recommended!!!! $24 Cover Charge…

Yoshis 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime…. Judy Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism. The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Highly recommended!!!!!! $49-$89 Cover Charge.

Tuesday March 26th

Bar Fluxus 18 Harlan Pl, San Francisco 9:00 PM-1:30 AM Showtime. Vibrason is another great band out of the Bay Area very reminiscent of some of the Cal Tjader bands. Highly recommended $10 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

Great American Music Hall 859 O’Farrell St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime. Indie/roots rock quintet Bronze Radio Return has traveled the world, urging their listeners to dance and sing along. Their rousing, anthemic sound creates an undeniable upbeat atmosphere that’s one part dance party and another part roots-rock. If their name doesn’t ring a bell, odds are you know one of their acclaimed singles, leaving them affectionately dubbed “the band you’ve probably heard, but haven’t heard of.” Opening the show are the Denver based indie rockers Wildermiss. Highly recommended!!!! $17 Cover Charge..

Bottom Of The Hill 1233 17th St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime. Three really good bands tonight…Headlining tonight hailing from Venice, Italy The New Candies. Described as dark modern rock’n’roll, the band combines noisy, brooding sounds with distinct melodies and has developed a notably dynamic and symbiotic connection between their music and meticulously crafted visual imagery. The band consists of Fernando Nuti, Andrea Volpato, Alessandro Boschiero and Dario Lucchesi. My favorite local psychedelic rock band The Spiral Electric and the heavy psychedelic garage band Milk For The Angry round out the night. Highly recommended!!!!!! $12 Cover Charge..

The New Parish 1743 San Pablo Ave, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime.. Omara “Bombino” Moctar is one of my very favorite performers. The Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist and leader of his group Bombino sings in his native Tamasheq and often address geopolitical concerns in Turag. He is one of the most original finger picking guitarists on the planet and I highly recommend seeing this original master. Also on the bill is indie surf garage pop artist Alex Siegel. Highly recommended!!!!!! $30 Cover Charge..

Yoshis 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime…. Pioneering British synthesizer master and songwriter Howard Jones with be performing with his acoustic trio featuring bass guitarist Nick Beggs and guitarist Robin Boult. Highly recommended!!!!! $49-$89 Cover Charge..

Wednesday March 27th

The Independant 628 Divisadero St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime. Omara “Bombino” Moctar is one of my very favorite performers. The Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist and leader of his group Bombino sings in his native Tamasheq and often address geopolitical concerns in Turag. He is one of the most original finger picking guitarists on the planet and I highly recommend seeing this original master. Also on the bill is indie surf garage pop artist title Alex Siegel. Highly recommended!!!!!! $30 Cover Charge..

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes. Daniel Castro is the latest and one of the greatest blues guitarists to come bursting out of the highly competitive West Coast scene. To the classic music of B.B. King, Albert King, and Albert Collins he has added the three T’s, taste, tone, and technique. His raw passion warms your soul while his deep groove kicks your butt on fine, fresh originals and well chosen covers.. Highly recommended!!! $20 Cover Charge..

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Showtime. The Nick Rossi Trio is lead by one of the Bay Area’s great jazz guitarists. The trio plays standards, swing, and bebop as well as anyone in the Bay Area. Highly recommended!! N/C

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 9:30 PM-12:30 AM Showtime. The Patrick Wolff Bebop Quartet is deeply rooted in the bebop tradition established by Bird, Clifford Jordan and Dexter Gordon. Patrick is absolutely my favorite Bay Area tenor player and he leads an outstanding group of musicians..N/C.

Local Edition 691 Market St, San Francisco 8:00 PM-Midnight Showtime.. Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums is one of the fun bands in the Bay Area performing vintage jazz, pounding boogie- woogies, sultry ballads, and funky-swinging New Orleans R&B. Tonight they focus on giving you the beat to move your feet. Highly recommended!! No Cover Charge..

Cats Corner 2174 Market St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime.. Robert Dehlinger & The Alpha Rhythm Kings influences range from vintage lounge music, 1940s R&B, swing, and boogie-woogie. This is a swinging fun band led by Robert’s vocals and superb trumpet playing. Highly recommended!!! $10 Cover Charge..

Hotel Utah 500 4th St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime.. Americana folk rockers Driftwood unique blend of folk, old-time, country, punk, and rock reflects the working-class ethos of their upstate New York town of Binghampton. I really like their new album Tree Of Shade.. Highly recommended!!!!! $10 cover Charge..

Brick & Mortar Music Hall 1710 Mission St, San Francisco 7:00 PM Showtime. A really good show this evening with the truly wonderful Upstate headlining. Their music is an eclectic adventurous blend of folk, R&B, jazz, gospel, and rock and roll. Great vocal harmonies as well. Opening up is the folk band Handsome Hound. It’s an early gig but it’s well worth going over to the Brick to check out Upstate.. Highly recommended!!!!! $13 Cover Charge…

Tupelo 1337 Grant Ave, San Francisco 9:00 PM-1:00 AM Showtime.. If you don’t know Johnny Z and the Camaros you should. They are such a fun rock and roll band. They will have Tupelo rockin’ out. N/C

Yoshis 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime…. Pioneering British synthesizer master and songwriter Howard Jones with be performing with his acoustic trio featuring bass guitarist Nick Beggs and guitarist Robin Boult. Highly recommended!!!!! $49-$89 Cover Charge..

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime.. Robbie Fulks is an incomparable singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. Fulks has the soul of a country singer and the mind of a vaudevillian. I have been lucky enough to see Robbie a few times and he is a great entertainer. Americana singer/songwriter Maurice Tani opens the show. Highly recommended!!!!!! $24 Cover Charge..

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 8:00 PM Showtime.. Zenith Sunn features New Orleans based Americana roots singer/song musician Eric Lindell and blues guitarist Anson Funderburgh. Eric is a true one of a kind talent. Mixing West Coast rock and swampy New Orleans R&B with honky tonk country and Memphis soul, Lindell creates American roots music that is both surprisingly fresh and sweetly familiar. Anson is a master of both Chicago blues and Texas blues. Highly recommended!!!!! $32 Cover Charge…

Thursday March 28th

Bottom Of The Hill 1233 17th St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime. A great night of music with the indie infused rock band from Salt Lake City The National Parks headlining.. Two really fine indie Americana bands from Los Angeles WILD and RIVVRS round out the night. Highly recommended!!!!! $15 Cover Charge..

Tupelo 1337 Grant Ave, San Francisco 9:00 PM-1:00 AM Showtime.. Somewhere between Joan Jett and Bonnie Raitt lies GG Amos. This is one badass chick with one badass band. This is one of my very favorite local blues band. Highly recommended!! N/C

Yoshis 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime… Composer and bandleader Abdul Lahibrahim & Ekaya is South Africa’s most distinguished pianist and a world-respected master musician and remains at his zenith, as a tireless initiator of new projects. In his own words: “some do it because they have to do it we do it because we want to….so we do not require much sleep… so we have to do it “ Highly recommended!!!!!! $36-$79 Cover Charge…

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime.. The great singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff emerged from the Monday night hootenanny scene at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles writing classic songs for artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna Judd and Lynn Anderson. She also made contributions to films like Footloose. Billboard recently wrote “Long before Alanis and Jewel, Karla was among a breed of singer/songwriters whose earthly anthems of soul-searching, heartache and joy touched souls in a way few can muster today.” Listening to Karla sing is like having an intimate conversation about secrets of the heart – you don’t want to miss a word! Highly recommended!!!!!! $34 Cover Charge..

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 8:00 PM Showtime.. The Grateful Bluegrass Boys began when Aaron Redner of Hot Buttered Rum and David Thom of Vintage Grass, both Sonoma residents, decided to mesh their love for traditional Bluegrass music with the songs of the Grateful Dead. Bryan Horne of Hot Buttered Rum soon joined the mix on bass and the trio played a few private events before deciding to play in Bay Area clubs and festivals. Ben Jacobs Poor Man’s Whiskey plays accordion and a rotating cast of musicians fill out the band depending on the repertoire of the evening. GBB also plays the music of Bob Dylan and other classic luminaries to create an evening of sing-a-long revelry. Opening the show is the dynamic high energy Painted Mandolin which features Joe Cravin on mandolin, fiddle, percussion and vocals, Larry Graff on guitar, mandolin and vocals, Matt Hartle on guitar, banjotar & vocals and Roger Sideman on standup and electric bass. Highly recommended!!!! $19 Cover Charge..

If you live in and around Santa Cruz you might want to check out

Kuumbwa Jazz Center 320 Cedar St # 2, Santa Cruz 7:30 PM Showtime..Award-winning trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and educator Etienne Charles & Creole Soul fuses elements of Caribbean traditions, jazz, modern creative, post-bop, Trinidadian and world fusion creating what he refers to as “the sound of the people”. He has a great band which featuressaxophonist Godwin Louis, pianist Sullivan Fortner, guitarist Alex Wintz, drummer Jamison Ross, and bassist Reuben Rogers. Highly recommended!!!!! $36.75 Cover Charge..

Friday March 29th

Club Deluxe 1511 Haight St, San Francisco 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Showtime. Singer/songwriter Lilan Kane is one of the Bay Areas very best soulful r&b/funk/pop & jazz vocalists. Lilan and her band has opened for Hall & Oates, Sharon Jones and Trombone Shorty. She is a great performer. Highly recommended!!! $20 Cover Charge..

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:30 PM & 10:00 PM Showtimes.. . Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers is internationally recognized as The Queen Of Classic Jazz & Blues in the authentic style of the 1940’s and 1950’s as the band pays tribute to the swingin’ Kansas City tradition, featuring the music of Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, Joe Williams, Helen Humes, Lester Young, Jay McShann, Walter Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, Myra Taylor & Big Joe Turner! Highly recommended!! $24 Cover Charge..

Fifth Street Farms 1517 Fifth Street, Berkeley 7:30 Showtime.. Portland based Whiskey Deaf is a really wonderful band playing traditional bluegrass, old-time and early country band music. This band rarely makes it down to the Bay Area. This a great venue to see them. Highly recommended!!!!! $20 Cover Charge..

Yoshis 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland 8:00 PM Showtime… Composer and bandleader Abdul Lahibrahim & Ekaya is South Africa’s most distinguished pianist and a world-respected master musician and remains at his zenith, as a tireless initiator of new projects. In his own words: “some do it because they have to do it we do it because we want to….so we do not require much sleep… so we have to do it “ Highly recommended!!!!!! $36-$79 Cover Charge…

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime.. Americana bluegrass singer/songwriter and mandolinist Sierra Hull is a musical prodigy. Sierra recently received high praise from Bela Fleck saying “she plays the mandolin with a degree of refined elegance and freedom that few have achieved and her vocals and songwriting have matured to the level of her virtuosity.” Sierra is another personnel favorite of mine.. Jazz pianist turned roots musician Sam Reider opens the show.. highly recommended!!!!! $24 Cover Charge..

Ivy Room 860 San Pablo Ave, Albany 9:00 PM Showtime. A great night of music is on tap featuring drummer Scott Amendola, B3 master Will Blades join forces with guitarist Jeff Parker and reed master Skerik for a night of improvisational music that extends the outer reaches and back.. Highly recommended!!!!! $20 Cover Charge..

Saturday March 30th

SF Jazz 201 Franklin St, San Francisco 7:30 PM Showtime. Red Baraat is one of the best dance your ass off party bands in the known universe. The Brooklyn ensemble whips up a raucously fun mix of Indian bhangra rhythms, go-go music, jazz, hip-hop and Crescent City brass funk.The pioneering eight-piece band is rollicking funk music steeped in Northern India’s wedding celebrations with a dash of D.C. go-go beats and hip-hop. Highly recommended!!!! $30/$50 $70 Cover Charge..

Biscuits and Blues 401 Mason St, San Francisco 7:00 PM & 9:30 PM Showtimes… Earl Thomas is a sensational blues, jazz, and gospel singer and his live performances have become legendary. I got to see Earl once and his voice literally shook the rafters. Highly recommended!!! $24 Cover Charge..

Brick & Mortar Music Hall 1710 Mission St, San Francisco 9:00 PM Showtime. World renowned blues/rock icon Carvin Jones was recently voted one of the 50 Greatest Blues Guitarists of all time by Guitarist Magazine! Carvin has received accolades from the likes of BB King, Buddy Guy and has opened shows for Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck,Gary Moore, John Mayall, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Jimmy Vaughan along with many more Blues Rock legends who have come to admire his immense talents throughout the world! An energized night full of musc in store with Carvin’s high energy and thrilling style. Highly recommended!!!!! $25/$40/$75 Cover Charge..

Revolution Cafe 3248 22nd St, San Francisco 5:00 PM-8:30 PM Showtime.. Westside Jazz Club, lead by the wonderful tenor saxophonist Scott Silverberg, is a collective of innovative jazz musicians performing jazz standards, challenging modern compositions and freshly-updated classics. I have seen this ensemble a number of time and they never disappoint.. Highly recommended!!! N/C

Swedish American Hall 2174 Market St, San Francisco 6:00 PM Showtime.. One Dylan Song is another unique performance from Golden Gate Presents. The concept is self explanatory. Each Artist chooses one song by Bob Dylan to perform. Most will be solo, some may be accompanied. All will be special. Every Artist has their own unique relationship with Dylan. Drawing out just one song, to examine, and perform is a soul searching task. At different times in our lives any number of his songs have resonated with each of us. At any time is the future, these Artists may have chosen a different song. Tonight is but a snapshot into this moment in time. Each show has a run time of approximately 80 minutes. Each show will feature different Dylan songs. Performers include Scott Metzger, Mark Kozelek, Chuck Prophet, Eric D Johnson, William Tyler, Andy Cabic, Lola Kirke, Elvis Perkins, Cedric Burnside, Vera Sola, Graham Norwood, Wyndham Boylan-Garnett, Chris Deyo Braun and Anna St Louis. Highly recommended!!!!!!! $35 Cover Charge…..

Red Poppy Art House 2698 Folsom St, San Francisco 7:30 PM-10:00 PM Showtime.. The Hét Hat Club is an international traveling Balkan folk and jazz manouche ensemble based out of Budapest, Hungary. The band was formed a little over three years ago by individual traveling street musicians who serendipitously met in Budapest and decided to pursue this project due to their common passion and appreciation for Balkan folk music. This year they will be collaborating with Kjartan Code from the Szkojani Charlatans, focusing their repertoire on traditional and traditionally inspired original vocal and instrumental folk music from Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey, as well as highly energetic jazz manouche in the classic style of Django Reinhardt. Band members include Kjartan Code on vocals, bass & violin, Valentin Desmarais on saxophone, Bitó János on accordion and Isaac Misri on guitar & tambura.. Highly recommended!!!!! $20 Cover Charge..

Great American Music Hall 859 O’Farrell St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime. Soul Ska is a Bay Area collective with a fresh take on the classic ska/ rocksteady idiom. The 8-10 piece band is comprised of veteran members the Bay Area scene from bands such as Vinyl, Monophonics, Stymie & the Pimp Jones Love Orchestra, The Right Time, Albino!, El Radio Fantastique, Jethro Jeremiah Band and more. Highly recommended!! $20 Cover Charge..

The Riptide 3639 Taraval St, San Francisco 9:00 PM-12:00 PM Showtime. Jinx Jones is one of the great guitar virtuosos of the Bay Area. I love the way he seems to move seamlessly from rockabilly to jazz to twang and back again, sometimes in the same song. Highly recommended.. N/C

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 9:00 PM Showtime. One of New Orleans’ best and funkiest bands to ever arise from the Crescent City Dumpstaphunk pays tribute to two of their major influences The Isley Brothers and Sly And The Family Stone. Highly recommended!!!!!! $34 Cover Charge…

The Freight & Salvage 2020 Addison St, Berkeley 8:00 PM Showtime.. Rhonda Benin & Lucindy’s Music Presents Just Like A Woman, a celebration of Bay Area women in music featuring Maria Muldaur, Kim Nalley, Rhonda Benin, Sandy Cressman, Tia Carroll, Lady Sunrise, Neicy Robinson and the Lillian Armstrong Tribute Band featuring Tammy Hall, Ruth Davies, Ruth Price and Kristen Price. Highly recommended!!!!! $28 Cover Charge….

If you live in and around Santa Cruz you might want to check out

Moes Alley 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz 9:00 PM Showtime. UK Ska legends The English Beat whose music fuses Latin, ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock will have the house rockin’ at Moes.. Highly recommended!!! $40 Cover Charge.

Sunday March 31st

The Independant 628 Divisadero St, San Francisco 8:00 PM Showtime. Electric Six are the very entertaining Detroit rockers who blend garage rock, post-punk, and disco. Highly recommended!!!!!!! $20 Cover Charge..

Great American Music Hall 859 O’Farrell St, San Francisco 7:00 PM Showtime. Victor Wooten has established himself as one of the preeminent bassists of his generation. Joining Victor are Regi Wooten on guitar, Joseph Wooten on keyboards and Derico Watson on drums. This should be a powerhouse performance. Highly recommended!!! $35 Cover Charge..

Bird & Beckett Books and Records 653 Chenery St, San Francisco.. 4:30 PM-6:30 PM Showtime.. The Queen of Boogie-Woogie Bay Area pianist/vocalist Wendy DeWitt sure knows how to boogie. Teamed with nifty Norton Buffalo drummer Kirk Harwood, she delivers a rousing set of blues and boogie-woogie. Throughout, DeWitt’s earthy, soul-fueled vocals excite, as does her rollicking work on the keys. Highly recommended!!!!! $10 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

Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley 9:00 PM Showtime. One of New Orleans’ best and funkiest bands to ever arise from the Crescent City Dumpstaphunk pays tribute to two of their major influences The Isley Brothers and Sly And The Family Stone. Highly recommended!!!!!! $34 Cover Charge…

Yoshis 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM Showtimes… Elvin Bishop is a legendary blues and rock icon will be performing with his Big Fun Trio . Elvin is so much fun and entertaining. Highly recommended!!!! $28-$69 Cover Charge..

Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society 311 Mirada Rd, Half Moon Bay 4:30 PM Showtime. New York-based pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti has garnered multiple individual GRAMMY Award nominations over the years for his work as a recording artist and composer, including Best Instrumental Composition and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. Recently, Eigsti also co-wrote a featured composition with Don Cheadle for the 2017 GRAMMY-winning soundtrack to the motion picture “Miles Ahead”. Eigsti has had the good fortune of performing, touring or recording with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Chris Botti, Joshua Redman, Sting, John Mayer, Esperanza Spalding and Chick Corea. Taylor will be performing with his trio of Taylor on piano, Zach Ostroff on bass and Domo Branch on drums. Highly recommended!!!!!! $35-$45 Cover Charge…

Video Pick Of The Week..

27: Gone Too Soon looks at the lives and deaths of the six most famous members of the ’27 Club’ – musicians who have died aged 27: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse featuring never-before-seen footage and interviews with medical experts, music critics, and friends of the famous artists to help explain what led to this wild coincidence.