Have a hankering for live music? At last, all the venues for free summer music in the sun (or on the grass, or at the park, or in the Plaza) have been announced, so music-lovers can begin making their summer weekday plans.
Closest to home, the Ranch at Lake Sonoma, the Windsor Town Square, the Cloverdale Plaza and of course Healdsburg’s Tuesday in the Plaza each have a variety of bands – heavy on the tribute bands – to entertain over these summer eves.
First to announce was the Ranch at Lake Sonoma, overlooking the placid waters of the reservoir and steep wooded canyons of Skaggs Springs. In fact their first such was the last Sunday of April, the 27th, when Solo Rio opened the summer series.
Upcoming last-Sunday shows are Mr. December (May 25), the John Courage Trio (June 29), Pazifico (July 27), Spike Sikes (Aug. 31) and Derek Irving (Sept. 28).
Tuesdays in the Plaza are the days to watch for Healdsburg locals. The popular city-sponsored summer series begins, as it usually does, in the last week of May, which places the opener on May 27 with Norteño music from Los Cadetes de Memo Cavada.
June brings “Bollywood blues” from Aki Kumar (June 3), Celtic rockers Tempest (June 10), big band jazz from Melba’s Kitchen (June 17), and rock from Dirty Cello (June 24).
July brings country and cumbia back to town with Victoria Geore and the High Lonesome (July 1), followed by La Luz Roja de Beto Campillo (July 8). Then there’s fusion from El Radio Fantastique (July 15), 50s rock by Todd Morgan & the Emblems (July 22), and swing-era jazz from Roberta Donnay and the Prohibition Mob (July 29).
The summer series concludes with a diverse August, kicked off by Cajun music from Tom Rigney and Flambeau (Aug. 5), Afro Fiesta playing “rumba del congo” (Aug 12), La Sentencia de Tuzantla (Aug. 18), and finally mid-century soul from the Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, featuring Willy Jordan (Aug. 26).
Tuesday in the Plaza shows begin at 6pm and last for two hours. Food vendors are onsite, Plaza Street is partially closed, and there is no cover. Details at healdsburg.gov/335/Tuesdays-in-the-Plaza.
Going South
Just down the 101, a soon-to-be SMART stop away, the Thursday concerts (6-8pm) overlap the Windsor Farmers Market (5-8pm) at the Windsor Town Green, so food vendors and fresh produce are readily available. As in Healdsburg, the series begins the last week of May and continues into August.
The May 29 show is the popular Beatles tribute band Hey Jude. In June, music includes Funky Dozen (June 5), a party band aptly called Pop Rocks (June 13), R&B from Pride & Joy (June 19), and modern country from Dustin Saylor (June 26).
July 3 there is no market or music due to Windsor’s 4th of July plans. The next week the tunes begin again with Fleetwood Macrame (July 10), David Martin’s House Party (July 17), a Santana tribute from Sacred Fire (July 23), and We Are 1 / Somos 1 who play bilingual Latin pop (July 31).
August rolls on with dance music from Fast Times (Aug. 8), top 40 hits from Cassie B (Aug. 14), blues and funk from Big Blu Soul Review (Aug. 21), and an Elton John tribute from Keny Metcalf (Aug. 28). Details online at townofwindsor.ca.gov/342/Summer-Nights-on-the-Green.
Going North
The Cloverdale Arts Alliance does their part to make summer the season of fun with the Friday Night Live (FNL) series at their downtown plaza. It starts a week earlier than its sister cities’ shows, on May 23 with Eric Lindell and, a week later on May 30, with Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble.
June brings the David Luning Band (June 6), Banda Pacifica (June 13), alt-country from Yarn (June 20) and late-60s funk from Diggin’ Dirt (June 27).
The first Friday in July is July 4, so the FNL series will take a pause. They’re back a week later with psych-rock from The Great North Special (July 11), slide guitar specialist Roy Rogers & the Delta Rhythm Kings (July 28), then psychedelic soul from Moonalice (July 25).
There are five Fridays in August, the first bringing Tommy Castro and the Painkillers (Aug. 1), followed by electro-swing from the High Step Society (Aug. 8), no-need-to-explain Surfer Girl (Aug. 15), reggae rock from Joe Samba (Aug. 22) and Afro-Latin music from La Misa Negra (Aug. 29).
Some Fridays include an opening band; the street fair begins at 6pm, the music is live from 7 to 9:30pm. For details, see cloverdaleartsalliance.org/fnlmusic.
Check the Calendar listings for more music programming in Sonoma County.
