Hi friends,
Our friends at Santa Cruz Works are paying tribute to the tireless community organizer Matthew Swinnerton for his dedication to supporting Santa Cruz’s cultural life, as he turns his attentions more to his family. Positive, sustainable arts culture doesn’t just happen. It’s built by people like Matthew. The guy who spends so much time honoring others deserves an honor of his own. The community owes you a lot, Matthew.
Now, on with the show.
This Just In!
Among the newly booked shows in Santa Cruz County includes a couple of 1960s legends: The epic guitar god Albert Lee combines forces with singer Jeremy Clyde, of Chad & Jeremy fame. Also on the card that evening will be singer-songwriter Peter Case, all on July 26 at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Also, look for Dogstar (yep, Keanu Reeves’ band) coming to The Catalyst on Sept. 15. The fine country singer Aaron Watson arrives at Felton Music Hall on Oct. 31. And, the great veteran multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell performs with his wife, singer Teresa Williams, at Felton Music Hall on Nov. 16.
Be sure to check out Lookout’s carefully curated and constantly updated planning guide, Down the Line, for the staggering riches and amazing choices awaiting Santa Cruz audiences. It’s our look ahead at the best shows, concerts and events through the rest of the year at clubs, stages and venues all over the county.
Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the summer-warmup B9:
Cabrillo Fest add-on
The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music has thrown yet another goodie into a festival schedule that was already brimming with them. The festival just announced the addition of a new performance to be added to its Aug. 10 date at the Santa Cruz Civic: The West Coast premiere of the new trumpet concerto composed by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis, featuring celebrated trumpeter Michael Sachs.
A big First Friday
It’s First Friday time again, but this time, it’s no ordinary First Friday. The monthly event is celebrating 20 years with a special retrospective show at the Radius Gallery at the Tannery Arts Center.
There is a slew of intriguing events going down on Friday evening all across the county, but one that bears singling out comes via the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. “Cotoni-Coast Dairies: Monumental Steps” opens Friday at the museum beside the whale sculpture in the Seabright area.
The new exhibit takes a deep look into the breathtaking landscapes of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County, as well as the socio-political efforts to save the area for conservation. In 2017, the site was added to the California Coastal National Monument, and the federal Bureau of Land Management is planning to open parts of the 5,800-acre area to the public. This exhibit will certainly do its part to whet the appetite for exploring one of this region’s greatest natural treasures. The exhibit’s opening takes place Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. Make it part of your First Friday plans.
Here comes Juneteenth
Don’t let anyone tell you that Santa Cruz is a Johnny-come-lately to the Juneteenth movement. Santa Cruz has, for decades, been celebrating Black history and culture every June, and this year is no different.
This year’s event hits on Saturday, June 15, and starts with a parade from city hall, featuring this year’s honorary grand marshal, prominent activist (and music lover) Curtis Relaford. From there, the fun gravitates down to Laurel Park, near the London Nelson Community Center, for a festival that includes live performances from Santa Cruz County’s Artist of the Year, Tammi Brown; reggae star Prezident Brown; rapper Mak Nova and her group The Homies; Santa Cruz’s own Lloyd Whitley & the Lucille Blues Band; and several others.
It’s all free, and everyone’s welcome.
Art on Wheels
Watsonville continues its celebration of lowrider culture with a big event Saturday called “Art on Wheels.” Artist Jessica Carrasco and her organization Arte Del Corazon are putting together the festival in downtown Watsonville, beginning at noon.
The main event is, of course, a showcase for many of the Monterey Bay’s most awesome automobiles, as well as motorcycles and bikes, all done up in the sharpest lowrider styles. But there will also be live mural painting, food vendors, performers and another chance to catch the stunning art exhibit on lowrider culture now showing at Pajaro Valley Arts.
The Castro’s big summer
Many locals have never visited the Castro Adobe State Historic Park near Watsonville, largely because it has been closed and under renovation. Well, that renovation is done now, and the grand old structure, which dates back to 1849 (a year deeply significant in California history), is ready for its closeup.
This year, the Castro Adobe will host monthly open house events to showcase new museum-quality exhibits, and the next of those events is coming next Saturday, June 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The structure was heavily damaged during the Loma Prieta earthquake (that’s 35 years ago), but the restoration of the building was finished in 2022. Now, after the design and installation of new exhibits, the Castro is eager to draw in the public. You can take a tour of the grounds and the adobe itself, and learn more about the Mexican rancho period of California’s history. It’s free, but register first.
Earworm of the Week
Can anyone name any musician more deeply in tune to the daily rhythms of life and ordinary beauty of coastal northern California than Kate Wolf? I certainly can’t. I was living up in Humboldt County back in the mid-1980s when Kate died at the age of 44 from leukemia, and decades later her loss is still felt there, particularly in rural parts of the coast north of the Bay Area where she lived most of her life. But we in the more central part of the state are part of the Kate Wolf mystique as well. And the best example of her love of our region is “Pacheco,” a gorgeous evocation of the coast-range environment that local travelers know as Pacheco Pass, connecting the Central Coast with the San Joaquin Valley. The opening lines of the song are stunning: “Purple clouds turn scarlet in the setting sun/ Where sagebrush turns to live oak and the white tail runs/ The air is cool as music when the day is done.” Wow, I want to be there. On her live album “Give Yourself to Love,” she combines “Pacheco” with the breathtaking “The Redtail Hawk,” and the combination of the two will make you want to vow to never live anywhere outside northern California. She’s been gone almost 40 years, but the magic of her music is as strong as ever.
All the Earworms in one place
For those who’ve been following my Earworm of the Week, I’ve assembled a playlist that contains them all.
That’s all I got, friends. Come at me with comments, ideas, complaints, or thundering insights. Thanks to all Lookout members for your faith and support, and please, spread the word on what we’re doing.