Hi friends,
Not to get too partisan, but a politician with a playlist this well-balanced and considered is certainly going to turn my head. Maybe candidate playlists should be a thing. You’re up, Kamala/Walz/Vance. (I don’t want to see DJT’s musical tastes, thanks all the same.)
Now, on with the show.
THIS JUST IN
Well, it’s not really “beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” but the holiday shows are starting to pop up, none more prominent than the Kuumbwa Jazz Center’s presentation of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with a “Big Band Holiday” show, featuring vocalists Ekep Nkwelle and Robbie Lee, at the Rio Theatre on Dec. 6. Also at the Rio, on the very next evening, Dec. 7, the brilliant folk singer Iris DeMent returns to Santa Cruz. The magnificent vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock plays live at the Rio on Nov. 18. Two of the finest jazz guitarists around, Bireli Lagrene and Martin Taylor, play together at the Kuumbwa on Nov. 8. The great bandleader Eugene Rodriguez of Los Cenzontles drops by Bookshop Santa Cruz to talk about his new memoir Sept. 14. Bookshop also presents writer Cara Giaimo to talk about her new book in the famous “Atlas Obscura” series about the world’s wild places, Oct. 22 at London Nelson Community Center. Jazz vocalist Julia Keefe leads a big band of Indigenous and Native artists into the Kuumbwa on Feb. 20. And, Taylor Swift comes to town — well, not in person, but in the guise of a new fashion book called “Taylor Swift Style,” by fashion writer Sarah Chapelle, who appears at Bookshop on Oct. 9.
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 school’s-starting-already? B9:
Greg Kihn RIP
You might have heard about the death of Bay Area rock ’n’ roller Greg Kihn, who gave the world the hits “Jeopardy” and “The Breakup Song.” Kihn died on Tuesday at the age of 75 from complications of Alzheimer’s.
If you’re a long-timer in Santa Cruz, you might certainly remember Greg Kihn for his many visits to The Catalyst dating back to the 1970s. He was also well-known in the Bay Area as the radio morning man at KFOX in San Francisco. I got the chance to interview him, and he was a super fun and nice guy. Of the many mainstream rock acts to launch from the Bay Area in the 1980s – Huey Lewis, Journey – Kihn was the one most beloved by Santa Cruz audiences. Raise a toast to him tonight.
One more ‘Earnest’
How are things going at Santa Cruz Shakespeare? Pretty well, if you consider that they just added another performance of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which will now close on Sept. 8, at 2 p.m. I caught a matinee performance of “Earnest,” and it was great fun, fine actors savoring Wilde’s deliciously catty dialogue, all in the warm summer surroundings of The Grove.
Amazingly, just three days later, after “As You Like It” and “Hamlet” have also closed, SCS will spring back to life with its first preview performances of the Tennessee Williams classic “The Glass Menagerie,” which will officially open Sept. 13.
Also coming up worthy of note is the SCS “Fringe” show, the all-intern production that the company stages every summer. This one is on consecutive Tuesday nights, Aug. 20 and 27, and tickets are on a pay-what-you-will donation basis. The play is David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, “Proof,” on the complicated family legacy of a brilliant mathematician. And, if you haven’t already, please check out our exclusive peek backstage during a recent production of “Hamlet,” as I, photographer Kevin Painchaud and the skull of poor Yorick quietly observed what goes into a production of one of the world’s most famous plays.
The return of Mighty Mike
I had the pleasure to again visit with Mighty Mike Schermer, known in these parts as a blues guitarist of style back in the 1990s and 2000s when he was a local. Mighty Mike has since moved away, but he comes back to visit next week with a new sound. Check out his story.
75 years at Palace Arts
If you’re near 41st Avenue this weekend, you might want to drop by Palace, the venerable art and office supply shop, which will be marking its 75th anniversary with two days of art demos and activities. Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the King’s Plaza Shopping Center, Palace will feature free live demonstrations of everything from screen printing to origami to oil painting. If there’s a young (or, heck, not so young) aspiring artist in your circle, here’s a great opportunity for inspiration.
Wanna audition?
Looking to shake up your life a little bit? Looking to jump into something wild and crazy, something a bit out of the old comfort zone that will, once it’s all over, make you a better, or at least a different, person?
Listen up: Cabrillo Stage artistic director Andrea Hart will soon be holding auditions for a new musical to be held at Cabrillo College. Before you hear what that musical is — just keep an open mind.
It’s “SpongeBob: The Musical.”
That’s right, auditions for “SpongeBob” are to be held Aug. 27 and 28, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Crocker Theater at Cabrillo. (Callbacks will be the following two days at the same time.)
You’re asked to prepare a song — or a part of a song, one chorus and one verse — and bring sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. You’ll also be asked to do some movement and some reading. You can register if you want to give it a shot.
The rest of us will sit back and wait until November, when the production opens. We can’t wait to see the “choices” you’ve made for Squidward.
Watsonville rising
Here’s a cool thing to put on the radar: Right around the fall equinox, artisans from all over the county will gather for a weekend event called “Semana Artesanal,” a celebration of artisans of color throughout the Monterey Bay region. Visitors will get to see the fruits, figuratively speaking we must add, of local makers and artists. The event takes place Sept. 21 and 22 at Romo Park — that’s the big green lawn right across Main Street from the Watsonville Plaza.
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.