Quick Take:
Your place to go for things to do in Santa Cruz County.
On the local clubs scene, there are still a lot of chess pieces moving around, thanks to the lingering Omicron variant. A few dates originally scheduled for the coming days have been canceled or postponed, but most are going forward, even with many of those at reduced capacity. So keep your appointment calendar in pencil. Otherwise, it’s a busy midwinter week with a new Jewel Theatre production ready to roll, some really fine and underrated singer-songwriters coming to town (Joan Osborne, KT Tunstall), and big new art happenings at the MAH in Santa Cruz and in Watsonville. Mask up, be smart, and make the most of what your community has to offer.
— Wallace Baine
See our full BOLO calendar listings for events in Santa Cruz here. And as if that isn’t enough, we have you covered for all the MAJOR events coming up into the next year with Down The Line, a listing assembled by Wallace Baine that’s your key to getting tickets before they sell out.
Now, here’s what Team BOLO thinks you should know for the weekend and beyond:
(Click category headers for full BOLO listings in that category.)THEATER
OPENING WEDNESDAY
“The Weir”: Jewel Theatre in Santa Cruz jumps headlong into 2022 with its latest production, presenting Conor McPherson’s “The Weir,” which won the Laurence Olivier Award for best new play following its 1997 debut. The play is set in a small pub in rural Ireland, where three men attempt to impress a young woman who has just moved to the area from Dublin with scary stories. When the woman tells her story, however, the exercise moves into the realm of the personal and the poignant. Directed by local theater pro Susan Myer Silton, “The Weir” runs through Feb. 20 at the Colligan Theater at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz. It opens Wednesday, with a 7:30 p.m. performance.
— Wallace Baine
LIVE MUSIC
FRIDAY
Joan Osborne: It’s been nearly 27 years since Joan Osborne released the massive hit single “One of Us,” which sought nothing less than to bring God down to human scale. Since then, she proved to be durable in a wide range of musical idioms, from rock to R&B to country. But her long recording career has flown under the radar of mainstream fans, despite her early success. She has, however, consistently followed her muse wherever it has led, which in recent years has included an underrated collection of Bob Dylan covers and 2020’s “Trouble and Strife,” which addressed the degraded state of the world in the 21st century, but with Osborne’s familiar soulfulness. She comes to the Rio Theatre on Friday. Showtime is 8 p.m.
FRIDAY
DJ Logic: Anyone who doubts that the turntable is a legitimate vehicle for artistry has never heard or seen DJ Logic perform. The Bronx turntablist first emerged in the 1980s, bringing a propulsive jazzy beat to his sound. He later attained a wider appeal playing with the innovative trio Medeski Martin & Wood, and has also collaborated with the Roots, Mos Def, John Mayer and many others. Catch DJ Logic and his turntable wizardry Friday at Moe’s Alley.
WEDNESDAY
KT Tunstall: Scottish-born singer-songwriter KT Tunstall has consistently upped her musical game to meet her big artistic ambitions, from the moment she first burst onto the scene with the fine 2004 album “Eye to the Telescope.” Tunstall has developed a worldwide following for her fierce, jangly rock/soul/electronica sound. In recent years, she’s devoted her time to creating a recording trilogy themed on soul, body, and mind. And she comes to Felton Music Hall on Wednesday with the final album of that trilogy on the horizon.
THURSDAY, JAN. 27
Black Joe Lewis & Cedric Burnside: Texas-based Black Joe Lewis cranks out a high-octane brand of big bare-knuckles blues (with a big dollop of James Brown) while fronting his band, the Honeybears. Cedric Burnside is an electrifying blues guitarist who channels the soul of his grandfather, the late Mississippi blues legend R.L. Burnside. Together, the two masters are prepared to deliver a big greasy plate of the blues in this special duo show at Moe’s Alley next Thursday, Jan. 27. Things get cracking at 8:30 p.m.
— Wallace BaineVISUAL ARTS
OPENING THIS WEEK
Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship: The legacy of the late Santa Cruz artists and philanthropists Roy and Frances Rydell is a biannual fellowship providing grants to four local visual artists with national reputations. Over the years, the Rydell fund has contributed more than $600,000 to local artists, and the Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz is ready to showcase the 2020-21 winners: printmaker and illustrator Ann Altstatt, designer and artist Marc D’Estout, dancer and choreographer Cid Pearlman and photographer and printmaker Edward Ramirez. The Rydell fellows will be the focus of a broad new display at the MAH’s second-floor Solari Gallery. The show runs through March 20.
OPENING THIS WEEK
Take Aways: Art to Go!: Pajaro Valley Arts in Watsonville is ushering in 2022 in a big way with a new exhibit featuring the work of (this is not a typo) 73 local artists. This gigantic all-star team of Santa Cruz County visual artists are presenting pieces to fit every budget to raise money for PVA in sculpture, photography, glasswork, fiber, encaustic and several other mediums. The show opens this weekend at the PVA gallery, 37 Sudden St. in Watsonville, and the gallery is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A reception is planned for the closing of the show March 6.
ONGOING
“Atmosphere”: Monterey Bay artist Enid Baxter Ryce taps into the familiar winter weather patterns for anyone who lives in Northern California in her new interactive, multimedia exhibit, “Atmosphere,” at the Museum of Art & History in downtown Santa Cruz. Using paintings, photographs, film and even an interactive soundscape sculpture, Ryce brings together collaborators musician Lanier Sammons, historian William Cowan, sculptor Natalie Jenkins and scientist Dan Fernandez to explain phenomena such as “atmospheric rivers” and winter fog. (There will also be a “fog collector” on hand as well.) The exhibit runs through the winter/early spring months, until May.
ONGOING
RREVV Gallery: Downtown Santa Cruz’s newest art gallery, RREVV, opens its second month with a show of several local artists including master potter Mattie Leeds, glass artist Susan Wagner, painter Andrea Borsuk, printer Anthony Thomas and metalist Maha Taitano, along with the work of RREVV’s proprietor artists, Rigel and Rachel Hunter. The show is up for the month of January, at 1349 Pacific Ave., downtown.
ONGOING
“Indicators”: Surfing and art slam together for an exhibit at the R. Blitzer Gallery on the Westside of Santa Cruz, featuring the artistic creations of well-known figures in the Santa Cruz surf world, including Stan Welsh, Margitta Dietrick-Welsh, Vince Broglio, Nancy Broglio, Ed Dickie, Tessa Hope Hasty, Dave Anderson, Boogie Bill, Gary Hughes and more. It’s all up at the Blitzer through Jan. 28, at 2801 Mission St., in the old Wrigley Building.
— Wallace Baine
SATURDAY
Pride Pint Night at Greater Purpose: Weekly rendezvous at Greater Purpose Brewing Company, with a portion of the proceeds going to help fund The Neighbor’s, a forthcoming queer cafe and bar. Also scheduled to be on hand until 8 p.m. will be Funk’s Franks, a newcomer to the Santa Cruz food-truck scene serving up Chicago-style hotdogs and Italian beef.
SUNDAY
Strong Women Brew Strong Beer: Join a beer brewing class at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing run by women, for women. You will have the chance to learn how to home-brew tasty beer, try different kinds of brews, and tour the brewery of one of the more popular brewpubs in town. Beer tasting and lunch is included in the price of the ticket.
THURSDAY, JAN. 27
Ales for Tails at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing: Meet adoptable dogs and help out the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter the last Thursday evening of each month at SCMB, which donates $1 from each pint to the shelter. Bring your own pooch and take advantage of mobile grooming by Pawsitive Styles.
— Will McCahill and Max ChunBOOKS & LECTURES
THURSDAY, JAN. 27
Karen Tei Yamashita & Eric C. Wat: Longtime UC Santa Cruz professor of literature Karen Tei Yamashita added a major garland to her storied career in 2021 when she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contributions to American Letters, an honor previously bestowed upon giants such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Joan Didion and Toni Morrison. Over the past 30 years, she has forged a unique viewpoint, celebrating multiculturalism and insisting that America is never one thing but a polyglot of different voices. Her latest book, “Sansei & Sensibility,” is a playful connection between Japanese American identity and the books of Jane Austen. Next Thursday, Jan. 27, Yamashita and novelist Eric Wat (“Love Your Asian Body”) will appear in a free virtual event sponsored by UCSC’s Creative Writing Program and Literature Department as part of the university’s Living Writers Series. Things get started at 5:15 p.m.
— Wallace BaineRECREATION
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
Elephant seal guided tours: If you’re looking for outdoor activities to mitigate COVID risk, Año Nuevo State Park provides a great, if perhaps chilly, option. The park offers guided walks, allowing visitors to learn more about the natural preserve and see elephant seals that breed, give birth and molt at the park. Strange and fascinating, these animals tend to be rather territorial, so bundle up and keep a safe distance. These tours are offered daily through March 31 and occur from early mornings to mid-afternoons.
— Max ChunKIDS & FAMILY
FRIDAY
Watsonville Farmers Market: Head out to bountiful South County for the weekly market at the Watsonville Plaza. With Watsonville the berry and produce (and more) capital of the area, this market features a huge amount of fresh fruits and vegetables along with other local vendors selling specialty foods and homemade goods.
— Max ChunCOMEDY
FRIDAY
Greater Purpose Comedy — Dauood Muhammad Naimyar: Decorated Bay Area comedian Dauood Mohammad Naimyar brings his standup routine to Greater Purpose Brewing, leaning on humor honed growing up caught between two worlds as an Afghan American.
TUESDAY
Blue Lagoon Comedy Night: The Blue Lagoon cocktail lounge brings the laughs downtown every Tuesday for a free stand-up event, which overlaps with its 4-9 p.m. happy hour. Proof of vaccination required.
THURSDAY, JAN. 27
Hotel Paradox Comedy Night: DNA of DNA’s Comedy Lab and Santa Cruz Comedy Festival fame brings comedians from the Bay Area and beyond to the Solaire Room at the Hotel Paradox the second and fourth Thursday every month.
— Will McCahill
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF BOLO
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Send arts, entertainment and culture events you think should be listed (for free) to us at bolo@lookoutlocal.com.
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Questions, comments, concerns? Email bolo@lookoutlocal.com.