THURSDAY 9/4
KLEZMER
DIMITRI GASKIN’S CALIFORNIA ORCHESTRA
Accomplished accordion player, composer and arranger Dmitri Gaskin presents a vibrant array of traditional Klezmer and Polish folk music. Known for his technical poise and artistic vision, Gaskin has won the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award for contemporary classical composition. Performing alongside several klezmer bands across California, including Baymele and Saul Goodman’s Klezmer Band, Gaskin has also arranged, produced and released an album of new Yiddish songs, Kosmopolitn, with his duo Tsvey Brider. Featuring jaunty rhythms and ritual melodies, Dmitri Gaskin’s California Orchestra will warm spirits with a glow reminiscent of old-world dance halls. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 7pm, Ugly Mug, 4640 Soquel Drive, Soquel, $25/adv, $30/door, 477-1341.
R&B
THE HEETERS
The creativity within the nine-man retro-soul outfit California Honeydrops is too big for one band. Even with the group’s prodigious output (more than a dozen albums to date), they have creativity to burn. So it is that three of the group’s members (drummer Beaumont Beaullieu, bassist Miles Blackwell and keyboardist Lorenzo Loera) have teamed up with guitarist/vocalist Tom Quell to form The Heeters. Songwriting is handled by the latter two, but The Heeters are a truly collaborative outfit. Santa Cruz-based rock/soul/samba trio Papiba & Friends is also on the bill. BILL KOPP
INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.
FRIDAY 9/5
ROCK
ORCUTT SHELLEY MILLER
Back in the days before autotune and online production, incredible musicians from different, genre defining groups would get together and form a new band, utilizing their collective skills to synchronize into a supergroup. Bands like The Four Seasons, Cream, and Led Zeppelin fit the bill. The concept has mostly faded in recent years. Enter Orcutt Shelley Miller. This trio made up of Bill Orcutt (Harry Pussy), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) and Ethan Miller (Comets on Fire/Howlin’ Rain) carries on the tradition with a psychedelic, jazz-infused blues rock that is one part Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsy, mixed with some Earthless and a whole dose of a unique flavor only Orcutt, Shelley and Miller can deliver. MAT WEIR
INFO: 8pm, Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $28/adv, $32/door. 429-6994.
ART
SURF LIVE OAK
This pop-up exhibit features moments from local Live Oak surf history. Imagery of early surf shops, beloved surfboard manufacturers and treasured surf spots offer a nostalgic glimpse at vintage surf culture. Nestled between Santa Cruz and Capitola, Live Oak is characterized with quietness, but the Simpkins Family Swim Center seeks to unveil a plethora of stories about the local surf culture. Housing 20 surf manufacturers in the 1960s and 70s, Live Oak has a rich surf history. This retrospective look at Live Oak, in conjunction with Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History’s exhibition, “Princes of Surf,” will run through Jan. 25. SN
INFO: 3:30pm, Simpkins Family Swim Center, 979 17th Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 454-7960.
SATURDAY 9/6
FILM
OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL
Celebrating 12 years of educating people about Earth’s vast oceans and inspiring people to help protect them, the Ocean Film Festival World Tour is back in Santa Cruz. Through a curated selection of films from independent film makers, the annual event continues to showcase the beauty, power and wonder of the ocean. This year showcases three hours of films that will take the viewer on a deep dive into the ocean and into the lives of those who love it. From the casual weekend surfer to the most seasoned of ocean enthusiasts, all attendees can expect to develop a stronger connection and understanding of some of the ecosystems found in the ocean. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 7pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $21. 423-8209.
SUNDAY 9/7
BLUES
FANTASTIC NEGRITO
With three Grammys to his name, a collaboration with Sting, and an NPR Tiny Desk Contest win, Fantastic Negrito is on the road celebrating his latest album, Son of A Broken Man, performing the music he calls “Black roots music for everyone,” an eclectic mix of R&B, soul and blues with touches of funk, folk, pop and other surprises. He has one of those voices that manages to impress and emote seemingly effortlessly, never sounding showy or false, and the self-taught musician’s songwriting is absolutely top notch. Sgt. Splendor opens. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. $30. 704-7113.
MONDAY 9/8
LATIN
PACIFIC MAMBO ORCHESTRA
This Grammy-winning, 20-piece orchestra spices up life with Latin flavors of salsa, cha cha, bachata and whatever else they want and simmer it into a deliciously layered musical mole for the ears. Hailing from San Francisco, the Pacific Mambo Orchestra not only writes originals but also covers an array of modern classics like the “Pink Panther” theme, Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” and Dizzy Gillespie’s “Night in Tunisia.” MW
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $52-$58. 427-2227.
TUESDAY 9/9
ROCK
YOUNG THE GIANT
The members of Irvine, California’s Young the Giant debuted with their 2010 self-titled album. That release charted in five counties and earned the band a Gold record in the U.S. Since then, the band has found more success via its singles; to date no less than 14 Young the Giant singles have made it to the Top 40 on Billboard’s Adult Pop, Rock and/or Alternative Airplay charts. Boasting a lineup largely unchanged from 15 years ago, the group’s latest release is 2022’s American Bollywood, That record features two hit singles, “Wake Up” and “The Walk Home.” BK
INFO: 7pm, Quarry Amphitheater, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz. $69. 459-4184.
WEDNESDAY 9/10
EMO
SUNNY DAY REAL ESTATE
Sharing members with the Foo Fighters, Sunny Day Real Estate break up and get back together frequently. It’s a good idea to catch them when they are in the ON phase of their on again/off again cycle, as one of these days the breakup may stick, though they have been managing to come together in various forms to record and tour since they first formed in the early ’90s in Seattle, where they somehow managed to avoid being grouped in with the exploding grunge scene and instead found themselves a founding force in the Midwest emo scene, far from home. Cursive joins them on their 2025 tour. KLJ
INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $50. 713-5492.
