Who can forget the ending of Los Lobos’ music video for “La Bamba,” when the song stops and band members gather in a semicircle, quickly strumming and plucking maricahi instruments? Okay, so maybe you’ve forgotten—it was 23 years ago, after all. But! Let us remember that in addition to writing a deep catalog of songs, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas and Louis Perez are also extremely immersed in technique. That’s what makes their pairing with the nimble-fingered guitarist Leo Kottke at the Lincoln Theater this weekend so interesting; Kottke and Los Lobos both originally emerged as traditionalists, honing their skills until they knew their instruments inside and out, and developed their own styles. Long adored by fans of the collaboration-friendly Grateful Dead, there’s reason to expect that Los Lobos will ask opener Kottke to join them onstage—if only for a lively run-through of “La Bamba”—when the two appear on Saturday, April 3, at the Lincoln Theater. 100 California Drive, Yountville. 8pm. $45-$65. 707.944.1300.Gabe Meline
It’s the moment in the sun for Kate Van Horn. The local songwriter who’s been gracing small clubs and cafes with her thoughtful songs and gossamer voice has released Truce, her debut album, celebrated this weekend at a release show at Sebastopol’s Aubergine. We’re plenty excited that after a hiatus, Aubergine is back in the live-music business—surrounded by the building’s vintage clothing store and nautical décor, the atmosphere is funky, down-home and cozy. In other words: pure Sebastopol. Van Horn plays the piano and sings, earning her deserved comparisons to Tori Amos; her voice, especially, treads into Tori territory. But while Amos developed a spiraling sense of composition, Van Horn keeps her songs Little Earthquakes-era compact with infectious melodies and that rare crossroad of jubilation and poetry. From the soaring passages of “Giant Moon” to the percussive piano rhythm of “Songs for a Saturday Night,” Truce is a winner. Van Horn plays Thursday, Apr. 1, at Aubergine. 755 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. 7:30pm. Free. 707.827.3460.Gabe Meline
It’s long been theorized that the senses aren’t mutually exclusive; that they work in tandem to produce sensations in the body and brain instead of independently to provide rote, one-track information. So it is with music, particularly with composers who believe in the synesthesia of music tones with colors, patterns and shapes. ‘Audible Visions’ is the name of the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble’s program in Mill Valley this week, showcasing the works of five such composers. Punctuated by Gabriel Faure’s Piano Quartet in G minor, the program also Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho’s Sept Papillons, a sonic image of butterflies; Matthew Barnson’s String Quartet, awarded the Left Coast Composition prize; William Grant Still’s Suite for violin and piano and Barbara Kolb’s Umbrian Colors. Bring an open mind, close your eyes and see what visions emerge when the program gets underway on Thursday, Apr. 1, at 142 Throckmorton Theatre. 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. 8pm. $15-$20. 415.383.9600.Gabe Meline 
There was, in fact, an actual WW II–era riveter named Rosie—Rose Will Monroe, who helped build B-29s in Michigan—but with the passage of time, she’s been lost to big-band jazz and poster iconography. Such as it was in 1942 when Kay Kyser’s swing-era hit “Rosie the Riveter” entered the phrase into wartime parlance, and J. Howard Miller’s famous “We Can Do It!” poster secured the image. Forty years after women worked in factories getting paid less than men for the war effort, filmmaker Connie Field conducted interviews with five real-life Rosies and interspersed them with historical footage; the resulting film ‘The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter’ is a 65-minute gem. Following a screening of the film, a panel of women veterans who served in the armed forces will share their experiences. Watch an underrepresented history come alive on Saturday, March 27, at the Napa Valley Museum. 55 Presidents Circle, Yountville. 2pm. $5. 707.944.0500.Gabe Meline
While the Kronos Quartet paved the way for chamber-jazz by recording tributes to the work of both Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans, the Turtle Island Quartet (née the Turtle Island String Quartet) have consistently explored jazz in the lingering shadow of their Bay Area competitors. Two years ago, it paid off when Turtle Island scored a Best Classical Crossover Album Grammy Award for A Love Supreme: The Legacy of John Coltrane, an album short on actual Coltrane compositions but nonetheless acclaimed for its technique and process of transcribing Coltrane’s actual solos for violin, cello and viola. Excitement should be high for their concert this week, as they’ve just gotten out of the studio recording a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, entitled Have You Ever Been?, featuring “Gypsy Eyes,” “Little Wing” and others. The album is due out in the fall, but you can get experienced this weekend when the Turtle Island Quartet turns to mermen on Saturday, March 27, at the Dance Palace. 503 B St., Point Reyes Station. 8pm. $28–$30. 415.663.1075.Gabe Meline
Being community-minded might involve eschewing the glitz of the stage lights for the crackle of a warm campfire. It might involve sharing songs instead of putting your own on a pedestal. Michelle Shocked has done both. Claiming her stake in the music industry with The Texas Campfire Tapes, a Walkman recording of the young songwriter singing around a campfire at a folk festival, Shocked recently mounted an democratic campaign. “Michelle Shocked is looking for a few good songs to add to the repertoire in her touring adventure across the U.S. this year,” her website announces. “If you’ve written a song, or know a song that articulates the Zeitgeist; 1-in-10 unemployed, 1-in-6 uninsured, long term partners denied marriage equality, home foreclosures or mortgages underwater, political gridlock, bankruptcy or bailout . . . well, kid, this talent search is for you!” Hear Shocked sing the common people’s plight on Friday, March 26, at the Hopmonk Tavern. 230 Petaluma Ave., Santa Rosa. 8:30pm. $20–$23. 707.829.7300.Gabe Meline
Seeing as they made their name at Woodstock, it’s only natural that over 40 years later Canned Heat would still be seeking out-of-the-way countryside. So it is with the blues-boogie band’s show this weekend at the Highland Dell, a historic lodge on the Russian River that’s hosted the likes of Leon Russell, Cold Blood and Barry “the Fish” Melton. (David Lindley plays the joint next month.) Hearing “Goin’ Up the Country” and “On the Road Again” way out on the unincorporated roads of the actual country can only be made better by special guest Harvey Mandel, who drops in on his old band mates from time to time to sit in. We’d love to tell you if mean-dog bassist and longtime Tom Waits sideman Larry Taylor will be in the band, but . . . the band didn’t get back to us! Oh well! At any rate, see Mandel, a blues legend in his own right, if only for the excellent Get Off in Chicago album, play with Canned Heat on Friday–Saturday, March 26–27, at the Highland Dell. 21050 River Blvd., Monte Rio. 7pm. $60–$65. 707.865.2300.Gabe Meline 
Pete Bernhard has a good, entrenched history in Sonoma County. While living at a famed Santa Rosa punkhouse, he played at weddings in Occidental and worked for neurotic junk hoarders in Forestville. Bernhard’s time in the area coincided with his band, the Devil Makes Three, just getting off the ground, and we welcome him home whenever he digs his boot heels back into our sand. Of course, it’s more than simple sentimentalism driving DM3’s ever-increasing fan base to rabidity. For every forsaken loner who’s found strength in a folk song, for every crusty punk who’s taken up sewing and dreamed of moving to North Carolina, for every tattooed, whiskey-drinkin’, jalopy-drivin’ iconoclast, there’s a Devil Makes Three song to serve as life’s theme. Be there when Pete, Cooper and Lucia do their thing on Tuesday, March 23, at the Phoenix Theater. 201 E. Washington St., Petaluma. 8pm. $15; all ages. 707.762.3565.Gabe Meline 
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