Summer is like a houseguest with boundary issues: It arrives with a six-pack and a good attitude, then lingers long after everyone has gone back to work. Before showing the season the door, The Krush 95.9 is giving it one final spin around the dance floor.
The Krush On the Road: End of Summer Bash brings Danny Sorentino & Friends and the Anna Jae Band to Vintage Space at Santa Rosa’s Flamingo Resort & Spa for an evening of homegrown Northern California music.
Headliner Danny Sorentino is a Sonoma County singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player steeped in the adventurous possibilities of San Francisco freeform radio. His musical compass points toward The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and Neil Young, with occasional detours through garage rock and anything else possessing genuine soul.
For this performance, Sorentino will be backed by a formidable assemblage of North Bay musicians: Dave Sampson, Gary Silva, Kent Fossgreen and Robert Malta.
Silva brings serious R&B and blues bona fides to the drum chair, having worked with John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Albert Collins, Elvin Bishop, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Luther Tucker and Norton Buffalo, among others. He currently plays with the Volker Strifler Band.
Malta is the singer and guitarist for two-man power trio HUGElarge and also performs and records with Sorentino in Popular Beat Combo. Bassist Fossgreen is a longtime fixture of the Sonoma County scene whose résumé includes the Michael Barclay Blues Band, the Jami Jamison Band, Bohemian Highway and Lucky Buck and the Winners. When not holding down the low end, he owns and operates Cotati’s Backstage Service, repairing amplifiers and keyboards—proof that somebody in the band should know what all those wires do.
Guitarist, producer, multi-instrumentalist and instructor Sampson gathered experience in the music scenes of Austin, Los Angeles, Seattle and Memphis before crossing paths with singer-songwriter David Luning. The two began recording and touring together, and Sampson has served as Luning’s guitarist since 2010.
Also on the bill is the Anna Jae Band, led by Redding-born singer, songwriter and guitarist Anna Jae. Pairing candid songwriting with a warm stage presence, Jae performs on an acoustic guitar with the energy of a full band behind her. Her catalog includes the 12-song album It Hurt, But I’m Glad I Felt It and the singles “Broken” and “Wonder.”
The evening is part of The Krush On the Road, which takes the independent spirit of the Wine Country station beyond the broadcast booth and into local venues. Mindi Levine of The Krush’s hit show Mindi in the Morning will emcee, introduced by Wine Country Radio general manager and local media maven Melissa Galliani.
Vintage Space makes an appropriately atmospheric landing pad. The retro-futuristic lounge at the Flamingo combines mid-century style, live entertainment and cocktails beneath one roof. In other words, it is a place where summer can depart with dignity—or at least order one last drink before somebody calls it an Uber.
The Krush On the Road: End of Summer Bash begins at 8pm, with doors at 7pm, Friday, Sept. 11, at Vintage Space, Flamingo Resort & Spa, 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
