Page 259 – Bohemian | Sonoma & Napa Counties

Mill Valley Venue Reopens with Concert Gathering

Arts & Entertainment

Jun 30, 2021

Mill Valley Venue Reopens with Concert Gathering

Jazz vocalist Deborah Winters has a long history with Mill Valley’s Throckmorton Theatre, performing there since the theater opened in 2002.

“It’s kind of like a homebase for me,” Winters says of the theater. “(Theatre founder) Lucy (Mercer) is so gracious, she supports the musicians and she takes care of everyone. It’s a beautiful facility for Marin to have, and it’s just an extraordinary room. It has such a warm vibe to it, I just love that theater.”

Of her many shows at Throckmorton Theatre, Winters is best known for her annual “Jazzin’ Up The Holidays” concert with the Peter Welker All Star Band, which she and Welker started a decade ago, and which annually sells out far in advance.

“It was sad to not do it last year, and Peter moved to Arizona, but I’m hoping to still be able to do it again,” Winters says.

Last year, Winters performed the final show at Throckmorton Theatre on March 9, on the eve of Marin County’s pandemic-related shutdown. During the 15 months since that show, Winters says her life was on pause in many ways, even though she still occasionally performed virtually, and taught vocal students over Zoom.

Throckmorton Theatre has also been dark for most of the last year, with exceptions for some limited-capacity children’s and teen theater productions in which all performers and audience members wore face coverings.

This week, Winters will press “Play” on live music again, and Throckmorton Theatre will return to in-person concerts in “The Gathering: A Musical Celebration of Reconnection” on Thursday, July 1. The event features Winters performing uplifting, joyful tunes with pianist Frank Martin, bassist Sascha Jacobsen and percussionist Ian Dogole.

“I’m kind of pinching myself, honestly, because I have a show,” Winters says. “I’m anticipating a lot of emotion; I feel like I’ve been through a lot of waves of emotion this last year. I think it’s going to be quite an extraordinary night, and it’s going to be very special because we have been underground for so long.”

The show will include several original compositions from Dogole, Martin and Jacobsen, and the ensemble will also play songs by an eclectic array of legendary artists including the Beatles, Duke Ellington, Burt Bacharach and many others. The venue will be fully open for a full audience for this first concert in over a year, and the show will also be livestreamed for at-home audiences.

“I’ve been really cautious, so I don’t feel terribly uncomfortable about it,” Winters says of performing for a full audience. “Of course, we’re all vaxxed, and the theatre is asking that if you are not vaccinated, to wear a mask.”

While Winters is unsure if her annual “Jazzin’ Up The Holidays” concert will happen in 2021—especially with Welker now living in Arizona—she is excited to get back on local stages, teach vocal students in-person and work on new recordings.

“Never a dull moment,” she says. “Even in the pandemic.”

“The Gathering: A Musical Celebration of Reconnection” happens on Thursday, July 1, at Throckmorton Theatre, 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. 7pm. Reserved tickets are $25–$30; livestream tickets are $15. Throckmortontheatre.org.

Culture Crush: July Kicks Off with Virtual and Live Events

Charlie Swanson

Jun 30, 2021

Culture Crush: July Kicks Off with Virtual and Live Events

Online Marin County Fair

Last year’s virtual version of the Marin County Fair, featuring several social media events and online contests, was exceedingly successful, even winning 12 awards from the Western Fairs Association. This summer, the Marin County Fair again presents a digital experience, one that’s even more eclectic and exciting than last time. When attendees visit the interactive event this week, they will be able to virtually walk the fairgrounds and engage with art and photography exhibits, culinary showcases, a community stage featuring local bands and even virtual fireworks. Find the Marin County Fair online, Thursday to Sunday, July 1–4. Marinfair.org.

Live Concerts in San Rafael

For music venues throughout the North Bay, this last year has been a long strange trip of navigating and surviving pandemic. As venues begin to reopen this summer, San Rafael’s famed Terrapin Crossroads is hosting several outdoor shows at the adjoining Beach Park. This week, progressive bluegrass veterans Hot Buttered Rum make their first appearance at Terrapin since the lockdown last year, performing for the crowds on Thursday, July 1. Following that, Phil Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band take over the Beach Park stage for three shows featuring special guests July 2–4, at 100 Yacht Club Dr., San Rafael. Buy tickets at Terrapincrossroads.net.

Art Reception in Santa Rosa

Two years ago, the gallery exhibit, “Faces: Portraits of Dignity in the Face of Adversity,” made its debut in Sonoma County. Now the exhibition returns for another showing, this time at the Santa Rosa Arts Center in the SOFA Arts District. The acclaimed photography collection of unsheltered Santa Rosa residents, by Salvador “Pocho” Sanchez-Strawbridge, highlights the courage and spirit of people experiencing homelessness while being mistakenly criminalized and dehumanized in the public eye. This new chance to view homelessness in a different light opens with a reception on Friday, July 2, at 312 South A Street, Santa Rosa. 5pm. Free admission. Santarosaartscenter.org.

July Fourth Fun in Healdsburg

Healdsburg will mark Independence Day with family fun at the annual 4th of July Kids Parade and Duck Dash. For the parade, local youngsters are encouraged to dress in costume and arrive on bikes, tricycles and wagons adorned with red, white and blue decorations. There will be activities for all including games and music from Court ’n’ Disaster and the Healdsburg Community Band. Attendees can also adopt a rubber duck and watch it compete in the Duck Dash races organized by Healdsburg Sunrise Rotary. Sunday, July 4, at Healdsburg Plaza, Healdsburg Avenue and Matheson Street, Healdsburg. 10:30am. Free; donations welcome. rotaryclubofhealdsburgsunrise.org.

Online Poetry Reading

While the ongoing Rivertown Poets reading series still can’t return to in-person events at the Aqus Cafe in Petaluma, the series continues to offer engaging poetry and open mic readings online. This week, two Marin County poets share their work. Fairfax poet, memoirist and literary translator Doreen Stock will read from her recently released Bye Bye Blackbird, a collection of poems about her mother’s last days. Longtime Marin Poetry Center member Roy Mash will read his postmodern poetry, which appears widely in journals and publications across the country. Join the Rivertown Poets on Monday, July 5, at 6:15pm. Free. Aqus.com/online.

Valley of the Moon Music Festival Goes the Distance for 2021 Season

Charlie Swanson

Jun 30, 2021

Valley of the Moon Music Festival Goes the Distance for 2021 Season

Classical and Romantic chamber music will ring out once again in the Sonoma Valley and online during the Valley of the Moon Music Festival, which presents world-class artists in digital and in-person performances from July 17 to Aug. 1.

The upcoming 2021 season includes several curated programs that center on the theme of “Love and Longing: Reaching Across the Distance,” inspired by the fundamental human desire to connect.

That connection was lost for many in the North Bay and across the globe this past year due to the pandemic, and the Valley of the Moon Music Festival’s 2021 program tells stories of separation, longing and coming together through the chamber music of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Dvořák and more.

Formed in 2015 by musicians and partners Eric Zivian and Tanya Tomkins, the Valley of the Moon Music Festival annually reaches across time to present Romantic-era music performed on historical instruments, including gut-stringed instruments and classical fortepianos that are similar in size to harpsichords.

“Often with steel strings, as a player you are making as much noise as you can possibly make,” Tomkins says. “These historical instruments lend themselves to a different sound that I think brings the music alive and makes it more accessible.”

“We have no idea how it really sounded in 1800 or 1850,” Zivian says. “But, playing these instruments brings us into context of something like how it might have sounded, and it spurs our creativity and makes us think of this music in a totally different way.”

In addition to musically reaching across time, this year’s festival theme of “Love and Longing” also reaches across the distances created by the pandemic to reinforce the fundamental human need to connect socially. The festival’s virtual and live concert programs each encapsulate one aspect of that theme, with concerts titled “Longing,” “Romance,” “Collaboration” and “Friendship.”

“There’s so much expression of love and longing in music of the 19th century; in the words, in the poetry, in the songs and the chamber music,” Tomkins says. “It fits the feeling of what we’re all experiencing now, which is we’ve all missed being together. We wanted to choose music that reflected that feeling, and also the celebration of coming back together.”

Virtual concert subscriptions are available starting at a $35 reservation fee and individual virtual concerts are available starting at a $5 reservation fee. A limited number of tickets for the live, outdoor concerts, including the finale concert featuring musicians from VMMF’s Apprenticeship Program taking place at Hanna Boys Center, are also available.

“You can attend everything, including the live concerts—which will also be livestreamed,” Tomknis says.

Complementing the Festival’s main musical programs, VMMF’s Blattner Lecture Series will feature dynamic speakers who will give historic and social context to the music. This year’s featured speakers include Alex Ross, a critic at The New Yorker; Kate van Orden, a bassoonist; and Dwight P. Robinson Jr., professor of music at Harvard University, who also oversees the lecture series.

Valley of the Moon Music Festival runs from July 17 to Aug. 1. For tickets and program information, visit valleyofthemoonmusicfestival.org.

This article was updated on June 30, 2021.

Letters to the Editor: Defending the DA, River Woes and Senior Dogs

Bohemian Staff and Contributors

Jun 30, 2021

Letters to the Editor: Defending the DA, River Woes and Senior Dogs

In Defense

As the first official executive director of the Family Justice Center Sonoma County, I had the pleasure of working under the leadership of District Attorney Jill Ravitch from 2013–2019.

During those years, Ravitch and I worked hand in hand with a committed group of community-based organizations, ensuring victims of family and interpersonal violence received the most comprehensive wrap-around services possible.

So imagine my shock when I heard there was an effort to recall her just one year before her term ends and after she announced she would not run again. My shock turned into disgust when I found out one wealthy and vindictive developer, who she held to account for endangering the lives of seniors in his care during the Tubbs fire, was behind this entire recall effort.

Jill is a focused, compassionate and goal-driven leader who always holds the best interests of victims at the fore. She should serve out the rest of her term and retire as the dedicated public servant she is.

Wes Winter, Palm Springs, CA

Unclean

I was surprised to find out that the Petaluma River has been listed as “impaired” by excessive levels of bacteria since 1975 (“Cleaning Up,” June 23). Why then, have there not been public warnings posted in public use areas?

We have been encouraged to use the Petaluma River recreationally by the Friends of the River, several paddle board companies in town, boarding and kayaking development planning in downtown; and yet the entire time Sonoma County Health Officers and Petaluma City Council did nothing to alert families that they and their children were being exposed to potential health concerns.

That is negligence, and is unforgivable in this day and age of knowledge. Shame on you, Petaluma City Council.

Kerstin Bandner, Petaluma

Fostering Love

Thank you for the article “Finding Love” (June 23). I greatly appreciate you bringing attention to the importance of rescuing and adopting shelter animals and also recognizing the amazing work that the foster volunteers do.

My favorite part of the article was the paragraph highlighting Muttville CEO Sherri Franklin’s work and efforts in rescuing senior dogs. I adopted a senior hospice dog from Muttville a few years ago and I can attest that there is no love quite as precious as the love that a senior rescue dog will give you.

Rose Brennan, Healdsburg

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.

Indie-Rock and Accordions: More North Bay Festivals Planning Live Events

Charlie Swanson

Jun 28, 2021

Indie-Rock and Accordions: More North Bay Festivals Planning Live Events

As California continues to operate at full capacity in a post-pandemic fashion, several local music festivals that were forced to cancel their fun in 2020 are bringing back live shows this summer and into fall 2021.

While Sonoma County Farm Trails is unable to plan for a full-scale Gravenstein Apple Fair this year due to the ongoing uncertainty around state and county guidelines for large events, fair organizers have opted to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the music and spirit of the fair in an intimate setting with The Gravenstein Apple Fair Benefit Concert.

The concert takes place Saturday, Aug 14, at Ragle Ranch Regional Park in Sebastopol, from 11am to 5pm. Several North Bay bands, including the Whiskey Family Band with Alison Harris, Burnside, and SoloRio will top the lineups. Surprise musical guests are expected as well. Guests will also enjoy farm-fresh food and beverages from top local chefs and producers.

“This year, we’re only able to host a fraction of the usual number of guests that the Gravenstein Apple Fair draws, so we’ve put together a small but amazing event with some of our favorite bands, foods, and vendors from previous fairs,” says Sonoma County Farm Trails Executive Director and Gravenstein Apple Fair Manager Carmen Snyder. “The benefit concert will give our supporters an opportunity to contribute to bringing back the fair next year, keep our nonprofit afloat, and have a great time doing it.”

The fair historically attracts up to 15,000 attendees each year, connecting visitors to local agriculture and the county’s historical and beloved crop. The fair also provides the bulk of funding for Farm Trails programs like seasonal farm tours and scholarships for young farmers. Additionally, the event provides income for numerous farmers, producers, community nonprofits, local vendors, and service providers.

“We can’t wait to bring the Gravenstein Apple Fair back in 2022,” says Sonoma County Farm Trails Board President Vince Trotter. “In the meantime, we’re really excited about putting on the benefit concert this year and continuing this beloved local tradition in a small but meaningful way.”

In Marin County, the popular music festival Sound Summit announced that it will welcome fans back to the slopes of Mount Tamalpais on Saturday, Sept 11, for a full day of live music.

Produced as an annual celebration of and fundraiser for Mount Tamalpais State Park by nonprofit organization Roots & Branches Conservancy, Sound Summit is staged at the historic Mountain Theater, a 4,000-seat natural stone amphitheater with stunning views of San Francisco Bay and beyond. To date, Sound Summit has donated $200,000 to Mount Tam.

This year, Sound Summit’s lineup is topped by dynamic Americana group Lukas Nelson & The Promise of The Real and indie-rock sensation Father John Misty. The eclectic lineup of music will also feature retro-cool rock band Allah-Las, high-energy New Orleans brass ensemble Cha Wa, and local powerhouse vocalist Teal Collins.

“Being able to gather with friends and family again and celebrate high atop this treasured mountain after the long and challenging year we’ve all had is a truly joyful and liberating thought,” Sound Summit executive producer Michael Nash says. “We can’t wait.”

Also in September, the 30th annual Cotati Accordion Festival will be taking place once again in La Plaza Park in downtown Cotati.

Originally, the nonprofit festival was planning to celebrate the 30th anniversary milestone by riding the wave of the new “Roaring 20’s.” However, because of the stress and suffering so many in the North Bay have endured the past year, the internationally renowned event is instead centering on “bringing joy back to our lives.”

The Cotati Accordion Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, Sept 25 and 26, and will feature a vast array of popular performers such as virtuosos like Cory Pesaturo to Sourdough Slim, and new main stage surprises like Sergei Teleshev and his daughter Maria, Junk Parlor, Hernandez Hideaway and others.

In Sonoma Valley, Gundlach Bundschu Winery sits on the site of the historic Rancho Huichica (pronounced “we-chica”), named by Mexican general Mariano Vallejo. After 150 years of producing distinctive wines, Gun Bun has became a destination for great music in the last decade, hosting unique acts in their outdoor amphitheater.

This fall, Gun Bun welcomes back its signature event, the Huichica Music Festival, on October 15 and 16. The fest boasts a lineup of indie-rock icons, singer-songwriters, DJs and others performing alongside local food and wine vendors and more.

Mac DeMarco, Yo La Tengo (performing two sets) and Devendra Banhart are among the festival’s headliners, and groups and artists like Whitney, Cass McCombs, Wet, Vetiver, Bedouine, Shannon Lay, Kelley Stoltz and others round out the lineup. the Huichica Music Festival and all live events will adhere to the current Covid safety guidelines.

North Bay Musician Danny Vitali Blooms on New Album

Charlie Swanson

Jun 24, 2021

North Bay Musician Danny Vitali Blooms on New Album

While the Covid-19 pandemic certainly hit the pause button on live music in Marin County last year, it did not break up the scene; local bands are jamming once again as venues reopen and live events return to the North Bay.

One of Marin’s busiest musicians is Point Reyes–based Danny Vitali, who’s playing in a half-dozen groups right now, and who just released his second album under his own name.

Out now as a digital album and soon coming on blue vinyl, Vitali’s Fronds is a seven-track trip of psychedelic-folk that tells the story of, well, everything.

Born in California, but raised in the Midwest, Vitali relocated to West Marin a decade ago, and his debut solo record, 2016’s Invernesia, was heavily influenced by his surroundings.

“In the five years since (Invernesia), I’ve been traveling around California and exploring it,” Vitali says. “I feel like California is so broad and wide, there’s so much to see.”

After taking in sights ranging from Mount Lassen to Death Valley, Vitali used that expanded landscape to fuel his creativity, making Fronds a somewhat musical continuation of Invernesia.

Yet, Vitali plunges his indie-folk style into deeper waters on Fronds, creating his most ambient tones yet—such as the album’s hypnotic instrumental title track—as well as crafting his catchiest song to date, “The Afterglow,” which is a heavy contender for Marin’s song of the summer.

Thematically, Fronds contains a compelling narrative arc that Vitali compares to a sci-fi fantasy story.

“Sort of like an alternate world that you enter in the first song,” he says. “And you go through kind of like a psychedelic trip.”

In that trip, Vitali experiences the death of the ego in the song “The Big Beyond” and finds clarity in the final track “Alturas,” which both refers to the idea of altruism and is the name of a tiny town next to Modoc National Forest in the northeast corner of California.

“I was reading a lot of Ursula K. Le Guin,” Vitali says.

Recorded before the pandemic, in the Bay Area’s acclaimed Tiny Telephone Studios, Fronds features the talents of Rob Shelton (production, synthesizers, keyboards), Luke Temple (co-production, guitar, synthesizer, vocals) Dylan Squires (guitars, vocals, co-writing), Michael Pinkham (drums), Andrew Maguire (percussion), Paul Spring (vocals) and Carly Bond (vocals).

When the pandemic shuttered the North Bay in March 2020, Vitali says he began stress gardening and refocused on completing the album’s production and release. Given that the record was recorded analog and straight to tape, he says the imminently-arriving vinyl is the ideal way to experience Fronds. “It makes a lot more sense when you hear it in that format,” he says. “Really loud.”

Now that West Marin destinations like the Old Western Saloon and Smiley’s Schooner Saloon are reopening, Vitali splits his time by playing with several local outfits including the Haggards, Kelly McFarling’s band, the West Marin Grateful Dead Appreciation Society led by Alex Bleeker and more.

“I’m playing in about eight groups right now, and everybody has a record coming,” Vitali says. “It’s going to be a fun, outdoor-show summer, and I’m looking forward to it all.”