On With the Show: North Bay Theater Companies Raise Curtains on 2026

Now that Ralphie got his BB gun, Scrooge became a better person and George Bailey decided he really did have a wonderful life, it’s time for North Bay theater companies to get their 2026 shows on the road. 

Petaluma’s Mercury Theater is first out of the gate with Woody Guthrie’s American Song. It’s a musical tribute to the American folk singer and poet that uses adaptations of Guthrie’s prose, poetry and 30 of his songs to narrate his life and the historical and social forces that shaped him and the nation. The show, with direction by Elizabeth Craven, musical direction by Tom Martin and vocal direction by Justin Pyne, opens Jan. 9. mercurytheater.org

Then things go quiet for a couple of weeks until four productions open in Sonoma County.    

Healdsburg’s Raven Players will be presenting John and Gabriel Fraire’s Who Will Dance with Pancho Villa? It’s a work originally written in 2008, but updated as part of the Raven Players’ ScripTease new works program. It will feature performances by the Ballet Folklórico Legado de Mi Alegría de Cloverdale as dancing spirits who are intertwined throughout the play. The show’s seven performances begin Jan. 22 at the Raven Performing Arts Theater. raventheater.org

A little further north, the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center will be presenting The Outgoing Tide. The family drama about a strong-willed father, his wife and their son grappling with aging and quality of life issues opens on Jan. 23. cloverdaleperformingarts.com

For audiences whose tastes lean to classic Broadway musicals, Cinnabar Theater will be presenting Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady. The iconic musical, based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, will be directed by Christian Arteaga. Eliza Doolittle will be screeching in the Warren Theatre at Sonoma State University beginning Jan. 23. cinnabartheater.org

If Shakespeare’s your thing, how about Romeo & Juliet? 6th Street Playhouse’s Monroe Stage becomes the fair Verona where two households, both alike in dignity, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny. The ubiquitous Drew Bolander directs the tragedy that also opens Jan. 23. 6thstreetplayhouse.com

Over in Napa, Lucky Penny Productions kicks off 2026 with Peter and Alice. The 2013 play by John Logan dramatizes a fictional meeting between Alice Liddell Hargreaves (the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland) and Peter Llewelyn Davies (the inspiration for Peter Pan). The show opens Jan. 30. luckypennynapa.com

The North Bay is fortunate to have the number and variety of live theater companies that it does. Please continue to support them by attending a show.

‘All Is Song’ Sings: Misner & Smith’s New Album Worth the Wait

Some albums announce themselves with urgency. Others arrive the way wisdom does—slowly, after enough living has occurred to make the listening worthwhile. All Is Song, the new record by Northern California duo Misner & Smith, firmly belongs to the latter category.

The album has been six years in the making, conceived in 2017 and shaped in fits, starts, pauses and reckonings. That extended incubation paid off—the songs sound lived with, considered and assured. As the duo (married couple Sam Misner and Megan Smith) puts it, the unexpected stillness of the pandemic gave them “time to pause, breathe and reflect,” allowing the music to become “the most acutely powerful and transformative” work of their career.

That sense of earned clarity came through vividly during their recent in-studio visit, where harmonies landed with the confidence of people who trust the work—and each other. Misner & Smith have been collaborating for more than two decades, a partnership that began not in a rehearsal room but backstage at regional theater productions. They met as actors, performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Seagull, and later found musical alignment while working on Woody Guthrie’s American Song.

“We both played music all our lives,” Megan Smith said, recalling the moment things clicked musically. “I started singing harmony to some of Sam’s recordings and kind of fell in love with his ability to write these amazing songs with stories and beautiful melodies.”

Sam Misner describes his songwriting process less as construction than excavation. “Very rarely do I sit down and go, ‘I want to write a song about X, Y and Z,’” he said. “I feel like my job is kind of like a sculptor … scraping away what isn’t necessary to get to the heart of it.”

That philosophy is especially apparent on “Anthem,” one of the album’s standout tracks. The song circles the idea of needing “an anthem all your own,” not for a nation or a team, but simply as a psychic soundtrack to goad oneself onward. “It’s just to kind of keep yourself going,” Misner said. “Especially as artists and creative people.”

“Each of Sam’s songs is like a planet in itself,” Smith added. “When we’re arranging things, it’s about asking what the song needs and how we serve it best.”

That same ethos carries into their live performances, including their upcoming full-band show at HopMonk Sebastopol Friday, Jan. 16. Joining them are co-producer/multi-instrumentalist Bruce Kaphan on mandolin and pedal steel guitar and Dillon Vado on drums and percussion.

“Everything is very specifically chosen,” Misner said. “If it doesn’t serve the story of the song, it’s getting in the way.”

In an era increasingly crowded with synthetic sounds and AI slop, Misner & Smith offer something sacred: songs built by hand, shaped by time, honed, lived with, battle-tested and meant to be experienced—body and soul. Misner & Smith paid the dues forward and don’t seem to mind. As they sing in “Little Light,” their album’s final track:

I don’t mind the dark

The dark’s what made a light of me

Misner & Smith bring their full band to HopMonk Sebastopol on Friday, Jan. 16. ‘All Is Song’ is available now. Visit misnerandsmith.com.

The Yoni Oracle, Anistara Ma Ka

It is the dark time of year, and it was just the time of the high holidays. Here I evoke “pagan” Solstice, Christian Christmas and secular New Year’s Day. 

Whether observed as a high ritual or as a habit of long standing, each of this close-packed run of dates derives meaning from this time of year, and the turning of the great solar cycle. Variously, each date marks the same meaning—the (re)birth of light and life in the world.

By custom, it is time to ask ourselves, “What does this new year—this new life—bring?”

To answer that, some will “look inside ourselves” and take inventory. Others may consult the great mathematical models of experts to plot trends. Others, still, will consult the tarot spreads. And, to my knowledge, at least one divine will is literally looking inside herself for guidance; Anistara Ma Ka, reader of vulvas, is “the yoni oracle.”

Now reader, before you titter, please consider the words we use for our year-end rites—“birth,” “rebirth” and ritual “passage”—each evoke the birthing canal, and with it archetypes of “the mother.” And that it is everywhere our tradition to regard the fertile earth as a “she” and a “her.” So, among the many and great prognostic and oracular systems, it seems fitting to bow down to this one—as the year and the wintering earth are born new.

Cincinnatus Hibbard: Anistara, tell me about your school and lineage.

Anistara Ma Ka: I learned to be a pussy oracle through the Portal Priestess Mystery School established by Sierra Sullivan.

I understand you are principally in service to women…

I believe that when women are in their full power, they can do great things for this world. Our linear, hierarchical, male-dominating society is breaking down. If divine feminine energy can then arise, then we can come into a more accepting, understanding, compassionate, loving and peaceful age.

I understand your Sacred Portal Puja aims to reconnect women to the power and wisdom of their yonis—in part by shedding shame of their ‘private parts.’

When we don’t embrace and love ourselves completely—including our shamed shadow side—we don’t feel whole and complete, and we have to look outside of ourselves to validate ourselves or feel accepted. When women are disconnected to their yonis, they often fall into abusive relationships with men, or have unsafe sex with a lot of people, or get pregnant too young … I would love to see this work come to young women too, when they are just starting to moon [menstruate]. They could enter womanhood with so much self-worth and power…

To briskly describe the process that results in that reconnection, your Sacred Portal Puja weekend includes lots of trust-building, venting, patriarchal deprogramming, journaling, self-examination with mirrors, a yoni naming ceremony, a collective honoring and praising of each participant’s yonis, as well as the oracular reading of the vulva. And it all takes place within the safe container of sacred sisterhood. The next puja at your private retreat center is March 21-22. But tell us about your next event, Jan. 11—which will be online.

It’s called, “New Year, New You.” Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 11, our identity is more pliable. This workshop is about creating your vision for the new year from your new personality rather than your old identity—which will have you falling right back into old patterns. 2025 is the year of the snake. It’s time to shed your old skin.

Learn more: A quick glance menu of Anistara Ma Ka’s many offerings can be seen at linktr.ee/anistara1111.

Ingredients That Shine: Chef Juliana Thorpe Showcases Local Bounty

At The Lodge at Dawn Ranch, co-executive chef Juliana Thorpe channels her global culinary expertise into a menu that celebrates authenticity and regional abundance. 

Her culinary philosophy centers on simplicity and natural ingredients—an approach shaped by her formative years in Matutu, Brazil, where she grew up immersed in the rhythms of nature and agriculture. Surrounded by the South American countryside, Thorpe developed an intimate understanding of food through her family’s vegetarian traditions and garden-to-table lifestyle, forging a connection to ingredients that continues to define her cooking today.

Thorpe’s professional journey spans some of the world’s most distinguished kitchens. She trained under Roberta Sudbrack in Brazil and worked alongside Rafa Costa e Silva at Lasai before expanding her repertoire at Spain’s acclaimed Mugaritz. Her path eventually led here to Northern California, where she refined her craft at the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley. This experience crystallized her culinary vision: cooking that honors the natural wealth of a region.

Since joining The Lodge in 2023, along with husband and co-chef Ignacio Zuzulich during its relaunch, Thorpe has woven together her Brazilian heritage with the seasonal offerings of Sonoma County. Now entering a new chapter, the refreshed dining experience at The Lodge showcases two distinctive tasting menus, a shorter seven creation format or a more extensive 12-course journey, alongside a seasonal a la carte selection. Depending on the season, guests might encounter oysters with watermelon agua fresca, dadinho de tapioca, gnudi with green pesto and chili oil, spot prawns pasta or Brazilian coconut cake.

Amber Turpin: How did you get into this work?

Juliana Thorpe: I was living in France doing voluntary work that included cooking, and it was what made me the most happy.

Did you ever have an ‘aha’ moment with a certain beverage? If so, tell us about it.

I just love to try new and different stuff.

What is your favorite thing to drink at home?

Good wine or really cold beer. I am from Brazil; I can’t help it.

Where do you like to go out for a drink?

Maison, Healdsburg. They definitely know what they are doing, and you always learn something new while having amazing wine.

If you were stuck on a desert island, what would you want to be drinking (besides fresh water)?

Sparkling apple juice.

The Lodge at Dawn Ranch, 16467 CA-116, Guerneville, 707.869.0656. dawnranch.com/dine.

Musical Restoration Journey, Luddite to AI Artist and More

Mill Valley

Art of Healing

Music takes on a deeper purpose at The Art of Healing, a benefit concert dedicated to supporting the recovery of Oshalla Marcus, executive director of the Marin City Art & Culture Center, following a life-threatening stroke. Conceived as a restorative musical journey, the evening, at the Throckmorton Theatre, centers on sound as a force for resilience, connection and renewal. The lineup includes Steven Halpern, a globally recognized pioneer of modern sound healing, alongside James Henry and the Hands on Fire Band. Cabaret performer and musical storyteller Craig Jessup adds narrative panache, while Piwai and the Bassmint Quartet weave mbira, bass and rhythm into music grounded in healing traditions. 7–9pm, Sunday, Jan. 18, Throckmorton Theatre, 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. Tickets $50–$100. throckmortontheatre.org.

Corte Madera

Artists & AI

What is the role of the artist when the machine picks up a pen—or composes a symphony? Emmy Award-winning composer and producer Lucas Cantor Santiago comes to Corte Madera’s Book Passage to explore that question in conversation with astrophysicist and author Adam Becker. The event centers on Santiago’s new book, Unfinished: The Role of the Artist in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, a clear-eyed and surprisingly optimistic meditation on creativity in an era of accelerating technology. Once a self-described luddite, Santiago’s perspective shifted after an unlikely commission: collaborating with artificial intelligence to complete Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, a project that drew international attention and forced a rethinking of authorship, tradition and innovation. Drawing on deep experience in both the arts and tech worlds, the discussion traces the long arc from bone flutes to algorithms, asking not only what is lost when machines enter the creative process—but what might be gained.

4pm, Sunday, Jan. 18, Book Passage Corte Madera, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd. bookpassage.com.

Sonoma

Bowl of Terriers

Life Is Just a Bowl of Terriers offers a retrospective look at one of Northern California’s most idiosyncratic voices. A key figure in the Bay Area’s Funk Art movement of the late ’60s and ’70s, Maija Peeples-Bright built a singular visual universe crowded with animals—her beloved “beasties”—stacked, multiplied and set loose in surreal, often absurd scenarios. Painted in thick, audacious impasto, her canvases brim with energy, texture and a mischievous sense of excess, filling every inch with creaturely invention. This exhibition, at Sonoma Valley Museum of Art (SVMA), traces her evolution from the Funk years to the present, revealing a practice that has always reveled in imagination and humor. 5–7pm, Saturday, Jan. 24, opening reception at SVMA. Free for SVMA members; $10 for non-members. Pre-registration required; registration closes 5pm, Jan. 22. svma.org.

Healdsburg

Joni Revisited

The Joni Mitchell Situation brings Mitchell’s songbook into intimate focus at Furthermore Wine and Music Lounge, tracing her ballads, art songs and jazz-inflected turns with equal care and wit. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kate Foley-Beining leads the evening, moving easily between piano, guitar and dulcimer while drawing out the emotional elasticity of Mitchell’s writing. She’s joined by a seasoned Sonoma County rhythm section—Tom Shader on bass, Kevin Dillon on drums and Christian Foley-Beining on guitar—capable of shifting from lyrical restraint to improvisational swing. The setlist spans eras and moods, touching on everything from “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” to “The Fiddle and the Drum,” and reflects Mitchell’s enduring refusal to stay in one genre for long. 5:30–8:30pm, Friday, Jan. 30; Saturday, Feb. 28; and Thursday, March 19, Furthermore Wine and Music Lounge, 328A Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. furthermorewines.com/events.

Free Will Astrology, Jan. 7-13

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): The mystics drone on endlessly about letting go. But I’m here now to praise the art of holding on fiercely, tenderly, with full commitment. Some treasures deserve your passionate grip. Some people warrant your loyal devotion. Especially in the coming months, dear Aries, I invite you to devote yourself to your exciting dreams with ardent intensity. No surrender. Relentless perseverance. Uncompromising faith in the beauty and truth you love. What looks like stubbornness to outsiders will actually be fidelity to a vision others can’t yet see.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): As far back as the 19th century, daredevil college students in the UK have reveled in the practice of “night climbing.” They clamber up chapels, spires, towers and bridges under cover of darkness. Why? Mainly for adventure, mischief and altered perspectives. In the coming months, Taurus, you may be ready for your own symbolic version of night climbing. If that sounds fun, seek out vantage points you’ve never accessed. Experiment with possibilities you’ve dismissed as off-limits or outside your range. Be safe, of course, but also be joyfully exploratory. I bet the view from the frontiers will change you in inspiring ways.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the coming months, I’m confident you will see and understand subtleties that most people miss. You’ll be a maestro at tuning in to nuanced subtexts in conversations and hidden openings in stale situations. Everyone else may assume that familiar situations will never change, but you will have the power to tease out creative possibilities. You might even decode seemingly contradictory truths with such aplomb that you surprise yourself. Use this superpower with as much kindness as you can, Gemini. Some discoveries may tempt you toward clever mischief, but I hope that instead you will choose inspired guidance. Your expanded spectrum, if spiced with compassion, can consistently reveal your next leap.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The honeyguide bird of Africa has a lucrative arrangement with humans. It calls out to honey-hunters, leading them through brush to wild beehives built into trees. The people harvest the honey, and the bird eats the leftover wax and larvae. This cooperation is passed down over generations and benefits both species. Let’s use this as a metaphor for your future in 2026. You will have extra power to notice where mutual benefit is possible, even with unexpected allies. They may be able to guide you toward resources you couldn’t find alone, and you will have value to give in return. Keep an ear out for signals that say, “Come with me, and we’ll both gain.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris took years to build. Work began in 1163 and continued till 1345. Generations of architects, masons and artisans contributed to the project, and those who began it didn’t live to see it completed. Yet they labored with devotion, trusting that the holy beauty they facilitated would endure beyond their lifetimes. I hope you’re inspired by this story, Leo. It’s an apt metaphor for you. In the coming months, you could and should lay stones for creations you may not see fully accomplished for months or even years. I encourage you to redefine and refine what faith means to you, and summon it in abundance.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Ready to decommission your inner censor? Interested in dropping the mask, relaxing your guard and rewilding your gorgeous but slightly inhibited self? That’s what I recommend. Here are ways to fully enjoy the liberating grace period of the coming months: 1. Don’t deny yourself pleasures that would be healthy to indulge. 2. Shed taboos that were smart safeguards once upon a time but are no longer. 3. Re-evaluate why you treat certain fun activities as questionable. 4. Be brightly compassionate toward aspects of yourself you regard as wounded or inferior. 5. Be receptive to rebellious urges.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 1839, French artist Louis Daguerre perfected the daguerreotype, an early type of photography. The images were so detailed that you could count the threads in a subject’s clothing. The only downside: They required minutes of perfect stillness to capture. A slight twitch or squirm could blur the picture. People held their breath and resisted the urge to fidget, hoping to preserve the magic moment. In this spirit, Libra, let’s make the “long exposure” your power metaphor during the coming months. The most useful truths will reveal themselves best if you give them time to develop. In conversations, resist filling every silence. In projects, don’t rush the pace. Have patient fun lingering on the threshold as the mysteries coalesce and clarify.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 1907, Scorpio artist Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. It was a work so radically different from his earlier art and from the era’s norms that even his friends were stunned. Some called it ugly; others, incomprehensible. Yet the painting became a foundation of Cubism and reshaped modern art. Dear Scorpio, I suspect you may be on the verge of your own “Les Demoiselles” phase in 2026: unveiling novel approaches and innovative changes so original that they rattle comfortable assumptions. Don’t be discouraged if the initial responses don’t bring you appreciation. The root-shaking breakthroughs you’re consorting with may take others a while to recognize and welcome.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You Sagittarians are often drawn to teaching. You have a predilection and a passion for sharing what you have learned from your adventures and explorations. Many of you also possess a related gift: helping people make the journey to where enlightening lessons can best occur. You have a knack for opening their minds and clearing the way so they can awaken to new ways of seeing and imagining the world. I hope you will provide both of these blessings in abundance during the coming months. Your ability to inspire and educate will be at a peak.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The coming months are ripe for sacred audacity: boldness with a conscience and courage guided by kindness. Imagine you’re a Benevolent Initiator, whose superpower is to kindle beginnings without causing disruption and unease. Practice brilliant, incremental nudges and tweaks rather than grand interventions. If you’re hesitating to say what needs to be said, deliver a modest version now and a stronger one later. Make gradual momentum your ally. Homework: Identify a future scene you want to generate and take three elegantly simple steps toward it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Safety isn’t the opposite of adventure. It’s the infrastructure that lets adventure be expansive. Keep that in mind in the coming months, Aquarius.  You will be wise to cultivate cozy bravery. You should relax deeply and nurture your strength. Build the support system for your future boldness. Then, in the second half of 2026, you will be well-prepared to launch a phase of experimental fun and exploratory learning. For best results, surround yourself with love and care. Decide who best supports you, and make it attractive for them to support you.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): High in the Andes Mountains, farmers have for centuries made chuño, a freeze-dried potato that can last for years. They leave the potatoes outside overnight to let the freezing temperatures draw out the water. In the daytime, the strong sunlight and dry mountain air evaporate residual moisture. By this process, a perishable food becomes a long-lasting staple. I propose we make the chuño your symbol of power, Pisces. The coming months will be an ideal time to build reserves. I hope you will turn what you have grown and developed into resources that will nourish you well into the future.

Your Letters, 1/7/2026

Rome Burns

To add to Craig Corsini’s observation (‘Party Foul,’ Dec. 31): Finally, someone who gets it.

I am neither a liberal nor a conservative and toe no party line. I don’t know much and kind of like it that way, but what I do know is this: Both parties are filled with bad people who are ruining everything. 

To my point: Nothing will come from the Epstein files. Sadly, it’s nothing but a diversion by those in power so they can continue to rape, pillage and plunder the planet.

Remember, you only know what they want you to know. This isn’t America slipping into a Nazi Germany; this is the fall of Rome. And it’s just beginning.

I am a citizen of planet Earth who has had it up to here and is sick to his stomach.

David Dale
Sonoma

X Factor 

Elon Musk’s disastrous changes at X, such as rolling back content moderation policies and creator payouts, have turned it into a platform where the right mainly argues with the extreme right. 

Now, even right-wingers are perturbed by how popular bigotry and conspiracy theories are becoming on X, as feuds and controversies erupt there and shake the GOP.

Now this I do not understand. The GOP/MAGA/“not so” right wing wanted this. Now they are saying there are too many nattering nabobs of negativism?

Gary Sciford
Santa Rosa

Occupy Caracas, Regime Change in Venezuela

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The U.S. has overthrown the Maduro regime in Venezuela; captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro; and occupied the country. 

Continuing a long history of U.S. interventions in Latin America, Donald Trump has vowed to “run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” 

The U.S. policy of regime change had been telegraphed for months, as Trump ramped up attacks on supposed Venezuelan drug boats, imposed an oil blockade and ordered a CIA drone strike on a Venezuelan dock alleged to be used for loading drugs. 

Now those clear violations of international and U.S. law and false allegations about Venezuela’s role in the fentanyl trade are ending with an occupation and U.S. control of Venezuela’s oil-based economy.

The U.S. action is consistent with “America First,” said Trump, citing the need for oil and energy: 

“The U.S. will be in charge of Venezuela’s oil industry. We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country.” 

So, in a word, it’s imperialism—and a clear sign that for Trump, dominance in Latin America is his top foreign policy objective. 

We now await word about whom Trump will select to be America’s puppet in Caracas—with Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth as their overlords.

The U.S. intervention comes despite a call by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for UN action to prevent the crisis, and despite polls showing around 75% of Americans oppose an invasion of Venezuela. 

Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Brazil were among the Latin American countries that have condemned the U.S. invasion of Venezuela. France’s foreign ministry also did so. President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil said the U.S. attacks “crossed an unacceptable line,” set a “dangerous precedent” and evoked “the worst moments of interference” in Latin America. 

Russia also criticized the U.S., but Moscow must be pleased that the U.S. has emulated Russia in attacking a sovereign nation.

Mel Gurtov is professor emeritus of political science at Portland State University.

North Bay Pet Photo Contest

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We’re looking for North Bay Pet Stars. Is your pet picture perfect? Showcase your pet love! Submit your favorite pet images and we’ll publish the winners in our Feb 11, 2026 issue. Photo submissions & voting due Feb 4, 2026.

Sponsorship Packages available to brand your business with our pet photo contest and strengthen community spirit and relations. Contact Lisa Santos, Advertising Director by email or 707.353.1139

Bollywood Blues, The California hosts Aki Kumar

Bay Area based blues musician Aki Kumar is bringing his innovative “Bollywood Blues” style of music to The California in Santa Rosa twice in the next few months.

First, he’ll be the guest artist at Donny Mederos’ Monday Night Pro Jam on Monday, Jan. 5, which will serve to whet one’s whistle for his birthday bash happening on Saturday, March 14.

Born in Mumbai, India, Kumar (full name, Akarsha Kumar) was introduced to a multitude of musical styles at an early age, including rock and roll, Indian classical music, modern pop and Bollywood film scores. These early flavors continued to marinate in Kumar as he immigrated to America in the late ’90s with a more serious line of work in mind, computer science.

Landing in Oklahoma City in 1998, Kumar had an affinity for computers that soon drew him to Silicon Valley, where he attended San Jose State. The move proved fortuitous, as his love and passion for a wide spectrum of music naturally attracted him to the Bay Area blues scene, where he quickly became a fixture.

Speaking by email, Kumar says, “The Bay Area is where I got my musical start, [and] although it is the epicenter of hi-tech innovation, it also hosts exceptional musicians and a lively but somewhat underground blues scene.”

Hardcore blues fans can be a bit inflexible (although, that may be changing), so it was the underground blues scene where a unique artist like Kumar could flourish and hone his sound while still working a grind in the tech industry. This was until a common tale of the blues befell him, as he was laid off from his tech job in the early 2000s.

Yet, rather than return to a fickle line of work, one he had perhaps grown less fond of, Kumar leaned more into his music and joined a popular blues outfit, Tip of the Top, led by Bay Area-based blues guitarist Little Jonny Lawton, known for his work with Little Jonny and The Giants. Around the same time, Kumar hit on inspiration for his brand of music while humming along to a song from the traditional Hindi songbook, and he noted the similarities to a Jimmy Reed song. 

He then decided to go all in on music. And so, under the tutelage of Grammy nominated blues harmonica player David Barrett—who has been a featured artist in Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blowouts alongside James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Kim Wilson and Mark Hummel—Kumar honed his blues harp skills as well as his vocal and frontman chops. This gave local blues maven Bill Bowker cause to say, “I’ve always enjoyed Aki’s playing coupled with his sense of humor,” adding that the combo “makes for fun-filled time.”

Kumar continues to perform all over the area and beyond, as well as teaching harmonica, hosting shows and recording. It’s well worth noting that his 2021 album, Diruba, which was released in partnership with Sony music, has garnered well more than a million downloads in India alone.

Although an artist who has earned fans worldwide and the respect of his peers might perhaps be better served living in a more music rich environment than San Jose, Kumar makes an interesting point, noting that perhaps the more progressive and accepting people of the Bay Area are a great core group of listeners. He says, “It certainly doesn’t hurt that the audience here is very diverse and accepting of such cultural innovations as ‘Bollywood Blues.’”

Locally speaking, Kumar says, “I’ve lived in the Bay Area for well over two decades, but it is only in the past five years that I feel like I have broken into the North Bay, and especially Sonoma County.” It’s been a warm welcome, as he notes that “audiences in Sonoma have been ‘hip’ to the blues for a long, long time, culturally and generationally. They seem to love the fresh spin I offer on it.”

When asked what fans can expect at the Pro Jam, he adds, “I always enjoy performing with Donny Mederos’ band and make it a point to never send them material ahead of time, which keeps things interesting for us on stage.”

For more information, check out akikumar.com.

On With the Show: North Bay Theater Companies Raise Curtains on 2026

The North Bay is fortunate to have the number and variety of live theater companies that it does.
Now that Ralphie got his BB gun, Scrooge became a better person and George Bailey decided he really did have a wonderful life, it’s time for North Bay theater companies to get their 2026 shows on the road.  Petaluma’s Mercury Theater is first out of the gate with Woody Guthrie’s American Song. It’s a musical tribute to the American folk...

‘All Is Song’ Sings: Misner & Smith’s New Album Worth the Wait

Northern California duo Misner and Smith just released their new record, All Is Song, the new record.
Some albums announce themselves with urgency. Others arrive the way wisdom does—slowly, after enough living has occurred to make the listening worthwhile. All Is Song, the new record by Northern California duo Misner & Smith, firmly belongs to the latter category. The album has been six years in the making, conceived in 2017 and shaped in fits, starts, pauses and...

The Yoni Oracle, Anistara Ma Ka

yoni oracle, Anistara Ma Ka
It is the dark time of year, and it was just the time of the high holidays. Here I evoke “pagan” Solstice, Christian Christmas and secular New Year’s Day.  Whether observed as a high ritual or as a habit of long standing, each of this close-packed run of dates derives meaning from this time of year, and the turning of...

Ingredients That Shine: Chef Juliana Thorpe Showcases Local Bounty

Chef Juliana Thorpe channels her global culinary expertise into a menu that celebrates regional abundance
At The Lodge at Dawn Ranch, co-executive chef Juliana Thorpe channels her global culinary expertise into a menu that celebrates authenticity and regional abundance.  Her culinary philosophy centers on simplicity and natural ingredients—an approach shaped by her formative years in Matutu, Brazil, where she grew up immersed in the rhythms of nature and agriculture. Surrounded by the South American countryside,...

Musical Restoration Journey, Luddite to AI Artist and More

Crush features upcoming art and cultural events in the North Bay.
Mill Valley Art of Healing Music takes on a deeper purpose at The Art of Healing, a benefit concert dedicated to supporting the recovery of Oshalla Marcus, executive director of the Marin City Art & Culture Center, following a life-threatening stroke. Conceived as a restorative musical journey, the evening, at the Throckmorton Theatre, centers on sound as a force for resilience,...

Free Will Astrology, Jan. 7-13

Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The mystics drone on endlessly about letting go. But I’m here now to praise the art of holding on fiercely, tenderly, with full commitment. Some treasures deserve your passionate grip. Some people warrant your loyal devotion. Especially in the coming months, dear Aries, I invite you to devote yourself to your exciting dreams with ardent...

Your Letters, 1/7/2026

Rome Burns To add to Craig Corsini’s observation (‘Party Foul,’ Dec. 31): Finally, someone who gets it. I am neither a liberal nor a conservative and toe no party line. I don’t know much and kind of like it that way, but what I do know is this: Both parties are filled with bad people who are ruining everything.  To my point:...

Occupy Caracas, Regime Change in Venezuela

Maduro regime change
The U.S. has overthrown the Maduro regime in Venezuela; captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro; and occupied the country.  Continuing a long history of U.S. interventions in Latin America, Donald Trump has vowed to “run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”  The U.S. policy of regime change had been telegraphed for months, as...

North Bay Pet Photo Contest

north bay pet photo contest
We’re looking for North Bay Pet Stars. Is your pet picture perfect? Showcase your pet love! Submit your favorite pet images and we’ll publish the winners in our Feb 11, 2026 issue. Photo submissions & voting due Feb 4, 2026. Sponsorship Packages available to brand your business with our pet photo contest and strengthen community spirit and relations. Contact Lisa Santos, Advertising Director by...

Bollywood Blues, The California hosts Aki Kumar

Bay Area based blues musician Aki Kumar is bringing his innovative “Bollywood Blues” style of music to The California in Santa Rosa twice in the next few months.
Bay Area based blues musician Aki Kumar is bringing his innovative “Bollywood Blues” style of music to The California in Santa Rosa twice in the next few months. First, he’ll be the guest artist at Donny Mederos’ Monday Night Pro Jam on Monday, Jan. 5, which will serve to whet one’s whistle for his birthday bash happening on Saturday, March...
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