I really don’t want to write about the pandemic, so I’ll just say that 2021 was a heavy time for this beat, and the only real moment of grace came when the fever broke a bit in November and I was able to slink out of hiding to catch and review my first live show […]
Arcata Playhouse
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Music Tonight: Saturday, March 9
There are two world-class, world music ensembles available at your pleasure tonight at 8 p.m. but, due to the nature of time and space in our particular reality, you will have to decide which one fits your tastes better. Over at the Arcata Playhouse, as a part of the tail-end of the Zero to Fierce […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, March 1
It’s the first night of the eighth annual Zero to Fierce Festival, with events generally centered around the Arcata Playhouse and the Exit Theatre. Tonight’s soiree sees an art gallery pop-up in the front of the Playhouse called the Womxn’s Art Show, and features an all-ages and multimedia format. DJ Dastbunny provides the sonic ambience […]
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Music Tonight: Wednesday, Feb.7
Multi-instrumentalist Tony Furtado is a perfect fit for the catch-all water basin genre of Americana music, as he plays just about every stringed instrument in the American roots songbook, and he plays them very well. He also possesses a voice capable of carrying the tune for the blue hills and far into the dappled valley […]
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Music Tonight: Saturday, Feb. 3
David Ambrosio is a New York City bassist at the helm of a group called Civil Disobedience, which is a quintet dedicated to playing the politically charged music of the 1960s from noted jazz label Blue Note Records. These pieces are steeped in the battles and political incursions of its tumultuous birth decade, with the […]
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Blue Lake Celebrates Joan Schirle Day
The city of Blue Lake celebrates the late Joan Schirle, award-winning and beloved theater pioneer and founding artistic director of Dell’Arte International, on Sunday, Feb. 4. Events for Joan Schirle Day (as proclaimed by the city in November of 2023) include breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. at Mad River Grange, Joan Schirle videos from […]
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Music Tonight: Monday, Jan. 15
Band of Brothers is a jazz quartet composed of two sets of very incredible musical siblings. Tony Levin is likely the most familiar of the crew, because beyond his bass and chapman stick work with everyone from King Crimson to Peter Gabriel, he is often found in this very venue with one of his impressive […]
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Match Girl Strikes a Chord at the Playhouse
The Little Match Girl: A Warm Tale on a Cold Night, written and directed by James Peck and Sarah Peters Gonzalez, is the annual holiday show at Arcata Playhouse. It is a re-imagination of Hans Christian Andersen’s famous short story “The Little Match Girl,” with more plot, contemporary comment and a twist on the ending. […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, Nov. 17
As we wind up to next Thursday’s holiday, the gigs get sparse. To correct for this rocky landing, I’m going to double up on shows, starting today and through every day of the weekend, so you can get your kicks one way or another. Tonight’s very different events start at 8 p.m. Over at the […]
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Music Tonight: Saturday, Nov. 11
A jazz night tonight sounds just about right, especially considering the dramatic weather we’ve had pouring down on our hat brims and pooling around our gumshoes recently. Let’s start with the double bill at the Basement, where from 6 to 8 p.m. you can listen to Gil Cline’s Midnight Jazz-Tet do it right. Afterward, sax […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, Nov. 10
Not long after their local star-studded and sold-out show at the Minor Theatre, The California Poppies will be featuring another presentation of their new record The Holy Rainbow with the aim of gathering even more footage for an eventual live album and concert film. Tonight’s performance will be at the Arcata Playhouse, with support from […]
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Music Tonight: Sunday, Oct. 15
Hanneke Cassel has returned to our area with her band. What does this mean for the listening public? Well, quite a lot if you have an interest in hearing the Cape Breton fiddle-style of Gaelic folk reels mixed with the soulful Americana of traditional string sounds found everywhere from the Canadian Maritimes to the Cajun […]