One more show at the Miniplex then I’m done for the week. Orchestra Gold are a psychedelic Afro-beat rock band with roots in the mystic-groove storytelling musical traditions of Mali. Based in Oakland, the band is making a stop here tonight to share the rumble with local cumbia masters Makenu. This is an early gig […]
Makenu
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Music Tonight: Friday, Sept. 4
Speaking of free, here are two fabulous gigs on two sides of Humboldt Bay which that won’t cost you anything other than the effort of showing up, which you can probably do for both depending on your energy levels. First up at 5:30 p.m., the Arcata Friday Night Market is ditching the pyrotechnics for some […]
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The Summer Wind
We have certainly entered the part of the summer where our nostalgia for the bright and lazy days of late June is colored by the scent of wood smoke and over-ripened fruit. The kind of sensation that curls over our nostrils and into our brains like the tendrils of cigarette vapors from Rick Blaine’s ashtray […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, May 22
Speaking of all-ages gigs, the Siren’s Song Tavern is hosting a dance night foreveryone at 8 p.m. tonight, featuring the mighty Makenu and DJ Amaru. A 10-spot willget you in the door, you dig?
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Orick’s School and Moon (and Local) Joy
This week we’re sharing a CalMatters story looking at the nine-student school the town of Orick could lose and what it would mean for the community. We’re also talking about the much-needed lift from Artemis II and feeding your soul with Humboldt scenery and the music scene. Hit subscribe for weekly updates on local stories.
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Music Tonight: Friday, April 24
The more horrible the loss, the greater the celebration. Or at least that’s how it goes when your friends and loved ones are musicians imbued with the sacred and profane ability to move people, from heels to heart and ass to soul. Earlier this year, we lost one of our great rhythm-makers, bassist Lyza Padilla […]
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Never, Forever
Something interesting about the springtime is the contradiction embedded between the old sensations that stir with the rising virgin growth of the newborn season. The vitality that comes with the turgid sap-flow and exploding blooms busting out colors and scents everywhere is shaded with a heavy atmosphere of the past, a twilight zone of dead […]
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Music Tonight: Sunday, March 22
People Power for Palestine is throwing a mutual aid benefit for the people of Gaza at Arcata Playhouse featuring live music and an auction. Regular readers of this space know my feeling on the matter, so I’ll just suggest you dig deep for the $10-$20 sliding scale donation and come enjoy the music of Makenu, […]
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Fast Cars and Night Gardening
Spring hits the streets this week and the build-up in the air has been absolutely blooming with sensual ions and ozone for anyone with the right peepers. The forces of the Earth churn on through the wasteland detritus of human ambition and we can still feel and be animated by those primeval forces despite our […]
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Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
I had plans to write about some other things in the intro this week but have instead found myself washed up on another surprise holiday, this one being inconsequential and pretty annoying, President’s Day. I’ll call it Lundi Gras instead out of deference to my former New Orleans home, and like that in-between holiday, I […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, Dec. 5
Local cumbia superstars Makenu will be playing their last gig of 2025 tonight atHumbrews at 8:30 p.m. The headliner is, appropriately, Oakland’s ragin’ psychedelicCumbia outfit Bicicletas Por La Paz. Judging by the colossal turnout I witnessed thelast time Makenu played at the Basement, expect the dance floor to be packed thisevening in the spotlight of […]
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How to Bring a Blush to the Snow
It’s the last month of the year, which means I will be listening to a lot of winter tunes as we barrel towards the solstice. Top of that list lately has been Victorialand, the fourth album by the Scottish band Cocteau Twins. Released in 1986, the record is a swirling terrain of sounds inspired by […]