The Friday, Jan. 1, Column

Tommy Thomsen
Tommy Thomsen

Spotlight – January 2016

We’ll take a look into the future, well, maybe just this month, and look at some shows you might want to pencil in on your calendars.

Black and White Jazz. – The popular series returns again to the Rotary Stage in Andrews Hall on Saturday Jan. 9, with an appearance by Randy Vincent, Dave McFarland, Ted Burick and Jim Castrone. The evening series explores the Great American Songbook of jazz, which has expanded to include modern-era composers like Wayne Shorter and Pat Metheney, allowing the quartet improvise on a high-energy exploration of contemporary jazz.
Saturday, January 9, 7:30 p.m. – Sonoma Community Center – 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma – 938-4626

John McCutcheon – The popular singer-songwriter will be in Sonoma as part of his West-Coast tour for a mid-week show. With over 37 recordings and seven Grammy nominations, McCutcheon know his way around string instruments, with the late Johnny Cash calling him “The most impressive instrumentalist I’ve ever heard.”
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m. – Sebastiani Theatre – 476 First St. E. Sonoma – 996-9756

The California Honeydrops – Led by dynamic vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski, the act draws on diverse musical influences from rhythm and blues, funk, southern soul, delta blues and New Orleans second-line. The Honeydrops bring infectious dance-party vibes to their shows and have all over the world with nine European tours under their belts, along with music festivals like Monterey Jazz, High Sierra, and Outside Lands and recent performances supporting B.B. King, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, and Allen Toussaint.
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 8:30 p.m. – Rossi’s 1906 Dancehall – 401 Grove St. El Verano – 343-0044

Lucy Kaplansky – In the Listening Room – Blending country, folk and pop styles, Kaplansky has the ability to make every song sound fresh, whether singing her own sweet originals, covering country classics by June Carter Cash and Gram Parsons or singing pop favorites by Lennon-McCartney or Nick Lowe. She has charted on Billboard and is one of the top-selling artists on Red House Records. Raised by a piano-playing mathematician and a homemaker in Chicago, Kaplansky began singing in bars when still a teenager, even traveling to Norway to perform as a country singer.
Sunday, Jan. 17, 8 p.m. – HopMonk Tavern – 691 Broadway Sonoma – 935-9100

Sonoma Classical Music Society – The Benvenue Trio and Friends. The 2016 season gets underway this month with the Benvenue Trio. The trio will perform a program of works by Robert Schumann, including “Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44.” The Benvenue Trio is composed of locals Tanya Tomkins on cello, Eric Zivian on piano, and international superstar Monica Huggett on violin, they will also be joined by Jodi Levitz on viola, and Carla Moore on violin.
Sunday, Jan. 24, 3 p.m. Vintage House senior center – 264 First St. E. Sonoma – 996-0311

Tommy Thomsen Birthday Celebration – The Western Swing Hall of Famer will be celebrating his birthday and releasing a new album as well. The Show will feature Tommy’s usual suspects, an all-star band including: Grammy Award winning lap steel- guitar player Ken Emerson, Wendy DeWitt on keyboards, Kirk “The Madman” Harwood on drums, Ken “Snakebite” Jacobs on Sax, Bobby Black on steel guitar player, Richard Chon on fiddle and Sam Page on bass.
Friday, Jan. 29, 8:30 p.m. – Rossi’s 1906 Dancehall – 401 Grove St. El Verano – 343-0044

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Set List – The Rundown

Annex Wine Bar
865 W. Napa St. Sonoma – 938-7779

Tonight, Jan. 1, David Bingham – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 2, Tilted Halos – Unplugged – 7:30 p.m.

Barking Dog Roasters
18133 Sonoma Hwy. Sonoma – 939-1905

Tonight, Jan. 1, Stewart Degner – 5 p.m.

Blue Moon Saloon
19380 Sonoma Hwy. Sonoma – 996-3055

Saturday, Jan. 2, Karaoke – 9 p.m.
|Sunday, Jan. 3, Blues Jam – all welcome – 10 p.m.

Friday Farmers Market
Depot Park – 270 First St W. Sonoma

Today, Jan. 1, Stewart Degner – 9:30 a.m. .

HopMonk Tavern
691 Broadway Sonoma – 935-9100

Tonight, Jan. 1, the Mosey Boys – 8 p.m
Saturday, Jan. 2, Wendy DeWitt – 8 p.m.

Murphy’s Irish Pub
464 First St. E. Sonoma – 935-0660.

Tonight, Jan. 1, Michael Mullen – 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 2, Sean Carscadden Trio – 8 p.m.

Olde Sonoma Public House
18615 Sonoma Hwy. Boyes Hot Springs – 938-7587

Sunday, Jan. 3, Karaoke – 7:30 p.m.

Rossi’s 1906 Dancehall
401 Grove St. El Verano – 343-0044

Saturday, Jan. 2, the Plot and the Old Folks – 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 3, Sweet Potato 5 – 5 p.m.

Schellville Grill
22900 Broadway, Sonoma – 996-5151

Saturday, Jan. 2, Butch Engle and Styx – 12:30 p.m.

Sonoma Speakeasy and American Music Hall
452 First St. E. ste. G. Sonoma – 996-1364.

Tonight, Jan. 1, S.E. Willis, Bobby Cochran and Ruth Davies– 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 2, Full Circle – 4:30 p.m. – Mike Rinta, Tim Eschliman, Kevin Zuffi and Kevin Dillon – 8 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 3, Mark Dennis, Mark Willson and Friends – 4:30 p.m.

If your gig isn’t in my column, you didn’t tell me about it.

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