Author: Paul Piazza

This week, we continue examining the different ways in which musicians are using video streams and other means to stay connected to fans while they attempt to earn a living during the pandemic, which has severely damaged the live music economy. There have been a few evolutions since we last checked in.  Innovations Livestreams options expand: Livestream pay to enter subscription series featuring full band and a variety of guests.  Artist: Marcus King Location: Sound stage in Nashville Venue: marcuskingband.com When: Monday premiere and rewatchable with 4-show subscription-Fee $30 for four shows or $10 each-proceeds go to MusicCares. If you…

During the pandemic, musicians and others in the music industry have been one of the most financially impacted groups. With large gatherings remaining out of the question and venues struggling to stay open, this has been a difficult time for economic survival from all angles in the music industry.  So how have musicians managed to remain afloat during these times? Heading into the spring of 2020, many bands and musicians had ambitious tours  booked, new music recorded, records were pressed and merchandise created. A large contingent of artists across the nation and world were fully set-up to have a fantastic…

The Wood Brothers Fox Theater, Oakland March 7, 2020 Photos by Paul Piazza It was most certainly a night to celebrate when The Wood Brothers rolled into Oakland and played their first-ever headlining show at the legendary Fox Theatre near the beginning of March. The sensational trio, comprised of brothers Chris and Oliver Wood and percussionist extraordinaire Jano Rix, had recently launched a tour promoting their excellent new record Kingdom in My Mind. Oakland was one of the early stops on the tour and many were looking forward to a night of their soulful folk and quirky charm. It also…

Marcus King Band Ace of Spades, Sacramento February 6, 2020 Photos by Paul Piazza  Marcus King has established himself as a musical force early in his life. The 23-year-old guitarist, who headlined at Ace of Spades in Sacramento with his band in early February, first picked up a guitar when he was eight and has been playing professionally since he was eleven. Since then, he has steadily gained a reputation as a staggeringly talented guitarist who pours a sophisticated, southern tinged essence into both the Gibson ES and Fender Telecaster that he favors as well as a soulful vocalist who…

Fortunate Youth Ace of Spades, Sacramento November 22, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza Fortunate Youth recently played a show at Ace of Spades in Sacramento with fellow rising reggae star Mike Love. The band are currently touring behind their trio of Sugershack Sessions recordings and their latest single “Young and Innocent,” a collaboration with Jamaican dancehall legend Half Pint. Fortunate Youth formed in 2009 in Hermosa Beach. They have made big inroads on the California reggae scene over the span of the last decade. The band have released five albums and have toured relentlessly. They’ve gradually ascended the ladder of…

Gary Clark Jr. w/ Fantastic Negrito Greek Theater, Berkeley September 28, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza Gary Clark Jr and his band played the Greek Theatre recently on autumn’s first cool Saturday night. The weather was just about right for Clark who has a somewhat aloof stage presence and prefers communicating with his guitar over talking to the audience. That seemed to be just fine with most in attendance who were expecting to see just that happen. The band are out on the road promoting Clark’s latest album, This Land, and he played a healthy amount of tracks from the…

Post Malone Golden 1 Center  September 17, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza The day before Post Malone played his first ever headlining show at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the chart-topping rapper from Texas spent his day hanging around in the area surrounding the arena. Countless locals posted selfies with the young rap superstar, known to most fans as just Posty these days, as he made his way around Sacramento’s DOCO (Downtown Commons) district on foot, casually stopping to interact with people. That would seem to be unimaginable for someone who has been charting insanely on the Billboard charts. That…

Revivalists Greek Theatre, Berkeley September 13, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza The Revivalists have been on a tear over the last few years. After slugging it out on the Gulf Coast club circuit during the early part of this decade, they have steadily gained a rep as a must-see group with their fiery blend of rock and soul. They have proved that over and over again at festivals and clubs all over the nation and are now on their largest venue tour to date, which brought them to the Greek Theatre in Berkeley recently. Along with their relentless touring, another…

311 and Dirty Heads Papa Murphy’s Park, Sacramento August 16, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza 311 and Dirty Heads, two of the nation’s most successful reggae rock acts, played in Sacramento recently at the end of an August week that saw the region’s hottest temperatures of the summer. The pairing, which celebrated 29 years of success for 311, was billed as a co-headliner with up and comers The Dirty Heads. The young Orange County band have seen much success in just a little over a decade together.  Fortunately for all of the overheated fans, the venues proximity to the American…

Ziek McCarter is the lead vocalist for Con Brio. Since arriving in the Bay Area from Texas almost nine years ago, he has gained a reputation as a frontman who is a tremendous vocalist with incendiary dance moves and astonishing agility as he often defies gravity on the stage. In his time with the band, they have evolved from a club band, to a festival must-see, to an international touring act. That’s quite a climb. He has also worked on other impressive music projects including an incredible live tribute collaboration of Prince’s “Dirty Mind” album with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe.…

High Sierra Music Festival Quincy July 4 – 7, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza The 29th annual High Sierra Music Festival took place in Quincy recently and was a four-day musical extravaganza. The campout festival happens over the Fourth of July weekend and has become an annual tradition for many who flock to the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds. This year’s four headliners were Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Dispatch, Umphrey’s McGee and Greensky Bluegrass. All were stellar during their Grandstand stage performances. Arguably, the High Sierra Music Festival or HSMF as it’s known to regulars, is the best music festival in California,…

Empire of the Sun Regency Ballroom June 24, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza Empire of the Sun recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of their album Walking on a Dream with a three-night residency at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. The Australian electronic music group, which is the love child of Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, have been a huge act overseas for quite some time but broke through in the U.S. about four years ago. This happened after a couple of key events. First, both Lady Gaga (“Applause”) and Wiz Khalifa (“The thrill”) did remixes of their music. Then,…

The Record Company Ace of Spades, Sacramento June 5, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza The Record Company recently steamrolled into Sacramento on a Wednesday night and put on a performance at the Ace of Spades that left little doubt they are one of the best up and coming heavy blues rock outfits out there. Even though it was a school night and the Warriors were playing against the Raptors in the championship on television, the club was close to full. And the Los Angeles-based band delivered with a solid set drawing mostly from their two well-received albums. The trio have…

Rival Sons Ace of Spades, Sacramento May 6, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza Monday night is a tough night to get people to go out to a gig. But when Rival Sons recently played Sacramento’s Ace of Spades at the beginning of the week, they sold-out the place. It wasn’t a big surprise because the Long Beach band have grown in stature with both fans and fellow musicians since their inception in 2009. Rival Sons have been getting serious notice as openers on big tours for a while and that reputation continued to grow when they had an impressive showing…

Chicano Batman Mystic Theater, Petaluma April 26, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza It was a Friday night to remember at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma when Chicano Batman came into the sleepy Peninsula town on the eve of one of the biggest local traditions of the year – the annual Butter and Egg Festival. The Los Angeles based-band had sold out the show over a week in advance and everyone in the house was prepared to be immersed in the band’s contagious psychedelic soul and fiery rock-out energy. But nobody expected the epic show that the band brought to us…

Aterciopelados and Los Amigos Invisibles UC Theatre, Berkeley April 27, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza On a recent spring Saturday night, a pair of legendary Latin music groups appeared at the UC Theatre in Berkeley. Aterciopelados of Columbia and Los Amigos Invisibles of Venezuela shared a double-bill that drew a packed house of adoring Latin music fans to the beautiful room on University Ave. Aterciopelados were one of the first bands from Columbia to gain international notice and are considered pioneers in the development of Latin alternative music. They fuse rock with a variety of Columbian and Latin American sounds…

Winter Wondergrass Festival Squaw Valley March 29 – 31, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza. The weather was mild for the 5th Annual Winter Wondergrass Festival which took place recently at Squaw Valley. Unlike the previous year, where rain and light snow fell steadily throughout the three-day festival, the skies were crystal clear and the weather was pleasantly sunny. This resulted in more than a few fans showing up dressed lightly, many in t-shirts. Naturally, since this was the Sierras, it was wise to pack a jacket and other warm gear, because once the sun went down and the evening headliners…

Cypress Hill Ace of Spades, Sacramento March 22, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza  At the recent sold-out Cypress Hill/Hollywood Undead show at Ace of Spades in Sacramento, there was a bit of a surprise before the final headliner came out. After engaging sets by Xzibit and Hollywood Undead, Cypress Hill’s DJ Lord came out and did a short warm-up set. But at the interval where the rest of the group were expected to come out onstage, comedian George Lopez made an unannounced entrance and gave a raucous introduction for the legendary stoner rap band. Naturally, it was one high point in…

McDowell Mountain Music Festival Phoenix, Arizona March 6 – March 8, 2019 Photos by Paul Piazza Early March was a great time to flee rainy Northern California and head for Arizona. After two straight weeks of continuous soggy storms in Sacramento, it felt good to land somewhere arid, warm, and a sunny 75 degrees. Spring training baseball games were in full swing and fans from all over the nation had flown out to escape their own regional weather woes and catch a game or three. This spring also marked the 15th year of the McDowell Mountain Music (M3F) Festival, which…

Emerald Cup Sonoma County Fairgrounds December 15-16, 2018 Photos by Paul Piazza. Photo of Willie Nelson by Pollen Heath. The 15th annual Emerald Cup took place at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds recently. The event, which has been growing annually since it began in 2003, hosted perhaps its biggest and best music lineup as it celebrated the success of and innovations by cultivators and businesses in North America’s fastest growing legal industry. Naturally, there were all manner of cannabis products available at the event, many of them engineered with the highest standards for outdoor growing, harvesting, and personal use. And of…