Author: Tom Dellinger

I first picked up the camera while in college and quickly began shooting musicians. Without dating myself too much, let’s just say it was back in the days of film and I managed to sneak my camera in to shows. I picked up music photography again in about 2010, shooting local shows at first which eventually led to publishing with several music blogs here in San Francisco, New York and LA. I continue to enjoy both the fun and the challenge of shooting shows and festivals. My work can be seen at: www.tomdellinger.com

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant The Greek Theater, Berkeley August 18, 2022 Photos by Tom Dellinger It’s a bit surprising to come to the realization that it’s been a full fifteen years since the release of Raising Sand. It just doesn’t seem that long, but the wait is over and one of the most successful collaborations in rock, country, bluegrass, Americana or whatever you want to call it, have raised their voices once again with the release of Raise the Roof. This past Sunday brought Alison Krauss and Robert Plant’s Raise the Roof tour to The Greek Theater in Berkeley…

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Tedeschi Trucks Band Greek Theatre, Berkeley August 20, 2022 Photos by Tom Dellinger except as noted. The large large twelve-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band’s annual Wheels of Soul tour stopped by The Greek Theater in Berkeley over a recent weekend and delivered a towering performance that will serve as yet another solid piece to their legacy that will no doubt stand for eons. This is a particularly ambitious year for this band as they bring to life a project that began during the pandemic and has now come to fruition with the release of four full albums around a theme. The…

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Petaluma Music Festival Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Petaluma August 6, 2022 Photos by Tom Dellinger. The 15th annual Petaluma Music Festival made a lot of people happy last Saturday as they once again held their one day fest that consistently brings in top quality musicians and raises money for a good cause at the same time. Leading up to this year’s fest, they had raised $400,000 dedicated to help keep music in the schools. A worthy cause and what better way to accomplish this lofty goal?  Throughout its history, their winning formula has always been a heavy mix of the immense talent…

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Petaluma Music Festival Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Petaluma August 6, 2022 Buy Tickets Returning for its 15th year at Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds The Petaluma Music Festival is a highly anticipated annual event that draws music lovers from across Northern California and features nationally touring musicians as well as the ‘best of the best of the bay’. To celebrate its 15th year of raising money for local music education, The Petaluma Music Festival is pulling out all the stops with a line-up guaranteed to please every musical pallet. Returning to the festival stage is American singer- songwriter, and frequent member of Phil Lesh and…

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Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs Uptown Theatre, Napa June 19, 2022 All photos by Tom Dellinger With the passing of Tom Petty in 2017, the heart of rock music suffered a massive loss. He and the Heartbreakers made a huge imprint on our musical landscape that was unique. With masterful songwriting, the wit, charm and vocals of Tom Petty, along with one of the most lauded bands in the business, they rode the crest for over forty years, leaving behind a breathtaking body of work in their wake. So, when one of the Heartbreakers, especially guitarist Mike Campbell puts…

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Robert Earl Keen Fillmore Auditorium June 17, 2022 Photos by Tom Dellinger The road may go on forever and the party may never end, but we’ll have to carry on without Robert Earl Keen. After 41 years on the road as one of this country’s finest troubadours, he has decided to go home and do whatever strikes his fancy. On this, his I’m Comin’ Home tour, that road led him to The Fillmore on a recent Friday night where he and his band delivered a flawless and at times, emotional performance.  Those who have attended the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass…

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Soul Ska (feat Angelo Moore) Great American Music Hall April 16, 2022 Photos by Tom Dellinger (www.tomdellinger.com) Bay area band Soul Ska brought their mayhem and magic to The Great American Music Hall on a recent Saturday night and left nothing on the table once it was over. The band comprises Jonathan Korty/keyboards, Lex Razon/drums, Gardner Goetze/guitar, Tommy O’Mahoney/bass, vocal trio of Sean “Stymie Sharp, Jethro Jermiah, and Noelle Glory, and a three piece horn section featuring Aaron Saul/sax, Natalie John/trumpet and Charlie Wilson/trombone. That’s a lot of band on that stage and they were killing it. Joined midway in…

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ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) Great American Music Hall February 26, 2022 All photos by Tom Dellinger On a recent Saturday, ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) concluded a two-night run of their annual Tour d’Amour at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. An ALO show is always a fun time, but on this night, it was through the roof. Many came to the show decked in glitter, animal ears and more as they added to the vibe of the night. The stage was dressed with surfboards with beautiful mosaic designs by San Diego artist Rob Tobin  as well as a…

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Allman Family Revival Fillmore Auditorium Feb 21, 2022 All photos by Tom Dellinger A recent Sunday saw Devon Allman and his Allman Family Revival roll into The Fillmore, once again celebrating the music and life of his father, Gregg. What began as a one-off idea in 2017, and with no plans to repeat, has nevertheless blossomed into an annual event. In its first year there was only the one show at The Fillmore on December 8th (which happened to coincide with Gregg’s birth date), it has now expanded with demand exceeding the number of dates they are able deliver.  At…

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Courtney Barnett Fox Theater, Oakland December 12, 2021 All photos by Tom Dellinger. While there was a storm brewing outside on a wet Sunday night in Oakland, there was another storm within the walls of the exquisite Fox Theater as Australian artist Courtney Barnett gave the audience a spectacular sonic ride through her impressive catalog. Since the release of her first album, Sometimes I Sit, and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit in 2015, she’s gained a strong following. Now on her third effort, Things Take Time, Take Time, she continues to add to that legacy with a collection of…

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Death Cab for Cutie with Illuminati Hotties Oxbow River Stage, Napa CA strong> October 23, 2021 Photos by Tom Dellinger It’s rare for rain to be an issue at outdoor concerts here in the North Bay, but this year Death Cab for Cutie pushed the dates back more than usual with a make-up date from a show originally scheduled in September. And this year, after years of a deep and long drought, we are now suddenly facing an exceptionally strong storm system. The performance came just as the lead edge of this monster was introducing itself. And while there was rain…

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King Dream & Kingsborough SOMO Village June 4, 2021 Photos by Tom Dellinger Here we are! We appear to be at a place where we can look optimistically at the possibility of live music returning to a close proximity of the “before” times. Here in Sonoma County, concert promoter Second Octave has taken the next step in our journey to that place as they have scheduled four small scale outdoor shows which currently remain in the domain of masking and safe distancing, but the plan and hope is to expand to their previous levels with much larger crowds and stage…

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Eric McFadden and The Broun Fellinis Ivy Room, Albany June 25, 2018 Photos by Tom Dellinger. There were plenty of choices available on a recent Saturday night to satisfy one’s musical appetite and at The Ivy Room in Albany you could feast upon grooves one rarely finds as Eric McFadden and the Broun Fellinis set a table of exotic and intoxicating jams. The evening kicked off with the Fellinis as they took the already sizable crowd through lengthy improvisational jams and joined late in the set by Eric and Jeff Hobbs on violin, both of whom took what was already…

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Lauren Ruth Ward The Chapel May 25 2018 Photos by Tom Dellinger.Some photos taken at the Joshua Tree Music Festival. May. It’s only May and way too early for fire season to kick in, but there is a fire burning here in California and her name is Lauren Ruth Ward. Having only moved to LA a few years ago from Baltimore, she’s been busy developing her art and drawing the attention of the music community as her incendiary performances expand her fan base at every turn. Currently on a tour that kicked off at the Joshua Tree Music Festival, she…

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Con Brio Fillmore Auditorium May 5, 2018 Photos by Tom Dellinger Con Brio, one of San Francisco’s local favorites, played a blistering two hours at The Fillmore on a Saturday night. Fully loaded as an eleven-piece ensemble for this show, they delivered a nonstop trademark show that highlighted brilliant dance moves and vocals from front man Ziek McCarter along with tight, solid and flawless backing from the band. A Con Brio show is something one experiences as it is a stated mission of theirs to elevate their audiences. Ziek McCarter’s abilities as both dancer and vocalist cannot be understated as…

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Devon Allman Fillmore Auditorium December 8, 2017 All photos by Tom Dellinger. Anticipation and expectations were running high on a recent Friday night at The Fillmore. It was a perfect evening in the city and a pleasurable wait as the line began to form. A perfect time to meet new people and chat about shows seen, especially those with Devon Allman. Over the past several years, he’s had a great run with his band Honeytribe as well as with Royal Southern Brotherhood, a band that established themselves locally with solid and memorable performances. On this night, which would have been…

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Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile Fox Theater, Oakland October 18, 2017 All photos by Tom Dellinger. It was a chill evening at The Fox Theater in Oakland on a Wednesday night as Australian singer and wickedly acute songwriter, Courtney Barnett, and American musician/singer/songwriter Kurt Vile shared their recent collaboration with Bay Area fans. Their new release, Lotta Sea Lice, which was released on the 13th of this month, is generally a laid back easy ride and reflects much of Wednesday night’s performance. The duo performed with their band The Sea Lice, comprising Janet Weiss on drums, Rob Laakso on bass,…

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