It’s supposed to be raining all weekend in Sonoma County, but you won’t melt. Put on a jacket, grab your umbrella and head out to warm yourself up with some live music. Dance the night away in Santa Rosa, groove in Petaluma or rock a bit in Sebastopol. You can even get your symphony and opera fix in all at one venue.
Saturday, Dec. 1 – Luvplanet
Formed in 2001 in Petaluma, Luvplanet draws from a broad range of musical influences, blending rock, pop, progressive, acoustic and psychedelic sounds.
Luvplanet’s live show is full of vocal harmonies, guitar tone, seductive melodies and more. Guitarist Mark McGee has lived the rock-star life, having toured with Gregg Allman for more than 10 years and toured in 20 countries, sharing the stage with acts like Jeff Beck, Journey, Kansas Lynyrd Skynyrd and more.
Settling down a bit in Sonoma County with his partner and vocalist Nicole Sutton, the band is big on laying down fresh hooks, meaningful lyrics and genuine emotional depth in their songs.
Venue: Aubergine, Sebastopol, 707- 861-9190
Saturday, Dec. 1 – Jonathan Richmond
With his big hit in the ’70s with the Roadrunner album, Jonathan Richmond has been touring and re-inventing himself ever since.
With an almost cult-like following, he has toured with a variety of combinations of his act “the Modern Lovers” along with solo and duet performances.
“It’s great playing places that are off the beaten track. You can learn a lot when you play in a little town in Holland or Western Australia, and you learn different things than you would learn playing a big city.” Old Jawbone opens the show.
Venue: HopMonk Tavern, Sebastopol, 707- 829-7300
Saturday, Dec. 1 – Chris Robinson Brotherhood
In 2011, after more than 20 years of intense gigging and recording with acts like the Black Crowes, Robinson set off to shape something new, a fresh rock mythology, a breathing kaleidoscopic thing stuffed with chooglin’ soul, bedrock boogie and shuffling wisdom birthed in intimate clubs and amongst the tall trees of the Golden State and eventually taken nationwide as the Chris Robinson Brotherhood.
“This music is unashamedly what we’re into,” said Robinson. “It’s not a psych band because you have a Prince Valiant haircut and wear Beatle boots. It’s psych because that’s where our heads are. We want to make music that blossoms. We want to make music that sounds cosmic.”
Venue: Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, 707-765-2121
Saturday, Dec. 1 – Crossfire
Crossfire is a big dance band in the classic format, and plays rhythm and blues, classic soul, Motown, classic rock,’70s disco and more.
The band can lay down a range of grooves from smooth jazz for the cocktail-dinner set to the full blown house rockin’ show band with choreography and special effect lighting. Expect to be dancing long before the show ends.
Venue: Flamingo Hotel, Santa Rosa, 707-545-8530
Saturday ‑ Sunday, Dec. 1 – 2, Santa Rosa Symphony, The Titans of Opera
Opera has never sounded so good. Orchestral excerpts from Wagner’s The Ring combine with the best arias and choruses of Verdi – including the “Celeste Aïda” and the “Gypsy Chorus” – in a pairing of monumental composers, both born in the same year.
Guest soprano and guest tenor play their parts to the hilt, along with the Symphony Honor Choir, in a hall that showcases the power of the human voice – Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.
Pieces will include Wagner’s Der Ring, orchestral selections from Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, also Verdi, and Selections from Il trovatore, Aïda, Nabucco, and La traviata.
Venue: The Donald and Maureen Green Music Center, Rohnert Park, 866-955-6040
