The holidays are in full swing and everyone is ready for some much deserved time off, including the awesome local venues and musicians that constantly provide us with quality local entertainment. Since things are a little sparse we decided to consolidate and give you some highlights for the next two weeks. Get a few more nights of dancing in and we’ll see you next year.
Wednesday, Dec 21
Local(ish) Showcase at The Blue Lagoon
Kicking off their 3D on Ice tour are four of the most exciting up and coming bands in the greater Santa Cruz area. Although these guys will be sharing the stage together each has their own distinct musical style. Aurora Beam from Watsonville will be doing their Indie Jazz Noise thing, Bird Caravan out of San Jose will be shredding their usual epic math rock, followed by some Prog Rock fromYela Silo from Salinas. Santa Cruz-based Mota Burro tops it off with some fast-paced metal.
Show at 8 pm
Tickets $5 at the door
Thursday, Dec 22
Swing Night with Speakeasy 3 at The Crepe Place
While it might not be as popular as their famous funk night (yet), The Crepe Place’s weekly swing night has been creating quite the buzz lately. This week local outfit Speakeasy 3 will be peddling their “post-street” rhythms for your flapping pleasure, with a 1920’s sonic ensemble that features guitar/banjitar, clarinet, bass, saxophones, drums, and occasionally trumpet. Their ever-growing set list is inspired by their travels to New Orleans, Europe, and throughout the United States. Come on down for a truly unique prohibition era sound right here in Santa Cruz, without having to worry about getting tossed in the paddy wagon.
Show at 9 pm
Tickets $8 at the door
Thursday, Dec 29
Snow Sessions at The Catalyst Main Stage
SnowGlobe, one of the biggest New Years festivals in the US, has teamed up with The Catalyst to give you a little preview of the musical madness that will be going down at their event this year. The night features an all-star lineup of some of the greatest hip-hop emcees right now. In addition to doing individual performances, the performers will join forces for a rare “group cypher” where all the performers take turns freestyle rapping while they riff off of each other’s last verse. Del The Funky Homosapien, Andre Nickatina, Chali2na, Yukmouth, A-Plus, Deacon the Villain, Rappin4Tay, Amp Live, Traxamillion, Domino, and DJ Aspect will all be doing their thing for you. Most if not all of these artists would make this list on their own, so getting them all together on one stage is no small feat. Don’t miss out.
Show at 9 pm
Tickets range from $25-$29
Friday, December 30
The Devil Makes Three at The Catalyst Main Stage
Easily one of the biggest bands to call Santa Cruz home, Devil Makes Three once again brings their insanely infectious rockabilly Americana sound back home for the holidays once again. While they might not get much mainstream exposure, Devil Makes Three has been representing Santa Cruz and selling out stages from here to Portland to Prague for the better part of the last decade. Show up ready to move for this one. These guys are known for turning even the most soulless of rooms into a raucous dance-filled delight that the devil himself would be proud of.
Show at 9pm
Tickets $30 in adv/$40 at the door
