Remember the days of outdoor concerts and festivals? Escape the cold weather at some of these Marin venues, playing live music all February long.
Sweetwater Music Hall
Our Pick: Leo Kottke
Feb. 9 @ 8 p.m., $82.89
See Sweetwater’s full live music calendar here.
As always, Sweetwater hosts a number of exciting shows this month, several of which have already sold out (Jackie Greene seems to be Mill Valley’s favorite act right now, for good reason). One show you can still nab tickets for is a performance by guitarist Leo Kottke. A fingerstyle virtuoso, Kottke usually performs solo, tickling a six- or 12-string guitar in between monologues about music and life. If you’re overwhelmed by the overt, corporatized Americana of Super Bowl Sunday, maybe this dose of honest, soulful Americana will get you sorted out.
HopMonk Tavern
Our Pick: Liz Longley
Feb. 14 @ 8 p.m., $25 adv/$30 day of
See HopMonk’s full live music calendar here.
A big voice and talented songwriter, Liz Longley is an independent artist on tour from Nashville, taking her music to venues all across the country. This Valentine’s performance could be expertly worked into a date night, as Longley’s sound is soothing and emotional, sometimes romantic, sometimes heart-wrenching. And Longley is getting ready to release an album New Life next month, so maybe you can hear some new tunes at this show.
Like with Sweetwater, HopMonk is selling out concerts left and right this month — regular visitors like Chuck Prophet and John Doe are both fresh out of tickets. You can still catch shows by Mike Love (reggae/R&B artist, not the Beach Boy) and David Wilcox in addition to Longley’s, but I’d advise you to buy tickets early.
Marin Jazz
Our Pick: Harold Jones & Jackie Ryan
Feb. 15 @ 2 p.m., $65
See Marin Jazz’s full live music calendar here.
Marin’s own Harold Jones appears at Marin Center once again for a show with his Bossmen Big Band Orchestra. Jones’ storied career puts him safely in the “living legend” category, with stints drumming for Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra and Tony Bennett, among many other talents. Dubbed “the singer’s drummer” by his biographer, Jones will show off what that means when singer Jackie Ryan takes centerstage.
Peri’s Tavern
Our Pick: Bongo Sidibe & the Ton Tons
Feb. 22 @ 9 p.m., $15 adv/$20 at door
See Peri’s full live music calendar here.
From West Africa to the Bay Area, Bongo Sidibe is a Guinean musician and bandleader at the front of the Ton Tons, a fusion group combining the sounds of West Africa, funk, Afrobeat and hip hop. Sidibe’s band is electric, full of drums to get you dancing. This concert should be especially lively, as it coincides with the release of Sidibe’s new single, “Madouce” on Feb. 19. Besides his fabulous musical output, Sidibe stands out as a valuable community member in the Bay Area. He co-leads the Duniya Dance and Drum Company, which puts on the yearly Yerba Buena African Arts Festival in San Francisco, and visits schools around the region to teach about African music and culture.
Also up at Peri’s this month are a couple jam band acts, including a performance by the Skeleton Krewe Trio on Feb. 17, a group that combines Hawaiian slack key guitar with classic Grateful Dead sounds on original tunes and fun covers.
Rancho Nicasio
Our Pick: April & Monroe Grisman Project
Feb. 23 @ 5 p.m., dinner from 4–7 p.m., $24
See Rancho Nicasio’s full live music calendar here.
This wife and husband duo are both longtime Marin musicians, and together they play original songs with wide influence from rock, roots, reggae and more. If you’re familiar with the Marin music scene, then you might have heard either or both of them before. Monroe, for one, sings and plays guitar for the Bay Area Tom Petty tribute band, Petty Theft, which has sold out two shows at Sweetwater this month. And April has been singing and teaching music in the Bay Area for years. Join the two for a birthday bash concert. Yes, it’s both of their birthdays, just one day apart (It also happens to be the day they met about 30 years ago, to add to the occasion).
