Here’s a glimpse of all the live music happening around Marin this March. As usual, there are a lot of wonderful blues- and folk-influenced groups, plus Dead-friendly jamming, but this month’s concerts promise great jazz, funk and rock too. Don’t sit these ones out!
Featured photo: Metalachi by Sugarfiend Photography.
Shawn Phillips
March 1
HopMonk Novato
8 p.m. – $30
Haunting lyrics and melodies that stick with you — singer-songwriter Shawn Phillips is a guitar virtuoso whose solo performances hold the stage presence of an entire band. Catch Phillips at HopMonk’s Session Room, with an opening performance by Jeff Plankenhorn, a guitarist from Austin with a lap steel named Plank.
Sakoyana
March 1
Smiley’s Saloon
8:30 p.m. – $10
This Sonoma County experimental jazz outfit mixes hypnotic horns with a funky rhythm section that’s heavy on the one. Warning: you might get a case of stank face (example).
Solidarity Records Presents Fully Baked
March 2
Smiley’s Saloon
8:30 p.m. – $10
The San Francisco underground hip hop label Solidarity Records is pulling together a night of beats and rhymes at Smiley’s. Featuring four local emcees, this show is a one-night-only showcase of the label’s artists.
Chris Cain Band
March 2
Peri’s Tavern
9 p.m. – $20
Usually seen carving blues licks out on a handsome Gibson guitar, Chris Cain has assembled a talented band to deliver rocking blues that will get you moving. Though Cain is deservedly well-known as a guitarist, his voice also wows with old-school feel and emotion. If you’re lucky, he might even play some keys.
Taj Farrant
March 5
HopMonk Novato
8 p.m. – $35
Young guitarist Taj Farrant has been compared to guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughn with how he commands the fretboard. Citing influences like fellow Australians AC/DC, Farrant’s skills have landed him gigs playing alongside legends like Carlos Santana, despite being just fourteen years old. Prodigy much?
Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
March 8
Sweetwater Music Hall
9 p.m. – $33
A truly classic voice in folk and bluegrass, Laurie Lewis’ guitar, fiddle and vocals have made her a pillar in the Northern California bluegrass scene. Her group The Right Hands stands with her in skill, and their Friday night concert at the Sweetwater is sure to get people dancing.
Marlon Asher with DJ Sep
March 9
Sweetwater Music Hall
9 p.m. – $26
Trinidadian reggae singer Marlon Asher, whose 2006 hit “Ganja Farmer” garnered fame in his home country and beyond, keeps putting out killer reggae tracks. Asher will play Sweetwater with San Francisco DJ and producer DJ Sep, who is often heard spinning reggae and Afrobeats around the city.
Love, DEAN
March 9
Smiley’s Saloon
8:30 p.m. – $10
Up-and-coming Love, DEAN brings their pop-y neo-soul to Bolinas as part of their 2024 West Coast tour. The Oregon-based group, made up of husband and wife Luke and Rachael Price, gives sweet vocals over gentle grooves — good concert for a date night, perhaps?
Metalachi
March 10
Sweetwater Music Hall
8 p.m. – $24
Not just technically skilled musicians and creative song stylists, LA band Metalachi is a group that knows how to perform. Billing themselves as the world’s only heavy metal mariachi band, their music is something you never knew that you needed.
A Salute to Tony Bennett!
March 10
Marin Showcase Theatre
2 p.m. – ticket prices vary
Hear interpretations of the Bennett songbook from singer Noah Griffin, founder of the Cole Porter Society and a stunning voice who has graced Bennett’s old stomp, the Fairmont’s Venetian Room. Griffin is joined by Harold Jones, Bennett’s former drummer, and an 18-piece orchestra to animate these excellent tunes.
Urban Outlaws
March 14
Peri’s Tavern
8 p.m. – $12 advance / $15 at door
Looking for a place to wear your cowboy hat? Urban Outlaws play well-loved country covers, both classic and modern.
Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings
March 15
Sweetwater Music Hall
9 p.m. – $30
Sharing a name with the King of Cowboys is no easy task, but Roy Rogers’ picking and sliding up his double-necked guitar make him an act you’ll never forget. Blues lovers will appreciate Rogers’ keen stylings from the Mississippi Delta, supported by his stellar band, the Delta Rhythm Kings.
Sucker MC’s
March 16
Macs at 19 Broadway
9 p.m. – $10
90’s hip hop on St. Patrick’s Day weekend… Sure, why not? Catch this North Bay hip hop dance band singing 2Pac, Dr. Dre and more on their “Snoop” Patrick’s Day weekend, featuring a Humpty Dance contest.
Tord Gustavsen Trio
March 17
Every Blue Moon Concerts
Two shows: one at 4 p.m., another at 7 p.m. – $60
Revered Norwegian jazz pianist Tord Gustavsen and his two bandmates bring clean stylings and complex compositions from across the Atlantic to this homey Inverness venue for Every Blue Moon Concerts. Gustavsen remains one of the most acclaimed jazz musicians in Norway, and his trio has made several appearances at SFJAZZ.
Fairfax Guitar Pull ft. Teja Gerken, Mark Karan, Kyle Alden Thayer
March 20
Peri’s Tavern
7 p.m – $10
Three Fairfax guitarists unite for a guitar pull, where they’ll trade solos and interact on each other’s songs. Gerken, Karan and Alden Thayer individually have remarkable styles and approaches, so this pull should be a melting pot of great playing.
Wyld Iris
March 22
Peri’s Tavern
8 p.m. – $15
Local folk country trio Wyld Iris return to Peri’s with their sweet acoustic sound and three part harmonies — this time joined by opener Chris Peck, an eclectic songster. It’s pure talent and folksy feel from these musicians.
AgapéSoul
March 22
Rancho Nicasio
Dinner & a show 6–8 p.m. – $28 admission
Bandleader Darryl Anders has made waves playing for acclaimed groups like Tower of Power, and now his modern soul project AgapéSoul brings their grooves to Rancho Nicasio. Their most recent EP, 2022’s Heart Conditions, features smooth soul songs about love.
Joe Pug
March 22
HopMonk Novato
8 p.m. – $25 advance / $30 at door
With a guitar in his lap and a harmonica clipped around his neck, Joe Pug is the picture of a typical singer-songwriter. But his words and tunes rate him above a crowded field. For inspired music and intricate lyrics, check him out in concert at HopMonk.
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers
March 23 & 24
Rancho Nicasio
Dinner and a show, music at 6 p.m. – $48 admission
Two nights of Tommy Castro? Lucky us. Castro and his band, The Painkillers, are internationally recognized blues rockers coming to Rancho Nicasio alongside talented multi-instrumentalist Deanna Bogart.
John Chi & The Pacific Syndicate
March 23
Mac’s at 19 Broadway
8:30 p.m. – $20
A favorite of North Bay venues and regular on our music column, John Chi and The Pacific Syndicate are back at Mac’s for a March concert. They jam, they play the hits and they are definitely worth a trip.
Melvin Seals & JGB
March 24
Sweetwater Music Hall
8 p.m. – $68
After the loss of key members in the Jerry Garcia Band, Melvin Seals picked up the pieces to lead the group’s reincarnation as JGB. Seals’ Hammond organ and keyboard virtuosity build the foundation for this grooving jam rock band, and their stop at Sweetwater ushers in a summer of nationwide touring.
Particle Kid
March 26
HopMonk Novato
8 p.m. – $20 advance / $25 at door
Particle Kid (AKA J. Micah Nelson AKA son of the great Willie Nelson) uses his instrumental skills to create experimental songs that traverse genres while remaining anchored in folk tradition. Nelson is joined by King Dream, an Oakland-based rock ‘n roll group that weaves a dreamy, psychedelic sound.
Charlie Hunter & Scott Amendola
March 27
HopMonk Novato
8 p.m. – $30 advance / $35 at door
This drums and seven-string guitar duo have been building their musical synergy for nearly 30 years, jamming out on songs with exciting interplay and taking their sessions to unexpected places.
Lilly Hiatt with Nathan Graham
March 27
Sweetwater Music Hall
8 p.m. – $20
A singer-songwriter who knows her way around her Rickenbacker, Lilly Hiatt keeps her Nashville roots present in her output of country-flecked rock records. Nathan Graham comes with Hiatt for this Sweetwater gig, bringing Americana with a dash of Chicago blues.
Victor Little’s Big Hit
March 28
Peri’s Tavern
8 p.m.
It’s not often that a band is led by its bassist, but Victor Little’s bass drives his bands with a smooth funk that belies Little’s technical chops. For a good night of jazz and funk, stop by Peri’s to see the Big Hit.
Mark Hummel Blues Band
March 30
Smiley’s Saloon
8:30 p.m. – $12 in advance/$15 at door
One of the bluesiest harmonicas that ever blew, Mark Hummel has, ahem, made his mark on West Coast blues and the dictionary of blues harmonica. With a band that can do more than just keep up, this concert is sure to bring the house down.
