Cotati Accordion Festival
August 17-18
With a huge line-up of accordionists, including Anaïs Bessières, Junk Parlor, and Sourdough Slim, this annual festival is a long-running epic love song to the joy of this most misunderstood of instruments. Marking his 20th year at the Festival, Santa Cruz accordion legend The Great Morgani will once again dazzle the crowd with his creative bellowing and sure to be epic four costume changes.
La Plaza Park (Cotati), 707.664.0444
If I Were You
Aug 1–6
The first-ever commissioned work in the Merola Opera Program’s 62-year history is a contemporary story of identity loosely based on the novel Si j’étais vous by French-American author Julien Green, complete with aspiring writers, a shape-shifting devil, supernatural powers and displaced souls.
Herbst Theatre (SF)
415.864.3330, merola.org
Pacific Mambo Orchestra
Aug 3
The 27th annual Marin Summer Nights Outdoor Music Series continues with this 19-piece Latin big band playing salsa, mambo, Latin jazz and a fusion of sounds that will get everyone moving.
Kanbar Center for the Arts (San Rafael)
415.444.8000, marinjcc.org
Michael McDonald and Chaka Khan
Aug 4
With a combined haul of over 15 Grammys, this remarkable double bill is sure to be a vocal show to remember.
Green Music Center (Rohnert Park)
707.664.4246, gmc.sonoma.edu
The Psychedelic Furs
Aug 4
The post-punk icons take the stage in this annual outdoor free concert series, paired with fellow Brit rockers James.
Stern Grove (SF)
415.252.6252, sterngrove.org
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Aug 8–11
This New Orleans institution defines Crescent City music and soulful NOLA jazz.
Miner Auditorium (SF)
866.920.5299, sfjazz.org
Charlie Hunter and Lucy Woodward
Aug 11
HopMonk Tavern’s Cookout Concert Series continues its sixth season with live music and food in the outdoor beer garden, including a blast of blues, soul and funk from this guitar and vocals duo.
HopMonk Tavern (Novato)
415.892.6200, hopmonk.com
Lee Brice
Aug 15
The country music sensation presents his 21st-century sound in a raucous live show featuring his self-titled album.
Luther Burbank Center (Santa Rosa)
707.546.3600, lutherburbankcenter.org
Merola Grand Finale
Aug 17
This showcase for rising opera stars wraps up its summer festival with 29 young artists performing opera’s most exciting arias and ensembles.
War Memorial Opera House (SF)
415.864.3330, merola.org
3Teeth
Aug 18
The L.A.-based quartet aims to bring some industrial grit, à la Rammstein or Nine Inch Nails, back to the rock scene.
Slim’s (SF)
415.885.0750, slimspresents.com
The Wood Brothers
Aug 20–21
Adapting blues, folk and other genres into their own evocative sound, these siblings present vocal intertwinings that could be called high-lonesome harmony.
Terrapin Crossroads (San Rafael)
415.524.2773, terrapincrossroads.net
Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives
Aug 23
The five-time Grammy winner and Grand Ole Opry star salutes American roots music.
Sweetwater Music Hall (Mill Valley)
415.388.3850, sweetwatermusichall.com
Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Choir
Aug 24
This world music pioneer presents an intimate acoustic performance of inspiring songs and devotional chants accompanied by instruments and a choir of four, all veterans of Uttal’s Pagan Love Orchestra.
Showcase Theater (San Rafael)
Yolanda del Rio, Beatriz Adriana and Beatriz Solis
Aug 24
The queens of ranchera music return, performing with their own mariachi groups.
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts (Santa Rosa).
707.546.3600, lutherburbankcenter.org
Looking for more things to do this month? Check out our guide to Museums, Walks and Talks, or Shows and Events.
Christina Mueller is a long-time Bay Area food writer. She hails from the East Coast and has spent way too much time in South America and Europe. She discovered her talent as a wordsmith in college and her love of all things epicurean in grad school. She has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Sunset, and the Marin Independent Journal, among others. She volunteers with California State Parks and at her childrens’ schools, and supports the Marin Audubon Society, PEN America, and Planned Parenthood. When she is not drinking wine by a fire, she is known to spend time with her extended family.
