Santa Barbara Vocal Jazz Foundation wraps up another 8-week residency at SB Charter School with a professional performance on the Lobero stage. Up to 140 4th, 5th and 6th graders participate in this immersive program, delving into the history of jazz, the music that was made in America. Students learn the origins of jazz, are introduced to many of its innovators, and bring it all to life with a fun and informative performance for the whole family.

Please visit santabarbaravocaljazz.com for more information.

This concert is made possible with the support of the Lobero Theatre Youth Outreach programs

Few artists maintain the lifestyle kept by Gregory Alan Isakov, a Colorado-based indie-folk artist and a full-time farmer who sells vegetable seeds and grows various market crops on his three-acre farm, while also tending to a thriving musical career.

Isakov had an easier time balancing his two passions while making his fourth full-length studio album, Evening Machines. In between farm duties, the multi-instrumentalist wrote and recorded in a studio housed in a barn on his property. Like the farm, this studio has a communal atmosphere, filled with instruments and gear stored there by musician friends—gear Isakov always leaves on, just in case inspiration strikes.

“Sometimes I couldn’t sleep, so I’d walk into the studio and work really hard into the night,” he says. “A lot of times I would find myself in the light of all these VU meters and the tape machine glow, so that’s where the title came from. I recorded mostly at night, when I wasn’t working in the gardens. It doesn’t matter if it’s summer or winter, morning or afternoon, this music always feels like evening to me.”

As its name implies, the dark indie rock and folk populating Evening Machines possesses a dusky hue. Hushed acoustic guitar and sparse piano combine for a moody foundation amplified by ornate and heavy embellishments: distant electric guitars, keyboards, pedal steel, saw, percussion, strings, banjo, and some electronic drums. Lilting background vocals intertwine with Isakov’s watercolor-streaked murmur on “Powder,” while “Where You Gonna Go” applies haunting, echoing vocal effects to his voice.

Glen Phillips

Glen Phillips has always been a courageous and inviting songwriter. During his years as lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, the band’s elegant folk/pop sound and his honest, introspective lyrics helped them forge a close bond with their fans. Since starting his solo career, Phillips has pared his music down to its emotional core, concentrating on the simple truths of love and relationships, with a profound spiritual understanding.

Guitar virtuoso Robben Ford’s latest album, Into The Sun, debuted at #2 on The Blues Charts and shines a bright light on his artful, contemporary songwriting and stunning playing. The five time Grammy  nominee describes the 11 song set as “one of the top recordings I’ve ever done” and Guitar Player Magazine claims it “explores the breadth of Ford’s sophisticated, visionary writing and playing, creating a new chapter in his brilliant musical history.” Robben has recorded more than 35 albums under his own name and with various bands. There’s also his session and sideman work, which included hundreds of concert appearances and albums by Miles Davis, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Barbara Streisand, Charlie Musselwhite, KISS, Ruthie Foster, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Witherspoon, Larry Carlton, Brad Paisley, Gregg Allman, Phil Lesh and Rickie Lee Jones. Robben continues to tour heavily and teach master classes in the US and worldwide.

An important and essential component of Robben’s career is his commitment to teaching and passing on what he’s learned over the past 40 years to current and future musicians. His instructional videos and clinics over this this time have culminated in a collaboration with TrueFire and the birth of the Robben Ford Guitar Dojo. Robben also hosts his annual Traveling Dojo Guitar Camp in upstate NY every August. For more information, please go to www.robbenford.com.

The John Doe Folk Trio?!? What the?!? The John Doe of the punk band X? And The John Doe Rock-n-Roll Band?  And The Knitters? Yes, yes and yes. The John Doe Folk Trio concentrates on Doe songs. Imagine a solo acoustic show but with a little more oomph! They will perform fan favorites from John’s solo records, X songs & and a few Knitters too, only FOLK style. Come witness this great night for yourself!

The X years: John met Exene Cervenka at the Venice poetry workshop Nov 1976. He started working with Billy Zoom around the same time. When DJ Bonebrake joined X in mid-1977 the line up was complete. X set a new standard for driving, forceful songs that both critics and the public felt revolutionized the California punk sound.They released six studio records, six singles and one live record, from 1978-1993. Five of X’s records have been re-issued along with two compilations. X: The Unheard Music – A rock documentary of their lives as a band from 1980-83 was released in 1988. In 2009 the film was included in the Sundance UCLA Archive of greatest films of all time. They appeared several times on American Bandstand, Solid Gold and David Letterman. As one of the last original west coast punk rock bands standing, they continue to tour. The day that X played a free noontime concert in Fullerton, CA, they caused Orange County’s greatest high school truancy rate to date.

John has recorded 8 solo records w/ numerous renowned singers and players, more recently including Patty Griffin, Dan Auerbach, Aimee Mann, Don Was, Kathleen Edwards and Greg Liesz. He has appeared in over 50 films and television productions, with some of his most notable roles in Road House, Georgia, Roadside Prophets, Great Balls of Fire, Pure Country and Roswell. He continues to act these days as his tour schedule permits. He now makes his home in Austin. www.thejohndoe.com 

“Doe beautifully balances a rocker’s heart and a poet’s soul.” — The LA Times

“One of the warmest, most welcome voices in pop music.”—NPR Music

THE BRAMBLES – Goleta born Carly and Bethany are The Brambles. With just a ukulele and a tambourine their music relies on their amazing vocal harmonies. They will be joined by Jeff Kranzler of The Bryan TitusTrio.  www.thebramblesmusic.com 

Come early to enjoy a fantastic night of Americana folk music. Doors 7pm show starts promptly at 7:30.