Upcoming Events

To make up for the New Orleans Jazz Festival being cancelled again due to a spike of Covid cases in Louisiana, WWOZ radio station will be streaming historic sets from the Jazz Fest when the festival was going to happen (Oct. 7-10, 14-17). The station has a 2-week archive so if you miss a good set you have another chance to listen. There's a PDF file with the schedule that you can print out. Info: https://www.wwoz.org/events/678216

If anyone has a guess at what set might have some blues harmonica, please post.

Hey, anyone going to the Crawfish & Catfish festival today in Sacramento? There is a blues tent that is probably going to have some harmonica playing. I'm very new to this all but from my research it seems like Kyle Rowland (2pm) and Mick Martin (6:30pm) play harmonica and will both have sets. Here's the link for more info: http://crawfishandcatfishfestival.com/

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/212288857488510/ continue reading...

So nice that things are opening up again. Former School of the Blues beginning student Aki Kumar (www.akikumar.com) and his band will be here in Sacramento this coming Friday June 18th at the world famous www.torchclub.net. If you live within a three-day drive of Northern California, it'll definitely be worth the trip!

For a year now, Dennis Gruenling has been doing some wonderful Zoom Q&A events, featuring all of your favorites. Coming up this Saturday May 15th is one that promises to deliver a ton of fun, especially for players who favor those big bricks with the buttons on the side (otherwise known as "chromatics"). Gruenling's guest will be Rod Piazza, whose subject will be "Little Walter vs. George 'Harmonica' Smith." If you've watched David's interviews with both Dennis and Rod, you know that this is going to be amazing, and with Dennis' Zoom chatbox system, you can be part of the show! continue reading...

All free, and in the comfort of your own home. Tomorrow evening (Sat. May 1, 5:00 PM PDT). Details at https://akikumar.com/shows  A birthday salute to Little Walter (born May 1, 1930) that promises to be a Meeting of Harp Giants!

This particular room in the Forum has been pretty quiet since sometime in 2019. Moribund, in fact. But just because we've all been hunkered down at home constantly washing our hands and wearing masks (except when playing harmonica) doesn't mean that there haven't been any cool events. There have been a ton. Perhaps share some of your favorites? (E.g., I was able to go all the way to England for a wonderful harmonica conference ... continue reading...

Held roughly once a month,  Joe Filisko & Eric Nolden get together to play a live streamed performance of their act Roots Duo, with a traditional raw sound.

Managed to see 2 out of the 3 shows that have passed me by since I heard about this and I hope to catch many more.

The next one is in 40 hours or so from now.

Link here: https://www.concertwindow.com/rootsduo

Announcing the 2019 Harmonica Collective – a three-day intensive harmonica workshop for the intermediate-to-advanced harmonica enthusiast who wishes to take his or her playing to another level of achievement. This year's Collective will be held in Sanford, Florida (a suburb of Orlando) at The Alley, Central Florida's premier blues venue.

 Joining founders Winslow Yerxa and Jason Ricci are three additional Expert Guides. continue reading...

Join students and instructors of School of the Blues at the Poor House Bistro Studio (poorhousebistro.com) this Saturday, October 6th (5pm start) for a free evening of music. The concert will feature classic blues standards and original compositions by the students. Joining the students are instructors Kevin Coggins (drums), Frank DeRose (bass), and David Barrett (harmonica), with a guest performance from Bay Area legend, Gary Smith (harmonica and vocals). The concert is free, indoors, and open to all ages. continue reading...

https://www.sweetwatermusichall.com/event/1653254-john-popper-mill-valley/