February 13, 2025

CPS

Travel Adventure

Best 9: Top events for the week ahead in Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment, Dec. 5-12

Best 9: Top events for the week ahead in Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment, Dec. 5-12

Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead (but don’t forget First Friday too). It’s the Santa-baby B9:

Iris DeMent plays live at the Rio on Saturday. Credit: Pieta Brown / Courtesy of the artist

➤ I still remember the moment I heard Iris DeMent’s stunning and plaintive voice for the first time on her 1992 debut, “Infamous Angel,” which has now matured into an American folk classic. After a couple of really fine major-label follow-ups, Iris spent many long years not recording, giving her fans the impression that the pain she expressed, both personal and political, was just too powerful to crank out one record after another. Now, she’s back with a bracing new country/gospel recording called “Workin’ on a World,” and it’s a big, bold socio-political call to action, perhaps just the thing to chase away that soul-draining post-election torpor. The Infamous Angel lands at the Rio on Saturday. 

➤ If you prefer your holiday music with a bit of swing and spirit (as opposed to from a tinny speaker at the supermarket), the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra is popping into Kuumbwa for a brassy, bold, big-band holiday bash with the fine vocalists Robbie Lee and Ekep Nkwelle.

➤ Talk about staying power. The quintessential Santa Cruz band The Expendables has been getting audiences high for more than 25 years, and these days the sublime reggae grooves sound as tasty as ever. They’re even covering Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”

➤ Cabrillo College has been nurturing ambitious dancers for generations, and the annual Fall Dance Concert showcases the latest talent in a wildly diverse range of styles, from folklorico to popping and locking.

➤ It sounds like a Norwegian death-metal band, but Dragon Smoke is about as down-home Americana as you can get. They’re a New Orleans-based foursome composed of swampy guitar god Eric Lindell, vocalist Ivan Neville (yep, of the brothers), and the rhythm section from the band Galactic. That’s some impressive horsepower.

➤ Now this is a combination that can’t miss: Santa Cruz’s regal actor/singer Lori Rivera (who could do almost anything on stage) and her jazz trio interpreting the songs of the incomparable Barbra Streisand. How divine!

➤ It’s a joyous December tradition: Cheryl Anderson brings her Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus into the sacred environment of Holy Cross Church for the annual “Music for the Feast of Christmas.” In this case, the “feast” is for the ears … and the soul.

➤ Growing up in Sacramento, afflicted with terrifying bouts of sleep paralysis, Chelsea Wolfe matured into a gifted songwriter and a mesmerizing singer, albeit with a pronounced lean into goth rock and doom metal. She brings her dark, haunted vibe to the Rio next week.

➤ This one is pretty tight, timing-wise — it goes down Thursday night — but I’d hate to overlook the hilarious stand-up comic Trae Crowder, perhaps better known as the “Liberal Redneck,” who chews up political B.S. in a rural Tennessee accent and a wise perspective we could all use right now. Love y’all!

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