Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the doorbells-and-sleigh-bells B9:
- Funk, soul, jazz, psychedelia: Butcher Brown brings the whole mix.
- It’s the biggest weekend of the year for the devoted performers at Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre — you guessed it, “The Nutcracker” is here.
- Joni Mitchell’s songs are already great enough, but to hear Santa Cruz’s great Lori Rivera do them? Too much sonic pleasure.
- You want your seasonal music with a Latin flavor? Man, do we have good news for you: The Spanish Harlem Orchestra is set to unleash “Salsa Navidad” on Santa Cruz.
- Sunday afternoon, Corralitos and John Prine, all those things go together in perfect harmony.
- Wait, there’s a new Dr. Seuss book? And, hold on a sec, you can actually talk to The Grinch in person about it?
- The identical twin brothers known as The Mattson 2 are really exploring some new sonic landscapes in California music. Check what they’re laying down at Moe’s.
- There’s something deliciously retro about pianist and vocalist Davina Sowers and her band the Vagabonds, in a distinctly 1940s New Orleans-y kind of way.
- Live Christmas music at Holy Cross Church is a special experience, especially when that music comes by way of Engelbert Humperdinck (no, not that one).
