From the waves to the redwoods, it's all happening here.

Zen Meditation. Open to all. Free of charge.

The first annual Aloha Music & Arts Festival Santa Cruz will take place Friday, July 31, and Saturday, Aug. 1, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. each day at Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, bringing together local musicians, hula schools, artists, food vendors, and community organizations for a weekend celebrating Hawaiian, Polynesian, and Pacific cultures. Gates open daily at 11 a.m. Admission to the festival is free. Donations are welcome. Parking will be available for $20 per vehicle. No in-and-out privileges will be allowed, and re-entry fees will be enforced. Produced by Victor Ohana Productions LLC, the festival aims to celebrate the Spirit of Aloha while creating a new cultural tradition for the Central Coast community. Organizers say the event was created to strengthen connections among local Polynesian communities, while offering residents and visitors a new summer cultural experience in Santa Cruz County. “This festival is about bringing people together through music, dance, food, art, and community,” said Marie Victor, founder of Victor Ohana Productions. “Santa Cruz has deep cultural and historical connections to Hawaiʻi through surf culture and the ocean lifestyle. We wanted to create an event that celebrates those shared influences while showcasing the incredible local talent we have here in Northern California.” Rather than featuring a national headliner, the festival will spotlight local bands and performers from throughout Santa Cruz County and the surrounding region. Organizers said the focus of the event is community participation and cultural authenticity. Festival attendees can expect: ● Food vendors featuring Pacific-inspired cuisine ● Local arts, crafts, and merchandise vendors ● Information booths from community nonprofits and organizations ● Family-friendly cultural activities and entertainment Local Live Music ● Victor Ohana 3 Generations ● Ho' Omana ● Hunawai ● Kanalu ● Laule'a Hawaiian Band ● Ka La'i O Mele ● George Kahumoku Jr (Grammy Award Winner in

Adults need playtime, too! Come play some new or old favorite tabletop games. Bring your favorite board game or play some of Lancelot's games. No prior gaming experience is necessary. This program is for adults 18+. We will meet every first and third Saturday of the month in the Barbara Gorson Multipurpose Room at the Capitola Branch Library.

The Tony Award-Winning San Francisco Mime Troupe opens their 67th Season with: WRECKAGE: A Musical Tragicomedy. The show asks the political question: How are we going to survive and rebuild in the rubble left from the economic, social, and psychological devastation of the idiotic kleptocrats? London Nelson Community Center – Outdoors (Santa Cruz) Sat., Aug. 1 - 3:00 pm (Music 2:30) Sun., Aug. 2 - 3:00 pm (Music 2:30) 301 Center St., Santa Cruz 95060 FREE - ($20 suggested donation)

Get out the ten-gallon stetson and ride your horse to the rural outpost of El Vaquero Winery to experience the joy of Lacy J. Dalton. Dalton has a tips-to-tours origin story, starting as a waitress in the mountains of Santa Cruz and eventually performing on stages worldwide. Dalton has seen all the trends since she first reached the charts in 1979 and remains true to her roots. Sixteen Top Twenty hits came fast and furious through the 1980s. One thing about real country singers is they never forget their roots and anytime Dalton returns it’s a celebration. Featuring favorites Michael Gaither & His New Best Friends. -DNA; Good Times Santa Cruz

5:30-7:30pm Love Creek is a folk-rock/jam band from Santa Cruz, California. Current band members consist of Malakai Lawton (vocals/guitar), Alex Bahler (lead guitar), Ryan Jensen (bass/vocals), Ed Levy (keys), and Rob Borella (drums). Love Creek pulls from a musical headwaters of jam band and folk rock influences, creating original material that is both heartfelt and powerful, both lyrically and instrumentally. Along with a growing repertoire of original songs, Love Creek also performs music written by artists such as: Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band, Jerry Garcia Band, The Cure, Van Morrison, Marshall Tucker Band, Rusted Root, America, as well as many others.

Join the Winterlark trio—Kristin Olson on bass, Sweeney Schragg on guitar, and Chris Haskett on drums—with their tight, jazzy harmonies and infectious rhythms at the new and improved Davenport Roadhouse on Saturday, August 1. This date is an update of a previous June date, which was unfortunately outdated.

When he’s not fronting local Santa Cruz band Wolf Jett, Chris stays true to his folk, soul and country blues roots. Born in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, his voice is smooth as Tennessee whiskey and his guitar pickin’ cuts from Chet Atkins to Keith Richards in no time. As versatile a musician as you will find, Chris is able to seamlessly intertwine classic and obscure covers with his seemingly timeless originals. He can play to any crowd under any circumstances, and he’s proven it time and time again, whether busking the streets of Europe, or touring the sweatiest clubs and hushed house parties across this good ol’ USofA. He currently performs with a vintage hollowbody electric through a small tube combo amplifier, but he’s equally at home on acoustic. No gimmicks, no tricks, just straight vocals and guitar with a few stories in between. He has recently opened for Arcadian Wild, Brett Dennen, Coco Montoya and Waylon Payne and is a regular feature at the Saratoga Mountain Winery Garden Stage and Felton Music Hall. He frequently does covers by Paul Simon, Fleetwood Mac, Otis Redding, Van Morrison, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, and Neil Young, to name a few.

Mike Hellman is a country and americana troubadour with a bent for the unconventional. Slinging songs with substance, conviction and grit, he’s on a mission to tell his truth and he insists on being heard. While firmly rooted in the rich country and blues traditions of his home state of Texas, he refuses to pander to cliché and his sound is anything but predictable. His lively performances swing from ballad to barn burner to outright rock ‘n’ roll, and his rich baritone conjures earnestness and humor while dealing head-on with all aspects of the human condition (and with a not-so-subtle nod to the downtrodden). An “outlaw” for outlaws, Mike's music transcends the often narrow boundaries set by the mainstream country music establishment.

Saturday, 6:00 PM

They may be Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, but their covers are breathing life into the Grateful Dead’s discography. Instead of note-for-note covers, the band delivers fresh improvisational reinterpretations of the legendary jam band’s songs. Led by Joe Russo, drummer and longtime apprentice of the Grateful Dead, is an impeccable drummer and born leader. Flanked by his longtime collaborators, Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, Scott Metzger, and Tom Hamilton, there’s an overflow of rock prowess in their performance. Delivering high energy, boundless creativity, and face-melting riffs, JRAD is for the rock fans and the music nerds alike. -Shelly Novo; Good Times Santa Cruz

As one of the most highly acclaimed performers of our time with five Grammy® awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three platinum records, five gold records, and twelve million units sold, Sandi Patty is simply known as The Voice. Sandi is the most awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music history, with 40 Dove Awards. She was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and as an Indiana Living Legend in 2007. She has released over 30 albums, including her latest Dove Award winning album, The Edge of the Divine (2010). She will release her latest album “Everlasting” exclusively at Target Stores, through Somerset, Ltd., in September 2013. “Everlasting” will feature notable hymns and songs of worship in an intimate and acoustic setting. Her debut full length symphonic pops album “Broadway Stories”, conducted by Maestro Jack Everly, was released on October 18, 2011 to rave reviews. Sandi was introduced to the world with her rendition of The Star Spangled Banner during the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Virtually overnight she became one of the country’s best-loved performers. Her version of the national anthem has become synonymous with patriotic celebration, including performances at “A Capitol Fourth” with the National Symphony, the Indianapolis 500, the Dedication of Camp David Chapel, and ABC’s Fourth of July Special. While her thirty+ year career is heavily rooted in the gospel music industry, Sandi has had the opportunity in more recent years to extend her career outside the genre. Sandi has performed with symphonies across the country, including the New York Pops, Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Dallas Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Oklahoma City Philharmonic. She also headlined the title role in sold out performances of the musical “Hello, Dolly!” with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, co-starring Tony Award winner Gary Beach in January 2012. In addition to her prolific musical career, Sandi is also an

Conducted by Cristian Măcelaru Leilehua Lanzilotti: of light and stone (West Coast premiere) James Lee III: Shades of Unbroken Dreams (Alexandra Dariescu, Piano) (West Coast premiere) Sarah Hennies: The Grain House (Festival Creative Lab Commission & world premiere) Centering voices of resistance and cultural continuity, this program explores the act of dreaming as a form of defiance. Leilehua Lanzilotti‘s of light and stone (West Coast premiere) draws on the legacy of Nā Lani ʻEhā—the “Heavenly Four” of Hawaiian royalty—to honor Indigenous Hawaiian identity, gathering, and the enduring power of cultural lineage. James Lee III‘s Shades of Unbroken Dreams (West Coast premiere), featuring pianist Alexandra Dariescu, channels the cadence and moral force of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, reflecting on justice, equality, and perseverance. Sarah Hennies‘s Festival Creative Lab Commission (world premiere) will use the large-scale forces of the orchestra to evoke the complexities of human brain activity, drawing on psychological and musical studies related to existence, identity, and memory. The Creative Lab, now in its third year, empowers composers to reimagine the orchestral experience with wide curatorial latitude.

Sean and the Skinwalkers is a blues rock trio from Monterey County California. Just as comfortable playing traditional blues as they are tearing through a psychedelic rock song, the common thread is always the blues and the intensity that they bring to every performance. No two performances are ever the same as everything is raw and changes on the fly, with improvised wild guitar solos that often take place in the audience. Sometimes compared to the legends of the 70s blues rock scene, Sean and the Skinwalkers does cover a wide range of music in addition to playing originals. You'll hear covers and inspiration from artists like Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, Free, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Marcus King, Stray Cats, Jeff Healey, Tab Benoit and more, but always with the Skinwalker's unique flavor. Keep your camera ready as you never know what to expect, Sean is likely to jump into the audience and use your beer bottle to play slide guitar or ask you to hit the strings while he frets notes for a solo and has a conversation with you about your day. Nobody ever forgets a Sean and the Skinwalkers performance! Original music on every streaming platform, with a new album releasing soon! Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wolfmanblues/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6AQRQZEOJxIlim78Gi7HIt?si=9htrXeE1RXG2cVjmWyFnbQ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa2wGtmVpbPZNtThEKxERS_PTsXxzYZIK

If Idaho is known for two things, it’s potatoes and Eilen Jewell. Over her almost three-decade career Jewell has made a name for herself as a musician with the blues in her soul and rock ‘n’ roll heart expressed through the vocal chords of true Americana. That is to say her songs range from folk, gospel, country, rockabilly and everything in between. So much so that The Washington Post described Jewell as if Billie Holiday, Neko Case and Madeleine Peyroux had a baby that was raised to front a rockabilly band. It’s a melting pot of sound and, truly, it doesn’t get much more American than that. -Mat Weir; Good Times Santa Cruz

Sessiontapes Live Qiensave?, Spaghetti Cumbia, & DJ Baby Dizzle! This isnt just a concert, esto es un pinche pari. Whether youre coming to dance, skank, two-step, sing along, or simply enjoy a night out, this is your invitation to one of the hottest cumbia-punk nights of the summer. Grab your compas, lace up your dancing shoes, and join us at Moes Alley for a night of music y desmadre.Saturday, August 1, 2026Doors: 8pm / Show: 9pm$20 in advance / $25 day of the show21+* No Refunds | All sales are final* Avoid scammers! Only purchase tickets from moesalley.com or ticketweb.com* Tickets requested by email will be delivered 3 days prior to the event* Will Call tickets will be available at the door on the day of the event====Qiensave?Rooted in Salinas and inspired by their Michoacn heritage, Qiensave? has become one of the leading voices in the modern cumbia movement. Their signature Cumbia Urbana sound blends traditional cumbia with rock, reggae, hip-hop, and urban influences, creating an energetic live experience that continues to connect with audiences across the country. Fresh off new releases and national touring, the band continues to push cumbia into new territory while staying true to their roots.Spaghetti CumbiaStraight out of Los Angeles, Spaghetti Cumbia serves up a high-energy mix of cumbia, punk rock, garage rock, and spaghetti western swagger. Known for turning every venue into a dance-fueled frenzy, the band delivers a unique sound that is equal parts baile and mosh pit. Their debut performance at Moes Alley promises to be one for the books.About DJ Baby DizzleSalinas native DJ Baby Dizzle has built a reputation for bringing good vibes and packed dance floors wherever she goes. From community celebrations and cultural events to night clubs and live music showcases, her eclectic sets blend cumbia, hip-hop, funk, and party favorites into an unforgettable experience. Whether youre warming up for the bands or closing out the night, Baby Dizzle has the soundtr

Step back into the golden era of ’70s pop-soul with Mark Van Haren—guitarist, vocalist, and lifelong devotee of the music that made AM radio magic. Raised on Stevie Wonder, Hall & Oates, Al Green, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Bill Withers, Bacharach, and the Beatles, Mark brings that era’s warmth, melody, and heart to life. His sets blend rich vocals, rhythmic guitar, and harmonically complex arrangements, mixing familiar-but-forgotten favorites like “Baby Come Back” with soulful deep cuts such as “Knocks Me Off My Feet.” Every song is chosen for connection—music that feels good, hits deep, and brings audiences together.

The best way to describe Fleur bleu.e is hazy dream pop with a twinge of early 1960s Euro aesthetic. Which makes sense considering the duo consisting of Delphine Lucy Lam and Vlad Swann are originally from France. However, they have since relocated to Pennsylvania but kept the sound of their home country, a choice that was definitely for the best. Their music is soft and sweet without being boring, or pretentious. Check out their self-described “music made of dreams and nightmares” with their new album Question Marked Upon The World then catch them for free thanks to Santa Cruz’s oldest, friendly, neighborhood record store. -Mat Weir; Good Times Santa Cruz

3:00-5:00pm The BACK PORCH BOYS dig into the glorious roots of American music from the Delta blues in Mississippi to New Orleans up to Memphis over to Austin and jumpin' to Chicago. Singer-guitarist RICH COWAN and harmonica enthusiast VIRGIL THRASHER put their combined 90 odd years of playing music on display. You will hear the likes of Tampa Red, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Fats Domino among other icons from the early days.

The Tony Award-Winning San Francisco Mime Troupe opens their 67th Season with: WRECKAGE: A Musical Tragicomedy. The show asks the political question: How are we going to survive and rebuild in the rubble left from the economic, social, and psychological devastation of the idiotic kleptocrats? London Nelson Community Center – Outdoors (Santa Cruz) Sat., Aug. 1 - 3:00 pm (Music 2:30) Sun., Aug. 2 - 3:00 pm (Music 2:30) 301 Center St., Santa Cruz 95060 FREE - ($20 suggested donation)

Sing your heart out! We will start at 3pm....ends when the cops show up or when I throw in the towel....No way you can be too late to get into the rotation.....We use Karafun, so the artists who own the songs get paid ROYALTIES via BMI or ASCAP. Venmo & TIP JAR FOR THE KJ. Beer and Wine , Bar Food Menu. Plenty of free parking.

The Jenny O'Leary Quartet, led by the swinging and masterful jazz vocalist Jenny O'Leary. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, she is the daughter of children's music legend Minnie O'Leary. Joined by a trio of bass, guitar and drums, they joyfully and passionately play standards, bossa novas, blues and pop tunes.