Live Jazz (& Blues) Meetup Group

With a mix of bagpipes, fiddles, accordions, and whistles, alongside guitar and vocals underpinned by driving bass, drums and keys, the award-winning band Skerryvore represents the best in contemporary Scottish traditional music, while also drawing on a unique fusion of folk, trad, jazz, pop and rock.

SHOW COST : Ticket prices start at $37 (including service fees).

MORE INFO and TICKET LINK:
https://secure.thefreight.org/15052/15053-skerryvore-250730

(More videos available on YouTube and on the band's website)

The seating is general admission. Buy your own tickets.

WHEN/WHERE TO MEET: No later than 7:30 p.m.. in the Freight's lobby, so we can aim to get some decent seats together. (The show starts at 8:00 p.m. and will likely consist of one 90-minute set.) Note that this event is on a weeknight.

HOW TO FIND ME: I'm WF, 5 feet tall, in my 60s, with short, salt-and-pepper hair and glasses. I'll send my cellphone number to RSVPers prior to the event. PLEASE TEXT ME IF YOU DON'T SPOT ME.

TRANSIT/PARKING: Conveniently located less than a block from the downtown Berkeley BART station and from multiple AC Transit bus lines serving Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. There's a paid parking garage next door to the Freight, and some free street parking available in the neighborhood (more so away from Shattuck or north of University). https://thefreight.org/visit/

In a rare return to the Bay Area, pianist Dick Whittington is joined by Grammy-winning bassist Robb Fisher and ace drummer Leon Joyce Jr. for an afternoon of "straight ahead" jazz from the Great American Songbook, including the compositions of Harold Arlen, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and many others.

Music journalist Andrew Gilbert has written of Whittington: "If Berkeley had a hall of fame for musicians, pianist Dick Whittington would be inducted as part of the inaugural class. As an educator, presenter, and ebulliently swinging player, he left an indelible mark on the city’s jazz before decamping for the Monterey Peninsula in the mid-1990s."

I just found out about this event this week. It's a Sunday afternoon concert at an Oakland music studio.

COST: $33.85 per person for online tickets (includes Eventbrite service fee). General admission seating. Buy your own tickets at the link shown below.

ADDITIONAL EVENT DETAILS and TICKET LINK:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dick-whittington-jazz-trio-tickets-1485563583669

WHEN/WHERE TO MEET: Meet inside the venue by 3:30 p.m. so we can get seats together. (The concert is scheduled to go from 4pm to 6pm)

HOW TO FIND ME: I'm WF, 5 feet tall, with short, salt-and-pepper hair and glasses. I'll send my mobile number to RSVPers prior to the event.

TRANSIT/PARKING: Accessible via AC Transit bus lines from Lake Merritt BART station or Fruitvale BART station. (Parking is presumably on the street.)

OTHER: The event listing says drinks and snacks will be available at the concert. (I don't know if there's a fee for those.)

MORE INFO on Whittington's extensive music background and impact:
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2012/01/19/out-in-berkeley-5

Guitarist Ricardo Peixoto, Grammy-nominated pianist Marcos Silva, and percussionist Brian Rice -- all well known to followers of the jazz and Brazilian music scenes in the Bay Area and beyond - will unite for this concert of Brazilian classics and original compositions. I listened to one of their past concerts online today and loved it!

MORE INFO about the band members:
https://piedmontpiano.com/calendar/2025/8/8/peixoto-silva-rice-rio-trio

EVENT COST: $35 at the door if tickets are still available then, OR $32.50 in advance online, for General Admission tickets. (NOTE: ticket sales at the door might be cash only.) Buy your own tickets.

TICKET LINK:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/piedmontpiano/1736142

NOTE that this is an early FRIDAY show.

WHEN/WHERE TO MEET: Meet inside the seating area by 5:15 p.m. (The show starts shortly after 5:30 p.m.; Piedmont Piano shows typically consist of one 90-minute set with no intermission.)

HOW TO FIND ME: I'm WF, 5 feet tall, in my 60s, with glasses, and short salt-and-pepper hair (see my photo with my Meetup profile). I'll email RSVPers my phone number prior to the event.

TRANSIT/PARKING: The piano store is a short walk from the 19th Street and 12th Street Oakland BART stations. There are at least two paid parking lots in the area, and there is often free street parking unless there are shows at the three large concert halls in the neighborhood.

OPTIONAL DINNER after the show at a colorful Mexican restaurant located about 4 blocks from the concert venue. If interested in that, please bring cash in case of one bill for the whole table.

Recent concert VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDM-75Sx3fk&list=RDEDM-75Sx3fk&start_radio=1

Acclaimed bassist and composer Marcus Shelby brings his 15-piece band to Yerba Buena Gardens for a concert featuring pieces from four previous YBG Festival commissions created by Shelby and inspired by Harriet Tubman, Black baseball players, Ohlone heritage, and the recent pandemic. Featuring guest artists such as vocalist Tiffany Austin, flutist John Calloway, harpist Destiny Muhammad and vibraphonist Dillon Vado, Blues and the Pursuit of Freedom deploys the power of the blues to speak to the present moment.

COST: $1.00 donation to the Meetup organizer (that's me!) to offset the hefty fees that Meetup charges me. Other than that, the show itself is FREE to attend.

VENUE/SEATING: This show is held outdoors in the attractive Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco. This concert series used to feature rows of chairs to the front and side of the stage, but lately, most or all the (reduced) seating has been to the shady side of the stage (with preference given to seniors). However, concertgoers can move their chairs to the front, with a better view of the musicians. Attendees may also bring their own low-backed chairs or beach towels to sit or lie on.

This is a general-admission show, with no tickets or reservations needed.

WHEN/WHERE TO MEET: To increase our chances of getting seats together and to have a chance to socialize beforehand, let's meet up by 1:30 p.m. in the seating area. The later you arrive, the less chance you have of getting a seat. (The performance starts at 2:00 p.m. and goes to 3:30 p.m.)

HOW TO FIND ME: I'm WF, 5 feet tall, in my 60s, with short, salt-&-pepper hair and glasses. I'll send my cellphone number to RSVPers before the event and will leave the phone on until the first band goes on. I'll post a Comment on the Meetup Event Page giving my location after I get seated. Feel free to text me or leave a comment on the Meetup Event page if you don't spot me.

TRANSIT INFO: The performance location is on the route for several SF Muni Mission Street bus lines and is also located 2 or 3 blocks from BART (Take your pick of the Powell or Montgomery stations) and from Market Street bus stops. If you're driving, expect to pay for parking at one of the nearby garages.

ADDITIONAL INFO: People are free to bring their own food or drink to enjoy during the show, or you can buy take-out food at some fast-casual places in the immediate area (in and near the Metreon). Indoor public restrooms are on site at Yerba Buena Gardens complex.

MORE INFO about the concert:
https://ybgfestival.org/event/marcus-shelby-orchestra-2025/

MORE LOGISTICAL INFO on driving, parking, etc.
http://www.ybgfestival.org/visitor-info/

See the VISITOR MAP on this page:
https://ybgfestival.org/visitor-info/#seats