Davisville, March 7, 2022: How live music is returning to Davis

Live music is music, obviously, but it’s also culture, a reason to get together with friends, part of the economy—and this spring, as in-person performances continue to resume in Davis, it’s another marker of how the Covid pandemic is easing. Knock on wood.

Today we talk with Danny Tomasello, who’s part of the Davis Music Fest, and musicians Sam Misner and Megan Smith about the hodgepodge return of local concerts, what might have changed for keeps during the pandemic, this June’s Fest, and the need for someone to write about local music the way that Wendy Weitzel writes about local businesses and restaurants.

(The photo shows Misner and Smith onstage at Berryessa Brewing in Winters in February 2020, right before the pandemic hit.)

Kevin Welch of Boca do Rio and the meaning of a grant, on Listening Lyrics, March 4, 2022

Boca do Rio was the second band to be awarded the annual Davis Independent Music Initiative (DIMI) grant, in 2021. The committee that awarded it included the 2020 winner, Davis musician Joel Daniel of the Hoots, reported the Sacramento News and Review in July 2021: "The grant is part of an annual effort to boost Davis’s music scene by providing one local band with funding. Daniel’s hope is that it offers musicians who might otherwise seek a career in Sacramento or the Bay Area the support they need to foster their talents closer to home." Applications for the 2022 grant are due by April 1.

We wrap up this show playing a Led Zeppelin song as interpreted by the Alex Jenkins Trio. Here is an All About Jazz review of their newest album, Tri-Cycle, from 2021.

The Folk Brothers for March 2, 2022: Stand with Ukraine

This morning we featured music from DakhaBrakha (pictured), a folk quartet from Kyiv. Also on today's show: new takes on traditional ballads from Joshua Burnell, Cinder Well, and Jim Ghedi, as well as a new take on "Dublin Blues" from Mipso, plus new original tracks from Ernest Troost, Justin Farren, and Jack Sharp. And more!

Listen in, a $10K grant for Davis musicians, plus special guest Joel Daniel, on Listening Lyrics

Joel Daniel joins us this week to review the 2022 Davis Independent Music Initiative and City of Davis grant to a Davis-based musician. For more details, visit the DIMI grant page. Plus we have music from Boot Juice, Lillian Francis, Joel Daniel, Racquetbangers, Max Riley, and Stompin' Tom Connors.

The Folk Brothers for Feb. 23, 2022: Talisk rocks the folk

This multiple award-winning Scottish trio is not your grandparents' Celtic band. They bring rock 'n' roll sensibilities to their mix of concertino, fiddle, and acoustic guitar. Box player Mohsen Amini is a force of nature as he drives their instrumental tunes onwards. With the release of their second album Dawn, Talisk's first U.S. tour stops at Sacramento's Sofia Center this Saturday night, Feb. 26.