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These Artist Directories are a passion of mine.
My goal has always been to supply an affordable and attractive way for ALL artists to get world wide exposure via the internet and the means for people LOOKING for art to FIND it!
However, during these difficult times, even just $35/year is beyond some people's budgets. On that same note, most people don't realize that it costs me thousands of dollars a year to keep these websites going.
In that respect, I've decided to offer Free Listings to Everyone - with the hopes that those, who can afford to, will make a donation (no matter how small) to help keep these sites alive and thriving.
I can't do it without your help. Please donate.
- Thank you, Hillary
California Vacations are Music to Visitors' Ears
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – Visitors to the Golden State are ditching their iPods in favor of live musical performances that offer up a wide range of entertainment, including everything from the best in rock ’n’ roll to jazz, gospel, blues and classical.
“California is legendary in the music industry,” said President and CEO Caroline Beteta of the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) and National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association. “It’s here that artists come to break into the business. It’s also where travelers take in the melodies of famous musicians and ensembles in locations that provide scenic and unique settings.”
Musical excitement takes over the capital city of Sacramento and its historical Gold Rush surroundings, 87 miles (140 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco in the Gold Country Region, on Memorial Day weekend (May 22-25) for the largest traditional jazz festival west of the Mississippi. The 36th Annual Sacramento Jazz Jubilee features 600 performances by 65 bands on 22 stages. More than 65,000 music lovers are expected to attend this year’s event to enjoy bands influenced by the blues, country and zydeco, in addition to traditional jazz sounds.
In the Central Coast Region, Russian composers and songs are the focus of the 15th Annual Ventura Festival, April 30 to May 9, when world-renowned musicians perform in historical venues throughout the city. Ventura is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. Music theater meets wine country ambience at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria Valley, 170 miles (274 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, for Les Miserables, April 9 through July 12, and The Music Man, July 17 through August 23. Even the area’s wine caves resonate with music, as the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society is offering a special “concert in the caves” performance May 23 at Cottonwood Canyon. The best in blues can be found at the 16th Annual Avila Beach Blues Festival, May 24, at the Avila Beach Resort, located 196 miles (315 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. Visitors can “Raise a Toast to Paderewski” on April 25, and hear the chamber music of pianist Mark Zebrowski in Paso Robles. The festival is held in honor of Polish-born Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a celebrated musician and statesman, who fell in love with the city after discovering its restorative, thermal waters. Paso Robles is 209 miles (336 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.
The Bluegrass in the Spring Festival, May 9-10, in Yermo at the Calico Ghost Town hosts Grammy award-winner Dennis Caplinger, who plays banjo and fiddle, along with other prominent entertainers on mandolin, guitar and bass. The silver mining town known as Yermo is located beside the colorful King Mountain in the Desert Region, 126 miles (203 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles.
If there is a beach, there’s a party. At least, that’s the motto in Lake Tahoe, part of the High Sierra Region, where summer means live music next to the largest alpine lake in the country. In Tahoe City, concerts at Commons Beach are free every Sunday night, with a nearby playground for the kids and restaurants offering up picnic fare. Kings Beach State Recreation Center is also home to free performances Thursday nights during the warmer months. The Lake Tahoe Music Festival brings a variety of musical acts, including jazz, Broadway and rock to many venues, with Huey Lewis and the News performing July 25 at the Old Greenwood Golf Course. Lake Tahoe is located approximately 200 miles (322 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. Nestled among the tall pines in Mammoth Lakes, music lovers can experience the sounds of swing, big band, Cajun and Dixieland at the 21st Annual Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee, July 8-12, at 10 different venues, many of which are outdoors. More than 30,000 are expected to attend this year’s event. Listen to the soulful sounds of top blues performers July 31 through August 2, while tasting the nation’s best micro-brewed beers at the Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalozza. Mammoth Lakes, which provides scenic mountain views of the High Sierra Region, is located 310 miles (499 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles.
Latin flavor sizzles with some of the hottest entertainment during Viva la Musica at SeaWorld San Diego, where you can meet face to face with the ocean’s wonders in the San Diego County Region. The concert series, April 25 through May 17, features live performances from award-winning Latin artists, including the pulsating sounds of norteno, Latin pop, rock, salsa, reggaeton, flamenco and mariachi. Located in the North Park neighborhood, the San Diego Indie Music Fest, held annually in late March, celebrates contemporary independent music and features more than 70 acts across seven music stages, along with independent film. Visitors can enjoy vintage blues, folk, Appalachian, country, bluegrass and Celtic music performed by roots artists on seven outdoor stages at the 36th Annual San Diego Adams Avenue Roots & Folk Festival on April 25-26. The San Diego Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon begins at Balboa Park, home of 15 eclectic museums; finishes at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Point Loma; and features live music on the race route with a post-race headliner concert at the after-party. It’s a 26.2-mile race and block party in one. San Diego has 70 miles of beautiful coastline along the Pacific Ocean and is located 121 miles (195 kilometers) south of Los Angeles.
In the alpine beauty of Mount Shasta, the 5th Annual Shasta Yama Taiko Festival will once again entertain and inspire audiences with a spectacle of Japanese drumming, dance and music. Last year’s event attracted more than 1,000 concertgoers. Mount Shasta is located in the Shasta Cascade Region and is 276 miles (444 kilometers) north of San Francisco. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and relax while enjoying the blues alongside the Sacramento River. The 18th Annual Blues by the River Festival, hosted by the Shasta Blues Society, is September 19 in Redding, with jam sessions taking place at various venues throughout town. Redding is located 216 miles (348 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The High Sierra Music Festival, July 2-5, features an eclectic and boldly creative span of music from acoustic singer-songwriters and down-home bluegrass to high-energy funk and skillfully improvised jazz, rock and live electronica. The festival is located in Quincy, which is 227 miles (365 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.
Founded in 1978, the Long Beach Jazz Festival, located in the Los Angeles County Region, is staged on a grassy knoll in a lagoon setting and annually attracts more than 30,000 festivalgoers. This year’s festival is scheduled for August 7-9. Long Beach is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) south of Los Angeles. A kaleidoscope of world music beats its way into the rhythm of Catalina Island on October 24, when the Catalina Island Festival of World Music combines eclectic tunes of bluegrass, zydeco, Celtic, Brazilian and reggae beats. Catalina Island, known for its tranquil atmosphere and “Island Time” mentality, is located just off the coast, approximately 22 miles (35 kilometers) south of Los Angeles. Santa Clarita hosts the 16th Annual Cowboy Festival, April 22-26, at Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio and other venues around the valley. Scheduled to perform is Grammy award-winning Riders in the Sky, whose music is featured in the Disney movie Toy Story. Santa Clarita is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) north of Los Angeles. In West Hollywood, the Sunset Strip is legendary for its history and glamour, including clubs such as Whisky a Go-Go, where The Doors were the house band in the 1960s, and the Roxy and Rainbow. Visitors can take part in the Sunset Strip Music Festival September 10-12, which celebrates the area’s influential music history. West Hollywood is located 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of Los Angeles. The Levitt Pavilion Pasadena, 11 miles (17 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, presents an annual summer series of 50 free music concerts – all under the stars.
The 29th Annual Cotati Jazz Festival is “Chasing the Blues” with free admission to jazz and blues bands in La Plaza Park in the heart of downtown Cotati, with additional bands playing in seven other venues throughout the town. Cotati is located in Sonoma County, 47 miles (76 kilometers) north of San Francisco, and holds one of only two hexagonally designed plazas in the United States. Also in the North Coast Region, the Gualala Arts Center on the Mendocino coast hosts the 7th Annual Redwood Coast Whale & Jazz Festival, April 2-18, with jazz, educational lectures and art exhibits that mark this year’s annual gray whale migration. Boonville, located in Anderson Valley, an area known as one of Northern California’s premier wine-growing regions, is home to the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival on June 19-21. The festival features a virtual global village, where people gather to enjoy a perse lineup of new and legendary artists from around the world. Gualala and Boonville are both located 115 miles (185 kilometers) north of San Francisco. The Mendocino Music Festival, July 11-25, is a blend of concerts featuring the Festival Orchestra, Big Band, chamber music ensembles, dance, blues, jazz, world and folk music. Mendocino is located 155 miles (249 kilometers) north of San Francisco.
Located in the Orange County Region, visitors to Laguna Beach can relax in this seaside destination, which is home to 7 miles of pristine beaches covered in white sand. Laguna Beach provides an array of music offerings, including Djangofest Laguna 2009, April 24-26, which celebrates the music and spirit of gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Laguna Beach Live! presents free chamber music concerts the first Sunday of every month at the Laguna College of Art & Design. The Hutchins Consort, an octet featuring the entire range of scaled violins from the tiny treble violin to the enormous bass violin, is scheduled for April 5. Coming January 18-24, 2010, the Laguna Beach Music Festival presents “Exploring the Art of Music in Film & Concert,” with headline ensemble the Claremont Trio, regarded as the premier piano trio of their generation. Laguna Beach is located 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Los Angeles.
A sophisticated small town that is surrounded by the Napa Valley, Calistoga in the San Francisco Bay Area Region offers the Downtown Jazz & Blues Festival November 7-8 with late fall wine tasting, along with a dozen of jazz and blues bands at various venues. The 5th Annual Rockabilly Roundup, also in Calistoga, is October 10. This all-day concert is hosted by the Bluenotecats and five other bands playing classic rockabilly roots music. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk features hit bands from the ’80s and ’90s, free on the beach, every Friday night from June 19 to September 4. Calistoga and Santa Cruz are both located 73 miles (117 kilometers) south of San Francisco. The City by the Bay, San Francisco, is also a cultural haven for music lovers. The Audium-Theatre of Sound pioneers the exploration of space in music with its 176 speakers that bathe listeners in sounds that move past, over and under them. “Sound sculptures” are performed in darkness in this 49-seat theater. Travelers can hear the classics and discover new favorites at the San Francisco Symphony, where Michael Tilson Thomas has programmed an extraordinary season of great conductors, works and soloists. The San Francisco Opera, an internationally acclaimed opera company, provides 13 productions in more than 80 performances annually from September through December and May through July in the historic War Memorial Opera House.
Known for its award winning wineries and beautiful hot-air ballooning adventures, Temecula, located in the Inland Empire Region will welcome Rhythm on the Vines, June 27, at the South Coast Winery Resort & Spa. This year’s event features smooth jazz artists Jeffrey Osborne, Gerald Albright and Kirk Whalum. Filmmakers and musicians from across the country and around the globe head to Temecula every year for the Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival. The event, which has grown to attract 20,000 visitors, showcases the musical vision of talented inpiduals and groups representing all genres of music, including rock, jazz and pop, hip hop, R&B, Latin, country and folk. This year’s event takes place September 9-13. Temecula is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.
The CTTC is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs - in partnership with the state's travel industry - that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. According to the CTTC, travel and tourism expenditures total $96.7 billion annually in California, $16.7 billion of which is international, support jobs for 924,100 Californians and generate $5.8 billion in state and local tax revenues. For more information about the CTTC and for a free California Visitor’s Guide, go to www.VisitCalifornia.com.