Dick Stusso is a character—as in, a fictional person. Nic Russo, on the other hand, has been crafting melodies and songs and successfully entertaining close friends and families for years. They took notice of an obvious talent, collecting live performances and stems and eventually was coerced into completing the albums Nashville Dreams and Sings the Blues. In the two years since, Russo’s Stusso project has garnered lots of attention and in January 2018, the Oakland, CA based musician was signed to Sup Pop Records’ Hardly Art imprint. Check out the first single from his upcoming record, In Heaven, below. Stusso plays Thursday, March 08 in Santa Cruz, CA at The Catalyst Atrium and his tour worms its way to Austin for SXSW in two weeks. – Joshua Huver, Photograph by Cara Robbins

Most recently, the Oakland-based group Club Night was early evening support at the famed Great American Music Hall in San Francisco as a part of the 26th Annual Noise Pop Music Festival. Consisting of vocalist Josh Bertram, Rebecca Lukens, Ian Tatum, Josiah Majetich and Devin Trainer, this five piece experiment is the logical conclusion of the Oakland DIY scene to which its members belong. Their latest release, Hell Ya, Club Night balances frenetic riffs and soaring musical moments between abstract punches of rhythm, pop-oriented synths, and guitars. The resulting backdrop is a collaboration that teeters between technical and noisy against which Bertram conjures up an emotive and dynamic vocal performance. Catch them next Friday, March 9 at The Hole, a performing and visual arts gallery/venue combo in Oakland before they hit the road to Austin, TX for SXSW. – Joshua Huver

Originally hailing from the small mountain town of Lee Vining, east of Yosemite, Bocat Rob Armenti can now be found among the Santa Cruz Mountains. Armenti’s songs are as upfliting as they are haunting, drawing on visceral truths and common threads to weave captivating tales. From quiet to loud, reserved to explosive, each song carries its own weight and settles deep into the listener. The band, known as the Nightly Howl, recently released a video for a brand new song. Titled "On Sunday Morning," the video (streaming below) was recorded at Coonrad Studios in Santa Cruz. A mountain man full of musical prowess, Armenti is gearing up to release his second full length album later this year. In the meantime, the usual solo performer has scheduled a full band gig on Friday, February 16 at The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz. – Joshua Huver

On Saturday, July 22, rising San Francisco funk band More Fatter will be performing live at The Bottom Of The Hill. Made up of two brothers, five friends, a pair of former choir boys and some brass horns, More Fatter released their debut LP titled ‘where are you?’ at the beginning of the summer. The show starts at 8:30 PM, but make sure to arrive early, More Fatter is the local opener for the legendary Chicago funk powerhouse Sidewalk Chalk. So plan on staying late, too. Tickets are $10 and available here. – Joshua Huver

Urban Theory, local to Santa Cruz, CA, plans on packing The Crepe Place this coming Friday, July 21. The four-piece rock and roll recruited two of their favorite local bands, the sinfully satisfying sounds of The Redlight District and the up-beat funk of Ginger & Juice, to help celebrate the 23rd birthday of lead singer and guitarist Ryan Cummings. Get there early as this triple header of local talent will sell out. – Joshua Huver

Todd Stoops made a name for himself as the keyboard wizard of several electro-funk acts in the Northeastern United States. Recently he has relocated to the Bay Area and has found a home with Reed Mathis and the underground funk swing of his band, Electric Beethoven. On Friday, July 27, Stoops will be hosting an all-night funk free-for-all at The Boom Boom Room featuring friends from all of his current projects. Guests include Mathis, Jay Lane from RAQ, and several special guests that have yet to be announced. Tickets are $5 and available here.

– Joshua Huver

Steep Ravine is a folky rock ‘n roll band steeped in bluegrass traditions from the Bay Area of San Francisco. Guitarist and lead vocalist Simon Linsteadt and violinist/vocalist Jan Purat met in high school and linked up with bassist Alex Bice while studying in Santa Cruz. They released their third full length LP, Turning Of The Fall, earlier this spring, complete with a full West Coast tour that just wrapped. On Saturday, July 22, catch a special and intimate one-off performance at the infamous Santa Cruz hotspot, The Crepe Place.

– Joshua Huver