In its nearly 50-year history, Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley has featured some of the most prominent artists in rock and blues. Last year, the internationally renowned music venue opened its doors after more than a year closed due to Covid-19; and while some shows over the last few months were delayed or canceled due to the pandemic’s latest surge, the venue is back on track this week with three consecutive nights of rock, blues, funk and more from local and touring acts.
On Thursday, Feb. 24, San Francisco’s modern classic rock band Spirit Hustler celebrates the release of their self-titled debut album. Featuring singer/songwriter Jimmy Leslie (Guitarfish, Shana Morrison), slide ace Jules Leyhe (Allmond Brothers), bassist Steven La Bella (Pamela Parker), drummer Adam Briere (New School of Jazz) and percussionist Jeremy Hoenig (Melvin Seals & JGB); the group that spawned from the Guitarfish Family Band now performs imaginative songs inspired by actual experiences.
Earlier this week, Spirit Hustler released the first single from the forthcoming debut album, “The Spirit of 69,” about how technology’s rapid advancement since the Moon Landing on July 20, 1969, has transformed human existence on Earth. The first MP3 copy of “The Spirit of ’69” was actually taken up into space by Dr. Chris Boshuizen, who was on the Blue Origin mission famously accompanied by William Shatner.
Blues guitarist Jules Leyhe and the Family Jules Band opens the show and adds some funky flavor to Spirit Hustler’s album-release show on Thursday, Feb. 24. Get tickets to the show here.
The next night, a co-headlining show brings together veteran guitarist and songwriter Eric Krasno and eclectic blues-rock outfit Son Little to Sweetwater’s stage on Friday, Feb. 25.
A two-time Grammy winner, Krasno is best known for co-founding groups Soulive and Lettuce, and he’s worked with everyone from Norah Jones to 50 Cent. He is currently touring in support of his recently-released solo album, Always.
Son Little is the music-making moniker for Los Angeles songwriter Aaron Earl Livingston, who’s latest album, aloha, blends classic soul and old-school R&B. Son Little began writing and assembling the album’s demos in Petaluma. However, after his hard drive fried and he lost nearly a dozen detailed demos, he was forced to write aloha in only eight days at a tiny house and its adjacent barn before the album was recorded at Paris’s iconic Studios Ferber with producer Renaud Letang.
Eric Krasno and Son Little welcome opening act The Assembly with James the Eighth, when they co-headline Sweetwater on Friday, Feb. 25. Get tickets to that show here.
Rounding out the weekend, Sweetwater Music Hall presents San Francisco psychedelic soul group Moonalice on Saturday, Feb 26. The band will release their forthcoming studio EP, Full Moonalice Vol. 1, on April 20. The six song record is the group’s first full body of work since transforming into a ten-piece in 2019 through the addition of Lester Chambers and Dylan Chambers of the New Chambers Brothers, and Erika, Rachel, and Chloe Tietjen of the T Sisters. Get tickets to the show here.
Entry into all Sweetwater Music Hall events will require proof of full vaccination for Covid-19. Every attendee will be asked to show their vaccination card (photos acceptable) along with their ID before being admitted. Get more details on the venue’s Covid-19 health and safety policy here.
