|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
This weekend is packed with festive concerts and performances, including blues and rock icon Elvin Bishop’s holiday show; Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir’s annual concert; choral performances in Portola Valley and Palo Alto; a family holiday pops concert; hip-hop and classical “Nutcrackers;” and a ballet inspired by a wintry fairytale. Plus back-to-back holiday shows at The Guild with The Terrapin Family Band, with special guest Lebo on Dec. 19 and a sold-out Dec. 20 show with Molly Tuttle.
Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio
Blues and rock icon Elvin Bishop brings his group Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio (including guitarist and pianist Bob Welsh and percussionist and vocalist Willy Jordan) to Redwood City for what’s being billed as an intimate holiday show. Bishop, whose songs include “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” and “Travelin’ Shoes,” has been performing for more than 50 years and has been inducted into both the rock and roll and blues halls of fame. Among his many recordings, he’s released two with Big Fun Trio: “Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here” and the group’s self-titled debut.
Dec. 20, 8 p.m., Club Fox, 2209 Broadway St., Redwood City; $50.68; 21+; eventbrite.com.
The Terrapin Family Band
The Terrapin Family Band was originally founded at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, where it became the venue’s house band. It’s gone through various iterations over the years but the core foundation has been Grahame Lesh, Ross James, Alex Koford and Jason Crosby. Rooted in and inspired by the spirit of the Grateful Dead, it’s only fitting that the band returns to the land of the Dead’s origins, the Peninsula, for the second annual “Grateful Holiday” concert. Terrapin Family Band plays two shows at the Guild, the first featuring special guest guitarist and singer Lebo (Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz) and the second – currently waitlist only – featuring Palo Alto-raised bluegrass superstar Molly Tuttle (who has her own sold-out show at the Guild the following night).
Dec. 19 and 20, 8 p.m., The Guild Theatre, 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; $62.57-$144.84; Dec. 20 show is sold out but a waitlist is available; guildtheatre.com.
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir
Director Terrance Kelly leads the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (OIGC) in its 16th annual South Bay holiday gospel concert. The award-winning, multicultural choir performs gospel arrangements of traditional holiday favorites and will be joined again onstage by The Southbay Workshop Choir. OIGC’s mission is to inspire joy and unity among all people through Black gospel and spiritual music traditions, according to the group’s website.
Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m., Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View; $39-$55; tickets.mvcpa.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=655.
‘The Snow Queen’
Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale “The Snow Queen” (what Disney’s “Frozen” was very loosely based on) is brought to life on stage by Mountain View’s Bayer Ballet again this holiday season, in what has become an annual tradition since it premiered in 2014. Choreographed by Inna Bayer, the wintry ballet tells the story of a sister’s quest to save her brother from the Snow Queen’s spell and her icy castle. The cast is made up of Bayer Ballet’s company dancers as well as guest artists.
Dec. 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 22 at 1 and 6 p.m., Visual and Performing Arts Center, De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino; $58.07; bayerballet.com/onstage.
‘Winter’s Gifts: Wish’
Just in time for the winter solstice, The Choral Project and the San José Chamber Orchestra celebrate their 20th annual winter concert collaboration with “Winter’s Gifts: Wish.” The candlelit concert honors different faith traditions practiced in the diverse Bay Area community and the “deep, universal human longing for peace and love,” according to the event’s website. The Choral Project Artistic Director Daniel Hughes premieres two new pieces, plus selections by Gustav Holst, Z. Randall Stroope, Robert Seeley and Paul Halley.
Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m., Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road, Portola Valley (second performance Dec. 22 in Santa Clara); $15-$40; choralproject.org/wintersgifts.
Classical and Hip-Hop Nutcrackers
Each holiday season, Peninsula Lively Arts stages two unique takes on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” — and you can catch both shows this weekend. The company’s “Classical Nutcracker,” choreographed by Artistic Director Gregory Amato, offers a traditional production of the ballet. The company’s professional cast is joined by young conservatory students for this production. And in what’s become a popular new tradition, the company brings some bass to Tchaikovsky’s score with its “Hip-Hop Nutcracker,” offering a contemporary reimagining of the ballet. The production features hip-hop choreography by Stuck Sanders and Alee Martinez and stars 35 hip-hop dance artists.
Classical Nutcracker Dec. 21-22, 2 p.m., at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware St., San Mateo; $35-$70; Hip-Hop Nutcracker Dec. 21-22, 2 p.m., at the Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway, Redwood City; $35-$70. peninsulalivelyarts.org.
‘Deck the Halls’
Palo Alto-based community chorus Peninsula Cantare, led by Jeffrey Benson, is joined by a professional brass octet for “Deck the Halls” – a holiday concert. The program features a performance of John Rutter’s “Gloria,” plus favorite holiday tunes and contemporary arrangements for voice, brass and percussion. Expect a carol sing-along, and the chance for one lucky audience member to try their hand at conducting.
Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto; $28.52; eventbrite.com.
The Pops Family Christmas Special
The California Pops Orchestra celebrates the season with a festive family concert highlighting wintry songs from films and TV shows including “Frozen,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “White Christmas,” and “Holiday Inn,” plus a carol sing-along. And because the holidays wouldn’t be complete without a special tradition or two, the Pops always invites the kids in the audience up on stage for the orchestra’s performance of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
Dec. 22, 3 p.m., at Capuchino Performing Arts Center, 1501 Magnolia Ave., San Bruno. $21-$61. calpops.org.
