UB40 with The Wailers and Sonoma County Blues Festival at SOMO Village this Summer

Sonoma County’s top music and production company Second Octave and the 2016 SOMO Concerts Series are pleased to announce two amazing Summer shows at Sonoma County’s SOMO Village. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 20 at 10am.

On Wednesday, July 27, reggae legends UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey, the founding members of the legendary reggae/pop ensemble that blazed a multicultural musical path with such global hits as “Red Red Wine” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You,” will be joined by the greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, The Wailers. Doors open at 6:30pm with a 7:30pm show. Tickets are $42.50 for General Admission and $72.50 for Reserved Seating and can be purchased at https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1175809?utm_medium=bks.

On Sunday, August 7 the Sonoma County Blues Festival returns! Started at the Sonoma County Fair in 1981 by blues musician Mark Naftalin, Smith and Bowker Productions took over the event from 1992 until 2010. Bill Bowker returns to the festival this year in partnership with Sheila Groves-Tracey and Second Octave. The long history of the festival has included established acts as well as ground breaking emerging artists in the blues world. This year features Sonny Landreth, recent winner of the Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist Guitar, award winning blues vocalist Janiva Magness, and one man band Lightnin Macolm, Blues Music Awards Best Debut Artist in 2009, who will also be performing at the official after party at Twin Oaks Tavern. Doors open at 1pm with a 2pm show start. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1190709?utm_medium=bks.

UB40

UB40 is one of the most commercially successful reggae acts of all time in terms of record sales (over 70 million), chart positions and touring schedule. They forged their signature high-energy, funky performances with an 11-piece touring ensemble, complete with a three-piece horn section. Formed in 1979, UB40 helped define reggae music for a generation, transforming their working class roots into a global clarion call. The pioneering reggae troupe topped the UK singles chart on three occasions, earned multiple Grammy nominations and sold 70 million records worldwide as they took their smooth yet rootsy musical blend to all corners of the globe.

The Wailers

Together with Bob Marley, the Wailers have sold in excess of 250 million albums worldwide. In England alone, they’ve notched up over twenty chart hits, including seven Top 10 entries. Outside of their groundbreaking work with Marley, the Wailers have also played or performed with international acts like Sting, the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Alpha Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, the Wailers have completed innumerable other tours, playing to an estimated 24 million people across the globe. They have also been the first reggae band to tour new territories on many occasions, including Africa and the Far East.

Sonny Landreth

The lean Mississippi native, who grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, has enjoyed prolific career for decades, dating back to his solo debut album Blues Attack in 1981. Although that album fanned the flames of his reputation as an emerging force in roots music, Landreth kept a parallel career going as a celebrated sideman and session player. Over the years he performed and recorded with artists that include John Hiatt, British blues innovator John Mayall, and he toured as a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. He also collaborated with Eric Clapton, and has performed at all of Clapton's prestigious Crossroads Guitar Festivals since 2004. Along the way Landreth has continued to develop his vision and his musical voice, growing increasingly original and diverse, expanding from blues, zydeco, folk, country and jazz into increasingly category-blurring musical excursions, as seen on his new album, Bound By the Blues. He offers, "Developing a style and an approach that is your own musically is not something to be taken for granted, I'm at a point in life where I want to make the most of every moment I can and that changes your perspective, your priorities and how you relate to everyone else. And at the end of the day, I think that's the essence of what I wanted to express with Bound By The Blues."

Janiva Magness

B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, 7 times Blues Music Award winner, 25 time Blues Music Award nominee, and 2015 Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year Janiva Magness is one of the most beloved figures in the Americana, blues and roots music world. She’s reached a larger and more diverse audience with each succeeding album and developed a reputation as a live entertainer that’s made her a staple of the international festival circuit. Magness releases her 12th studio album, Love Wins Again this spring.

Sonoma County Blues Festival

Comes from the expertise of Bill Bowker, long time radio personality. His show, “Blues with Bowker” has been on the air since 1975 and was a multiple winner of "The Best of the North Bay Media Personality" and" Blues DJ of the Year" at the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame Awards. Bill is also a music producer and is currently working with Sheila Groves-Tracey of Bottlerock, Mystic, Uptown Theatre, Sausalito Arts Festival and Twin Oaks Tavern fame on a variety of Sonoma County events this year.

The festival has always hosted great acts including such well known artists as, Magic Slim, Frances Clay, Carey Bell, Charlie Musselwhite, Honey Boy Edwards, Nick Gravenites, Doyle Bramhall 1 and 2, Zora Young, Angela Strehli, Marcia Ball,Robben Ford,Ford Brothers Blues Band, Ronnie Earl, Shuggie Otis and Tracy Nelson.

The festival also promotes local, emerging and regional acts and has showcased Tommy Castro, Roy Rogers, Otis Taylor, Eric Lindell, Volker Strifler, Pinetop Perkins, R. L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Kenny Neal and Carolyn Wonderland.

Second Octave

The team at Second Octave are committed to promoting high-end quality events, outdoor concerts and festivals in the North Bay with shows for all ages in a safe environment that supports local creativity, collaboration and commerce. Each SOMO Concerts event is a mini-festival with local artists, vendors, food and more. The SOMO Concert Series is managed by these high-level music executives working alongside Sonoma County young professionals to create a regional destination and home base for great musical experiences.

The SOMO Village Event Center, found at 1100 Valley House Dr. Rohnert Park, CA, 94928, is solar powered and features the latest sound technology custom designed for the venue’s outdoor 1200-square-foot stage. It is located in the heart of SOMO Village, an environmentally friendly 200-acre, planned mixed-use community in Rohnert Park, CA, forty miles north of San Francisco.

LINKS:

Second Octave Entertainment: secondoctave.com

SOMO Concerts: somoconcerts.com

SOMO Village: somoliving.com

Prescient Entertainment: presciententertainment.com

Ub40: ub40.org

The Wailers: wailers.com

Sonny Landreth: sonnylandreth.com

Janiva Magness: JanivaMagness.com