Latest Events in El Chico(April Updated)

The Commons is bringing back one of Chico’s favorite music acts. Tim Bluhm of The Mother Hips is taking the stage again, with the Coffis Brothers opening the show. Doors open at 6 PM, the Coffis Brothers take the stage at 7 PM, and Tim Bluhm goes on at 8:30 PM. This all-ages show is one you won’t want to miss. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Seating is limited, so bring your lawn chairs and blankets to get comfortable. See you at The Commons! Information Source: The Commons Chico | eventbrite

Information Source: eventbrite

MicroMania Tour is a high powered, explosive, athletic Pro Wrestling show with just the right touch of comedy thrown in to make for a unforgettable BIG event not necessarily BIG people!! These micro athletes may be short in stature but are giants in the world of entertainment where they will keep you on your feet screaming from the opening bell through the Main Event! Variety of tickets available from General Admission to Ring Side and Stage Seating!! VIP seats only available online. Must be 21+ to attend!! Refund Policy: We’ve been very generous with refunds. Most venues refuse to at all. We only be honoring refunds requested up to 7 days before the show. No refunds will be honored in the last week before the show. The reason being that when you hold your ticket that long, it prevents others who do want to go from purchasing. Especially on shows close to sell out. Thanks for understanding. - Tackle Box Information Source: Tackle Box Chico | eventbrite

Chico, we’ve got big news! Long Beach Dub Allstars are coming to The Commons on Friday, May 9th! Doors open at 6 PM, with Pipe Down kicking things off at 7 PM and Long Beach Dub Allstars taking The Sweet Flower Stage at 8:30 PM. This all-ages show is set to be a great night of live music. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Seating will be limited, so bring your lawn chairs and blankets to get comfortable. Don’t miss the chance to see one of the reggae-rock scene’s most influential bands right here in our backyard. Information Source: The Commons Chico | eventbrite

5:00pm Catch Soundcheck | 5:30pm EARLY ACCESS | 6:00pm GA Doors | 7:00pm Show NEAL FRANCIS - RETURN TO ZERO The latest album from Neal Francis, Return To Zero, emerged from the kind of visionary fever dream that only the most masterful and inventive artists are capable of bringing to life. Amid a grueling tour schedule that found him playing nearly 400 shows from 2021 to 2024, the Chicago-based singer/songwriter/pianist immersed himself in creating a beautifully strange entangling of timeless rock & roll and ’70s-era dance music, merging supremely heavy guitar riffs with lush and pulsating grooves—all constructed sans digital programming, in keeping with his devotion to all things analog. Worlds away from the glitzy fantasia of archetypal disco, Return To Zero inhabits a far moodier atmosphere and ultimately makes for the most thrilling manifestation of Francis’ peerless musicality yet. Equal parts heady and hedonistic, pensive and euphoric, Francis’ third studio LP echoes both his deep-rooted psych-rock sensibilities and a lifelong affinity for classic funk. “I’ve always been intrigued by music that toes the line between funk and rock,” notes Francis. “In the past I’ve asked myself things like, ‘What would it sound like if Thin Lizzy cut a disco record?’ It’s something I’ve been fascinated with for a very long time, so I finally decided to really go for it.” The follow-up to his 2023 double live album and concert film Francis Comes Alive , Return To Zero marks Francis’ first full-length studio effort since In Plain Sight —a 2021 release acclaimed by the likes of leading rock critic Steven Hyden, who praised its “throwback big-band sound that recalls the highs of 1970s funk and swamp rock.” With his past work also including his 2019 debut album Changes (hailed as “the reincarnation of Allen Toussaint” by BBC Radio 6), Francis began playing piano at the young age of four and became an in-demand sideman while still a teenager, touring with revered blues artists and beloved instrumental band The Heard before embarking on his solo career. Over the years, he’s sold out headline shows all across the globe, supported the likes of Wilco, Black Pumas, and My Morning Jacket, appeared at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, and Lollapalooza, and even performed at historic venues like Carnegie Hall. Like all of his studio work so far (including his 2022 EP Sentimental Garbage ), Return To Zero finds Francis co-producing alongside his frequent collaborator Sergio Rios and recording live with members of his touring band (drummer Collin O’Brien, bassist Mike Starr, guitarist Kellen Boersma), elegantly showcasing his prodigious talent and dazzling originality as a keyboard player. Mainly created at Rios’ L.A. studio, the album’s grandiose yet warmly inviting sound also took shape from his close collaboration with composer/conductor Dom Frigo (who aided Francis by transcribing the LP’s symphonic string sections), Say She She (a Brooklyn-based psychedelic-soul trio who adorn a number of songs with their beguiling backing vocals), and a stacked lineup of co-writers that includes Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman and Wild Belle co-founder Elliot Bergman. In the making of his most ambitious work to date, Francis faced countless moments of creative frustration—a factor that eventually gave the album its title. “I was cutting a lot of the vocals at home, using a hybrid process where I’d bounce the tracks from my computer to a tape machine and then record the vocals to tape,” he explains. “I’d be in my vocal booth in the closet with all our winter coats, and every time I needed to start over I’d press this button that says ‘RTZ,’ which stands for ‘Return To Zero.’ I was doing take after take and pressing that button over and over—it was a huge pain, but it also linked up with what I’ve learned in my meditation practice: no matter how frustrated you get, just remain calm and take inventory, and then begin again.” Although executing Return To Zero ’s highly elaborate arrangements often involved a very time-intensive trial-and-error approach, the album-opening “Need You Again” surfaced from an immediate burst of inspiration after Francis attended a DJ set by Derrick Carter (a Chicago house legend who created a 12-inch remix of “BNYLV” from In Plain Sight ). “My girlfriend and I went out to a queer dance party called Queen! and stayed till about four in the morning, and Derrick played a track that was a big rock riff over a funk beat,” he recalls. “The next day I went into the studio on very little sleep and started working on the demo for ‘Need You Again,’ and after I finished I couldn’t stop listening to it.” Featuring a guest spot from Grammy-winning guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce), the result is a glorious entry point into the album’s groove-heavy soundscape, unfolding in sinewy riffs and larger-than-life rhythms as Francis narrates a tale of ruinous infatuation. “It’s a song about a love affair, and the experience of projecting magical qualities onto another person and feeling almost addicted or beholden to them,” he reveals. Another charmed moment in the album’s creation, “Broken Glass” was sparked from a session featuring Francis on bass and Shuman on drums, with the two soon conjuring the hypnotically potent riff that propels the track forward. With its viscerally charged depiction of lust and self-denial, the darkly majestic epic reaches a stratospheric crescendo at the bridge, when pounding drums meet with Say She She’s near-operatic harmonies. “Once we had that riff I started filling in some freeform poetry from my notebook, which had to do with the idea of taking direction in an intimate liaison,” says Francis. “It all came together so naturally because of how Michael was playing drums, bringing that Queens of the Stone Age heavy-rock thing I love so much.” One of the most dance-ready tracks on Return To Zero , “Back It Up” glides along on glossy synth lines and a playfully swaggering riff, imbuing a carefree spirit into Francis’ deliberately over-the-top confession of romantic desperation. “That song went through a few different phases before we got to the final iteration,” he says. “It took me a while to accept that it’s okay to have fun with the lyrics, instead of making everything so serious all the time.” Meanwhile, on “What’s Left Of Me,” Francis presents a gorgeously sprawling power-pop anthem built on his resplendent piano work. Co-written with Nashville-based songwriter Chris Gelbuda, the track arose from a piano-and-vocal demo captured at Chicago’s Fine Arts Building, soon evolving into a piercingly candid reflection on life on the road. “Chris and I are good friends and we got to talking about the challenges of being in a committed relationship while you’re on tour,” says Francis. “A lot of these songs were influenced by Electric Light Orchestra and the way Jeff Lynne synthesizes classical music and pop songwriting, and ‘What’s Left Of Me’ was definitely one where I was going for an ELO vibe.” Partly inspired by the funk and dance records he typically spins during his sets as an all-vinyl DJ, Return To Zero also encompasses everything from the spaced-out drama of “Dance Through Life” to the string-laced reverie of “Can’t Get Enough” (a collaboration with Durand Jones & The Indications’ Blake Rhein that is a sublimely mellowed-out homage to acid-jazz pioneer Roy Ayers). In creating such a complex body of work, Francis found his sense of perseverance repeatedly tested. “Most of these songs were pretty hard-won,” he says. “There was a feeling of pulling out all the stops to achieve what I was going for, and in the middle of that I was dealing with some depression and exhaustion. I ended up learning a lot about myself, and now I feel like I’m in a completely different place in terms of my priorities with mental health.” Despite its more daunting aspects, the writing and recording of Return To Zero also brought plenty of moments of pleasure, including composing with strings for the very first time and tracking songs with his longtime bandmates. “All those guys are like my brothers, and there was a feeling of us working together with an almost athletic desire to get better every time we did a new take,” Francis says. “Those were really long days at the studio, but they were also so much fun.” Looking back on the making of Return To Zero , Francis points to certain crucial lessons absorbed while creating his most extravagantly realized work so far. “One of the main things I’ve learned is that every album is going to be its own journey; I can’t really take the arsenal of things I’ve learned in the past and expect them to save me from any kind of frustration with whatever I make next,” he says. “Creating art is always going to be a challenge, which maybe goes back to why AI-created music is never going to be all that compelling—it’s just too fucking easy. The best I can do is use what’s at my disposal and try not to freak out or despair when it gets difficult, and hopefully end up making something that gives people joy.” Information Source: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | eventbrite

5:30pm EARLY ACCESS | 6:00pm GA Doors | 7:00pm Show The Wooten brothers’ first public performance occurred in Hawaii in 1966 and established their identity as prodigies. Regi, the eldest son of Elijah "Pete" and Dorothy, was born in 1956. The first three sons arrived just a year apart—Roy in ’57, Rudy in ’58. Joseph was born in ’61, and three years later, in '64, Victor came. Victor learned to talk and play music at the same time. Fast forward six years. REGI, still the leader of the family band, is 13 years old and Victor, the youngest, is 5, when the Wooten Brothers began opening a series of shows for R & B legends, “War”, and two years later for Curtis Mayfield, and many other national acts. Fast forward to the present, 2024. The Wootens have racked up 10 Grammy wins, and 26, yes, 26 Grammy nominations. And the youngest of the family, Victor, the brother who learned from all his older brothers, has been named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the ten greatest bass players of all time. Acclaim has come to each Wooten brother. REGI is a virtuoso guitarist, also renowned for his musical teaching skills. At the tender age of ten, Regi began teaching bass to his two year old brother Victor, while also teaching keyboard skills to his five year old brother, Joseph. Now, Regi teaches many students who travel from all over the world in various genres of music to learn from him. Regi is affectionately called "The Teacha", and he, similar to the legendary teacher Nadia Boulanger, is a teacher to a global family. ROY also known as “Future Man” has invented an instrument called the Drumitar that is re-discovering the drumset, while helping to re-invent bluegrass and deconstruct jazz. Another instrument Roy invented, the RoyEl, is a piano shaped instrument and an homage to early pre-thirteenth century African-based music and mathematics, that derives rhythms and pitches from the golden ratio. With the insights gained from these new Instruments, Roy also serves as the creator and composer of the Evolution d’ Amour ballet and the Black Mozart Symphony, which introduces the legendary 18th century Black classical artist, Joseph Boulogne de Saint Georges, to the 20th and 21st century. The late RUDY WOOTEN, who passed away in 2010, was inspired by the virtuosity and unique articulation of the legendary trumpet master Clifford Brown. He also mastered the playing styles of saxophone legends, Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderly, John Coltrane, and the blind triple saxophone playing master, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, so that his own double saxophone horn parts and solo’s became legendary! JOSEPH came to Nashville as a singer but quickly became known as "The Hands of Soul" for his keyboard playing skills and songwriting genius. Joseph introduced his playing and songwriting mastery to a wider audience by re-arranging the Steve Miller classic "Fly like An Eagle" to include new spoken word lyrics. Since 1993, Joseph has travelled the world with Rock-in-Roll Hall of Famer Steve Miller in his Steve Miller Band, which has now sold over 60 million records—with a bulk of the sales coming after Joseph became a member of the band. And the extraordinary music making doesn’t just happen when the Wooten Brothers play all together or venture out singly- Victor and Roy, working together with Banjo master Bela Fleck, pianist and harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy, and saxophonist Jeff Coffin —well they earned a whole lot of those Wooten Grammy’s and Grammy nominations. The Brothers' music bends and defines genres; amplifies centuries, and spans continents. The Wooten Brothers began in R+B. They evolved as teens into Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Classical and Country. Then, they emerged in 1985 on Arista records with an album called, "The Wootens", that combined Electronic, Funk, Soul, Disco, and Boogie—and offered only a sliver of the Wooten whole. The Wooten whole is all of that… and classical, and jazz, and country, and Rock-and-Roll. The Wooten whole is Prince before Prince. Maybe Clive Davis and the Arista team, who were focused on launching the extraordinary Whitney Houston, were not ready for that in 1985. So many albums after that Arista album, as the Wootens go their separate ways, they play in giant arenas and in intimate clubs, crisscrossing the globe. They always come back to play together, sometimes close to home, sometimes a thousand miles away from their Middle-Tennessee homes. Some of the best of times are in a camp Victor has established in a place called “Wooten Woods”, where people from around the world come to be inspired by Nature to learn to play with profound sound and silence to grow in new understanding and tones that are sweet and wise. Some of the other best times are in the jazz club named for the one brother who has passed on, Rudy. Rudy’s Jazz Room is a live jazz club in Nashville with a growing jazz scene.The Wootens also play jazz and everything else in it, entertaining and inspiring a growing Nashville music scene and city. The Wooten Brothers have even been known to play heavy metal in their unique Wootinish—way. What is “The Wootinish-way”? It’s honing your craft, taking the diamond and cutting it just right, and polishing it bright. It’s not just the in-born genius. It’s not just the wisdom and insight that comes from inspired and gentle living close to nature, close to art, close to each other. It is a disciplined commitment to the craft of making sound in community and sharing sound with community—born of knowing sound and the precious space of silence, — a true, good, and saving thing. And so they create new instruments, they revive compositions of dead composers, they leave the families they love, to bring the world they love the sounds they love. And they keep creating, performing, and recording new music. As a family band, they are second to none. But they are comparable to other notable family bands: The Beach Boys, the Allman Brothers, The Neville Brothers, and the Jackson Five. Sonically inventive, soulful, musically driven, blood kin, that fill the dance floor, tickle the brain, and rock your world-- they are comparable to the best of the best family bands. The Wooten Brothers are the family band you need to know that you don’t know, or the family band you know, and want the world to know. Connecting musically deep past to musical future, the Wooten Brothers explode genres and build bridges across genres. Bar by bar, in live performances and on recordings, they provide an exhilarating ‘connects-you-to-the-center-of-the-universe’ sound. The final Wooten paradox? They make universal music, but they are not universally known. Time to change that. They are recording new music!! They have discovered deep vault tracks that include their late brother Rudy! Information Source: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | eventbrite

Join us for a night of catching up, drinks, food, dancing and reminiscing! Tickets include: Food, Non-alcoholic drinks (soda, iced tea, juice), DJ (submit song requests on ticket order form), Digital Photo booth, Dedicated bartender Available for purchase: Beer, wine, hard alcohol, Additional Food (order downstairs) We have the upstairs to ourselves until 9pm when it opens to the general public but we are welcome to stay after 9. Early Bird tickets on sale now. Price increases to $40 per ticket on May 1. *Free tickets also available for Family Day picnic at Veterans Memorial Park (Wildwood) on Sunday, June 29 from 10am to 2pm. We have a reserved picnic area with a BBQ available to use. Email us at chicohigh2000@gmail.com if you have any questions! Also, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please pass along the info to all your Class of 2000 friends and email us your favorite pictures from high school so we can use them for a fun reunion surprise! Information Source: Carrie & Tiffany | eventbrite

Outpatient Records and Argus Bar Present: a night of hypnotic music and cultural fusion with Etran de L’Aïr of Agadez with Maya Ongaku (Japan) at Argus Bar Chico on 4/14/25 Etran de L’Aïr (or “stars of the Aïr region”) welcomes you to Agadez, the capital city of Saharan rock. Playing for over 25 years, Etran has emerged as stars of the local wedding circuit. Beloved for their dynamic repertoire of hypnotic solos and sun schlazed melodies, Etran stakes out a place for Agadez guitar music. Playing a sound that invokes the desert metropolis, “Agadez” celebrates the sounds of all the dynamism of a hometown wedding. Etran is a family band composed of brothers and cousins, all born and raised in the small neighborhood of Abalane, just in the shadow of the grand mosque. Sons of nomadic families that settled here in the 1970s fleeing the droughts, they all grew up in Agadez. The band was formed in 1995 when current band leader Moussa “Abindi” Ibra was only 9 years old. “We only had one acoustic guitar,” he explains, “and for percussion, we hit a calabash with a sandal.” Over the decades, the band painstakingly pieced together gear to form their band and built an audience by playing everywhere, for everyone. “It was difficult. We would walk to gigs by foot, lugging all our equipment, carrying a small PA and guitars on our backs, 25 kilometers into the bush, to play for free…there’s nowhere in Agadez we haven’t played.” From the days of the Trans-Saharan caravan in the 14th century to a modern-day stopover for Europe-bound migrants, Agadez is a city that stands at the crossroads, where people and ideas come together. Understandably, it’s here where one of the most ambitious Tuareg guitar has taken hold. Agadez’s style is the fastest, with frenetic electric guitar solos, staccato crash of full drum kits, and flamboyant dancing guitarists. Agadez is the place where artists come to cut their teeth in a lucrative and competitive winner-take-all scene. Guitar bands are an integral part of the social fabric, playing in weddings, baptisms, and political rallies, as well as the occasional concert. Whereas other Tuareg guitarists look to Western rock, Etran de L’Aïr play in a pan-African style that is emblematic of their hometown, citing a myriad of cultural influences, from Northern Malian blues, Hausa bar bands, to Congolese Soukous. It’s perhaps this quality that makes them so beloved in Agadez. “We play for the Tuareg, the Toubou, the Zarma, the Hausa,” Abindi explains. “When you invite us, we come and play.” Their music is rooted in celebration, and invokes the exuberance of an Agadez wedding, with an overwhelming abundance of guitars, as simultaneous solos playfully pass over one another with a restrained precision, forceful yet never overindulgent. Recorded at home in Agadez with a mobile studio, their eponymous album stays close to the band’s roots. Over a handful of takes, in a rapid-fire recording session, “Agadez” retains all the energy of a party. Their message too is always close to home. Tchingolene (“Tradition”) recalls the nomad camps, with a modern take on traditional takamba rhythms transposed to guitars. The dreamy ballad Toubouk Ine Chihoussay (“The Flower of Beauty”) dives into call and response lyrics, and solos that dance effortlessly over the frets. On other tracks like Imouwizla (“Migrants”), Etran addresses immigration with the driving march parallels the nomads’ plight with travelers crossing the desert for Europe. Yet even at its most serious, Etran’s music is engaged and dynamic, reminding us that music can transmit a message while lighting up a celebration. This is music for dancing, after all. Information Source: Outpatient Records | eventbrite

KZFR 90.1 FM Chico proudly presents: BEEtKEEPERS & Wolfthump with special guest Joe Craven—live at the Chico Women’s Club on Friday, April 18th! Get ready for an unforgettable night of jazz, funk, and high-energy grooves! Headlining the evening, BEEtKEEPERS will bring their signature sound, blending deep rhythms and infectious energy to keep you moving all night long. The groove continues with Wolfthump , an all-drum powerhouse guaranteed to ignite the dance floor from the first beat. And to make the night even more special, the legendary Joe Craven will join BOTH bands, adding his unique musical magic to the mix. Information Source: KZFR 90.1FM | eventbrite

Canaan Smith is taking the next bold step in his journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance with his third studio album, ‘Chickahominy.’ ‘Chickahominy’ marks a significant departure from his earlier work - “I consider this my transitional album,” says Smith. “It’s about exploring myself creatively and cutting ties with the inherent striving for commercial success. Instead of focusing on ‘what will work,’ I’m now more focused on expressing myself, and this is only the first step in that direction." Throughout 11 tracks, which were all written or co-written by Smith and produced by Anthony Olympia, the album is a raw and fearless expression of who Smith is now, both musically and personally. Peeling back the layers of perfectionism and confronting the parts of himself he’s long been afraid to face, this new album will show a deeper side and let the audience get to know ‘the real’ Canaan Smith. “It’s my most song-forward album yet,” he says. "It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, just like my mind. One minute I’m carefree and stoned, and the next I’m worried to death. Sonically, it’s the most explorative album I’ve ever made. We let the band breathe, no click track, just a more natural, organic flow. As an artist, what I want most is to let myself breathe.” Named after a river in his hometown of Williamsburg, VA, ‘Chickahominy’ finds Smith stretching beyond his past limitations, sonically, lyrically and thematically. The powerful storyteller draws listeners into a world where the boundaries of good and evil collide, as he discovers the multitudes of the human experience. Tickets are $35 in Advance or $40 at the door. Must be 21+ to attend. Local Support TBA. Information Source: Tackle Box Chico | eventbrite

5:30PM EARLY ACCESS | 6:00pm GA Doors | 7:00pm Show With a signature sound signified by lockstep rhythms & a deep grasp of soul and funk, ORGŌNE has built a reputation over the past 2 decades as being one of the tightest, fieriest live bands in the country & a top notch crew in the studio. On their new album “Lost Knights”, ORGŌNE offer up a collection of heavy-duty psychedelic funk-rock anthems created to be played loud and raucously. Information Source: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | eventbrite