May 2025

Fiddling Cricket Concerts
May 2025

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Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
The Messiahs
(Bobby O'Neill, Ken Kraft, Craig Owens).
Local icons of hot guitar and original vocals.
Saturday, May 3rd, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr (Money collected at the door

Presented by Fiddling Cricket Concerts & Canyon Acoustic Society
AT THE UGLY MUG CAFE
4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073
Contact Fiddling Cricket at 408 499 9441 or crbrundle@gmail.com for reservations or more information.
Reservations still pay at the door, by cash or check.
Food and Drink: Beer, wine, coffee, tea and soft drinks available. Usual coffee shop food. (if you wish, bring your own wine and pay corkage)

The Messiahs are an offshoot, or partial reincarnation, of the Santa Cruz iconic rock band of the 70's, SNAIL. They are Ken Kraft (guitar and vocals), Bobby O'Neill (guitar and vocals) and Craig Owens (bass and vocals). They play acoustic and electric instruments and perform both originals and covers. Ken and Bobby were the hot guitarists of SNAIL, a foursome headed towards national prominence until Ken suffered a brain hemorrhage. Recovery took a long time and though there was some talk of SNAIL continuing without Ken, Bobby said "no, Snail is not Snail without Ken Kraft".

A few years back Ken and Bobby recruited bassist/vocalist Craig Owens (Lacy J. Dalton band) and drummer Jimmy Norris (Carolyn Sills Combo) for a couple of SNAIL reunions, but then they settled down as a trio with Craig and became The Messiahs, playing a more mellow blend of the old, the new and the surprising, both covers and originals spanning folk, country and blues…Americana! In addition to their instrumental firepower, all three are excellent lead vocalists, with great harmonies. You may have seen Ken and Craig as 2/3rds of Bonny June and Bonfire, an Ugly Mug favorite.

We are delighted to welcome The Messiahs for their Mug debut!

Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
Tish Hinojosa
Austin singer songwriter in Spanish and English
Saturday, May 17th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr (Money collected at the door)

Presented by Fiddling Cricket Concerts & Canyon Acoustic Society
AT THE UGLY MUG CAFE
4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073
Contact Fiddling Cricket at 408 499 9441 or crbrundle@gmail.com for reservations or more information.
Reservations still pay at the door, by cash or check.
Food and Drink: Beer, wine, coffee, tea and soft drinks available. Usual coffee shop food. (if you wish, bring your own wine and pay corkage)

Tish Hinojosa is a singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. Hinojosa's blend of folk, country, Latino, and pop have garnered many accolades over a long career, such as a White House concert at the invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton. She has performed with artists such as Joan Baez, Booker T. Jones, Flaco Jimenez, Pete Seeger, and Dwight Yoakam. She was born in San Antonio in 1955, the youngest of 13 children of Mexican immigrants. She lived for 8 years in Germany between 2005 and 2013. Singing in both English and Spanish, she considers her music to be representative of the US/Mexican border.

She has recorded seventeen CDs as an independent artist and for A&M, Warner Bros, and Rounder Records. The first, "Taos to Tennessee" was in 1987 and the most recent, "With a Guitar and a Pen" in 2024. Tish has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe and continues to draw a loyal audience. She has been featured on Austin City Limits, A Prairie Home Companion, and other NPR programs.
https://www.mundotish.com/

Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
An Evening with Bryan Bowers
Grandmaster of the Autoharp and story teller
Wednesday, May 21st, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr (Money collected at the door)

Presented by Fiddling Cricket Concerts & Canyon Acoustic Society
AT THE UGLY MUG CAFE
4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073
Contact Fiddling Cricket at 408 499 9441 or crbrundle@gmail.com for reservations or more information.
Reservations still pay at the door, by cash or check.
Food and Drink: Beer, wine, coffee, tea and soft drinks available. Usual coffee shop food. (if you wish, bring your own wine and pay corkage)

Bryan Bowers is 84, but has maintained an active performance schedule…. but if you have never seen him maybe you should do so now, before it is too late!

Bryan Bowers is the undisputed grandmaster of the autoharp. He has the same status in that world as Earl Scruggs in the banjo world. In fact, as a self-taught musician, he introduced a style of playing somewhat equivalent to the 3 finger role that Scruggs introduced to banjo. He became very popular with the audience of the comedy radio program The Dr. Demento Show with his 1980 recording of the Mike Cross hilarious song "The Scotsman", and is appreciated in the bluegrass world because of his haunting and exquisite instrumentals, and the fact that musicians such as Tim O'Brien and Sam Bush have recorded with him. He nicely avoids the hackneyed stuff with thematically diverse material and non-cloying meditations on life and death. In 1993, Bowers was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame whose membership includes Maybelle and Sarah Carter. Frets magazine named him autoharp player of the year 5 times in a row, until they wouldn't let him compete anymore! Instead, they made him a member of their gallery of greats. He does not think he deserves to be on the same page as the others in the gallery, saying "I am a bulldog with a bone, who takes fiddle tunes and plays them until people run out of the room screaming, 'Please don't play that again'".

Home Concert Descriptions At-A-Glance
Concert Calendar CD Label General Info Contact Us Archives

Last Updated: 04/20/2025

Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025 The Messiahs (Bobby O'Neill, Ken Kraft, Craig Owens). Local icons of hot guitar and original vocals. Saturday, May 3rd, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr (Money collected at the door Presented by Fiddling Cricket Concerts & Canyon Acoustic Society AT THE UGLY MUG CAFE 4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073 Contact Fiddling Cricket at 408 499 9441 or crbrundle@gmail.com for reservations or more information. Reservations still pay at the door, by cash or check. Food and Drink: Beer, wine, coffee, tea and soft drinks available. Usual coffee shop food. (if you wish, bring your own wine and pay corkage)
The Messiahs are an offshoot, or partial reincarnation, of the Santa Cruz iconic rock band of the 70's, SNAIL. They are Ken Kraft (guitar and vocals), Bobby O'Neill (guitar and vocals) and Craig Owens (bass and vocals). They play acoustic and electric instruments and perform both originals and covers. Ken and Bobby were the hot guitarists of SNAIL, a foursome headed towards national prominence until Ken suffered a brain hemorrhage. Recovery took a long time and though there was some talk of SNAIL continuing without Ken, Bobby said "no, Snail is not Snail without Ken Kraft". A few years back Ken and Bobby recruited bassist/vocalist Craig Owens (Lacy J. Dalton band) and drummer Jimmy Norris (Carolyn Sills Combo) for a couple of SNAIL reunions, but then they settled down as a trio with Craig and became The Messiahs, playing a more mellow blend of the old, the new and the surprising, both covers and originals spanning folk, country and blues…Americana! In addition to their instrumental firepower, all three are excellent lead vocalists, with great harmonies. You may have seen Ken and Craig as 2/3rds of Bonny June and Bonfire, an Ugly Mug favorite. We are delighted to welcome The Messiahs for their Mug debut!

Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025 Tish Hinojosa Austin singer songwriter in Spanish and English Saturday, May 17th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr (Money collected at the door) Presented by Fiddling Cricket Concerts & Canyon Acoustic Society AT THE UGLY MUG CAFE 4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073 Contact Fiddling Cricket at 408 499 9441 or crbrundle@gmail.com for reservations or more information. Reservations still pay at the door, by cash or check. Food and Drink: Beer, wine, coffee, tea and soft drinks available. Usual coffee shop food. (if you wish, bring your own wine and pay corkage)
Tish Hinojosa is a singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. Hinojosa's blend of folk, country, Latino, and pop have garnered many accolades over a long career, such as a White House concert at the invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton. She has performed with artists such as Joan Baez, Booker T. Jones, Flaco Jimenez, Pete Seeger, and Dwight Yoakam. She was born in San Antonio in 1955, the youngest of 13 children of Mexican immigrants. She lived for 8 years in Germany between 2005 and 2013. Singing in both English and Spanish, she considers her music to be representative of the US/Mexican border. She has recorded seventeen CDs as an independent artist and for A&M, Warner Bros, and Rounder Records. The first, "Taos to Tennessee" was in 1987 and the most recent, "With a Guitar and a Pen" in 2024. Tish has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe and continues to draw a loyal audience. She has been featured on Austin City Limits, A Prairie Home Companion, and other NPR programs. https://www.mundotish.com/

Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025 An Evening with Bryan Bowers Grandmaster of the Autoharp and story teller Wednesday, May 21st, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr (Money collected at the door) Presented by Fiddling Cricket Concerts & Canyon Acoustic Society AT THE UGLY MUG CAFE 4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA 95073 Contact Fiddling Cricket at 408 499 9441 or crbrundle@gmail.com for reservations or more information. Reservations still pay at the door, by cash or check. Food and Drink: Beer, wine, coffee, tea and soft drinks available. Usual coffee shop food. (if you wish, bring your own wine and pay corkage)
Bryan Bowers is 84, but has maintained an active performance schedule…. but if you have never seen him maybe you should do so now, before it is too late! Bryan Bowers is the undisputed grandmaster of the autoharp. He has the same status in that world as Earl Scruggs in the banjo world. In fact, as a self-taught musician, he introduced a style of playing somewhat equivalent to the 3 finger role that Scruggs introduced to banjo. He became very popular with the audience of the comedy radio program The Dr. Demento Show with his 1980 recording of the Mike Cross hilarious song "The Scotsman", and is appreciated in the bluegrass world because of his haunting and exquisite instrumentals, and the fact that musicians such as Tim O'Brien and Sam Bush have recorded with him. He nicely avoids the hackneyed stuff with thematically diverse material and non-cloying meditations on life and death. In 1993, Bowers was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame whose membership includes Maybelle and Sarah Carter. Frets magazine named him autoharp player of the year 5 times in a row, until they wouldn't let him compete anymore! Instead, they made him a member of their gallery of greats. He does not think he deserves to be on the same page as the others in the gallery, saying "I am a bulldog with a bone, who takes fiddle tunes and plays them until people run out of the room screaming, 'Please don't play that again'".