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Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
Kray Van Kirk
6 and 12 string guitar, singer-songwriter, from Alaska
Thursday, April 3rd, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr
Presented by Fiddling Cricket Concerts & Canyon Acoustic Society, Cosponsored by the Celtic Society of The Monterey Bay
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)A fine finger-style guitarist with a precise baritone, Kray Van Kirk has a Ph.D. from the University of Alaska, but he set science aside to write songs, tell stories and summon heroes. Within those songs and stories are echoes he hopes audiences will hear and realize that THEY are the summoned heroes. http://Krayvankirk.com
"The evening's act was Kray Van Kirk, whose 12-string guitar and soaring vocals were spellbinding. The Alaskan singer-songwriter, in his Edinburgh debut, was not the reason I arrived early, but was certainly why I stayed late." Daily Fringe Review, Edinburgh, Scotland
"An enviable body of songs. An intelligent and gifted writer." Bob Leslie, Transatlantic Conversations CelticMusicRadio.net
Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
Mike Beck
Music and Horses: A Western Americana singer-songwriter and fine guitarist
Friday, April 25th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr
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)Mike Beck is a solo acoustic solo artist who regularly performs in the US and Europe and is a regularly featured performer at The National Cowboy Poetry and Music Gathering. Mike has seven albums under his belt with original songs that have been recognized as some of the finest compositions on Western Americana out there. The Western Horseman magazine picked "The 13 Best Cowboy Songs," and included two compositions by Mike, putting him alongside other writers such as Ian Tyson, Tom Russell, Lucinda Williams, and Gene Autry. His strong command of the guitar, reminiscent of Steven Stills, has also garnered him many requests for guitar workshops at festivals.
Mike Beck's mastery of the guitar works wonderfully to support his original songs, storytelling, and wide array of the American songbook. From traditional cowboy songs, to Dylan and Haggard, and Woody Guthrie, Mike has a deep appreciation of master songwriters. Ian Tyson took him under his wing, mentoring him on songwriting and performing. They remained close friends until Ian's passing. http://Mikebeck.com
According to Ramblin' Jack Elliot, "Mike Beck plays the guitar like a Byrd. His strings do things that mine could never do. They obey the slightest finger-touch commands like a fine Reining Horse."
Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
Poi Rogers
CD Release cosponsored by Fiddling Cricket
Saturday, April 26th, 7:00pm; General Admission $27, Gold Circle $39
AT KUUMBWA
Kuumbwa Jazz Center 320-2 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Get more info, buy tickets, see additional photo hereJoin Poi Rogers in celebrating the release of their debut album and witness the harmoniously humorous handsomeness of Mood Indigo! Santa Cruz natives Poi Rogers (Gerard Egan & Carolyn Sills of the 2024 Ameripolitan Award Winners, The Carolyn Sills Combo) blend vintage Americana, western swing and Hawaiian steel guitar in their catchy originals and creative covers. Mood Indigo took Los Angeles by storm when they formed in the 1980s, playing the citys most sophisticated nightspots, entertaining at Hollywood stars parties and appearing in the movies. The groups enthusiastic following basked in the cosmic chemistry of three distinct characters: master of bass and time David Jackson, whimsical virtuoso John Reynolds, and bandleader and crooner Casey MacGill. www.poirogers.com/
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'".
Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
Bonny June and Bonfire
It's Bonny's Birthday! Help her celebrate!
Saturday, June 7th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr (Money collected at the door, cash please)
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)Coined by fans as "Americana meets Vaudeville", owing to their flair for dramatic storytelling, this trio harmonizes wonderfully. A Bonfire show is playful, comedic, deep and dynamic. Songstress/songwriter, Bonny June's beautiful vocals are expertly accompanied by guitarist Ken Kraft (Snail; White Album Ensemble) and bassist Craig Owens (Lacy J Dalton), who also provide perfect harmony and some lead vocals.
This will be the third year Bonny has had her Birthday show at Ugly Mug. Please come and help her celebrate it! There may be cake! Possibly Champagne (fake)!
Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
Robbie Fulks
Alt Country, singer-songwriter, ace flat picker
Friday, June 13th, 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)Robbie Fulks is a singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. His most recent release, 2017's Upland Stories, earned year's-best recognition from NPR and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy® nominations. He has a dozen or more albums. He learned guitar (he is an ace flatpicker) from his dad and banjo from Earl Scruggs and John Hartford records.
His early solo work (following some bluegrass band involvement), -- Country Love Songs (1996) and South Mouth (1997) -- helped define the "alternative country" movement of the 1990s. For the last several years his music leans mainly to acoustic instrumentation, returning him in part to his bluegrass days, and extending the boundaries of that tradition with old-time rambles and sparely orchestrated reflections on love, the slings of time, and the troubles of common people.
Robbie has appeared on many, many radio and TV shows, including Austin City Limits; NBC's Today, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Artists who have covered his songs include Sam Bush, Kelly Hogan, Andrew Bird, Mollie O'Brien, Rosie Flores, and John Cowan. http://www.robbiefulks.com
Peter Appelbome of NYT described his music as "one part artful country, one part artful send up of country, one part everything else"
Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2025
Late for The Train
Bluegrass, folk, Americana
Friday, July 18th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $25 adv / $30 dr
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)More Information to Come
Home Concert Descriptions At-A-Glance
Concert CalendarCD Label General Info Contact Us Archives Last Updated: 04/20/2025