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Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Sonia Shell Bluegrass and Beyond Band
Alison Steele (old time mountain banjo) opens

Saturday, February 7th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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)

Sonia Shell is veteran of the Bay Area bluegrass scene having played 5 string bluegrass banjo with SidesaddleThe Goat Hill Girls, Slippery Clyde, The All Girl Boys,, Santa Cruz's own Harmony Grits and most recently Bluegrass Holiday from Marin County.

This concert will feature selections from her solo record, We're Going Home, showcasing traditional bluegrass from a female point of view, country duets, gospel (a staple in traditional bluegrass) up tempo standards, and fun musical tidbits with blues and jazz influences from the banjos' perspective.

The band consists of notable locals: Jim Lewin, guitar, leader of "Edge of the West", Sarah Elben, upright bass, of "Bean Creak", Jeremy Lampel, mandolin, founder of the Santa Cruz group "Strung Over" in the 90's and a member of "Naked Bootleggers", and Johnny Campbell, a Nashville fiddler who lives in the South Bay and tours with his own band.

Alison Steele will play a short opening set on her open-back mountain banjo, a good contrast to Sonia's bluegrass 5 string.
https://soniashell.com/


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Rita Hosking and Sean Feder
Singer-Songwriter with country, roots, and mountain sensibilities
Alma Russ opens

Saturday, February 28th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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 authenticity and integrity than you can shake a stick at" - Maverick Magazine (UK)


" From the time I first heard Rita sing, her voice grabbed me and did not let go ….from a deep place of raw and powerful emotion" -Joe Craven, musician


Rita Hosking, a descendant of Cornish tin miners who immigrated to California, was raised as a mountain girl in Shasta County in a family where singing was very important. Her unique voice and sense of place and story have been captivating audiences in the US and the UK in coffee houses, folk clubs, performing arts centers and festivals big and small for the past 20 years, as well as resulting in many albums of her music.


Rita performs in a duo, delivering her soul-stirring songs with authenticity, accompanied by her husband, Sean Feder, on sparkling banjo, soulful dobro, and occasional harmony. "Her songs are observational, political, and philosophical in an unaffected, organic way" (Songlines Magazine).

Alma Russ opens: Alma is a singer/songwriter out of Western North Carolina, playing “patchwork music”: country, folk, & Appalachian styles pieced together. She plays guitar, banjo, & fiddle


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Ordinary Elephant

Thursday, March 5th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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)

Folk duo Ordinary Elephant has spent the better part of the last decade on a never-ending tour that's earned married couple Crystal and Pete Damore widespread critical acclaim and made fans of luminaries like Tom Paxton and Mary Gauthier. In 2017, the pair took home the International Folk Music Award for Artist of the Year on the strength of their breakout album, Before I Go, and two years later, they returned with the similarly lauded Honest.

"We always tell people we named ourselves Ordinary Elephant because there's no such thing as an ordinary elephant. Every single one is just this amazing, magnificent creature. And all of the everyday things we take for granted in life have a whole lot more to them, too."

http://www.ordinaryelephant.net


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Jaeger and Reid

Saturday, March 14th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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)

Judi Jaeger grew up in the Montreal area of Canada listening to Leonard Cohen, Pete Seger, and Peter, Paul and Mary. Bob Reid, a 4th generation Californian, was surrounded by music as a child with his mother being a coffee house performer and his father a music promoter. Pete Seger performed some of Bob's songs and he was invited by the Seger family to perform at memorial concerts. Judi and Bob met in 2015 and have been performing together in the US, Canada, and France ever since, including hosting a Pete Seger sing along in Santa Cruz at Kuumbwa for several years. Their live performance is heartfelt quintessential folk! http://www.jaegerreidmusic.com


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

The Messiahs

Saturday, March 28th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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)

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 started performing as a trio, as 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. They played for us last year, and you may have seen Ken and Craig as 2/3rds of Bonny June and Bonfire, an Ugly Mug favorite, and you may have been at the wildly successful SNAIL reunion at Felton Music Hall very recently. We are delighted to welcome back The Messiahs to the Mug!


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

David Luning
Singer songwriter

Friday, April 10th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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
www.davidluning.com/


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Mike Beck
Western singer-songwriter

Friday, April 24th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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

www.mikebeck.com


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Don Burnham
Western Swing

Saturday, May 2nd, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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
https://www.donburnham.com/index.htm


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Rags Rosenberg
Songwriter, Poet

Saturday, May 9th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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
https://ragsrosenberg.com/


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Bonny June and Bonfire
Bonny's Birthday Bash

Saturday, June 27th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Tanasi
Roots and Mountain Music

Thursday, July 9th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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


Fiddling Cricket & Canyon Acoustic Society Concert Series 2026

Jimmy Dillon and Lorin Rowan
Eclectic. Folk to Blues

Saturday, July 11th, 7.00pm (doors open at 6.30pm); $30 adv / $35 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
https://jimmydillon.com/
https://lorinrowan.com/




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At-A-Glance
Concert Calendar
CD Label
General Info
Contact Us
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Last Updated: 02/03/2026