Published in the February 13 – 26 2019 issue of Morgan Hill Life

Photo courtesy Bubbles & Brew
Mitchell James performs during the grand opening of the backyard at Bubbles where live music will be performed through September.

Now that GVA Café is no longer offering live music on their menu, there are other places to find live music in downtown Morgan Hill.

Bubbles and Brew on the corner of Fifth Street and Monterey Road has stepped up to offer food, wine, beer and live acoustic music.

Beginning in March and running through September Bubbles will feature live music from 6  to 8 p.m. every Saturday. That’s 29 consecutive weeks of live acoustic acts performing on the new backyard patio or inside depending upon the weather. Some of the acts will be visiting numerous times and the majority of the acts are from Morgan Hill or Gilroy.

Bubbles started off with music slowly and it turned out to be a wonderful addition to their already popular wine, beer and light plate fare. Many of the acts on the Bubbles and Brew Music Series include solo and duo singer-songwriters and one of the acts is purely instrumental with a wide mix of musical genres.

You may recognize some of the names appearing in the series. They include Jeff Nunes, The Lavender Fields Band, Jeff Smith, Mitchell James, Carlos Padilla, John & Becki Duo, Larry Boushey and The Cook ’N Fenny Combo. If all goes well and it certainly should, they may even expand the music by adding Fridays or Sundays. If we want live local music to succeed please come out and support the restaurants and wineries that support the local music scene.

It all kicks off in time for March Passport Month which is a month of wine tastings, special discounts and live music at many of the Santa Clara County Wine Grower Association’s South County Wineries. More on that in the next issue. Mark your calendar for every Saturday beginning March 2 all the way through Saturday Sept. 21 and enjoy live music, good eats, local wine and cold brew every Saturday at Bubbles and Brew Bistro.

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer you will be seeing more places supporting live music. You can also find live music on various weekends at Sinaloa Café. They seem to have kept their music calendar somewhat under wraps but they do present acoustic music and full bands often followed by DJ disco nights.

The Grapevine at 17520 Depot St. sometimes has live music and my good friends Blue House will be appearing there at 7 p.m. Feb. 23. Amy and Marlise have been making beautiful music together in San Jose and throughout the Bay Area for more than 30 years.

A very special musical memorial benefit will be taking place at Charley’s LG in Los Gatos Feb. 17. Bay area musician (and long-time personal friend) keyboardist Jack Ortolani checked out way too soon, so his life-long friend and musical partner Tom Duell who came out to the South Bay from Rochester, New York with Jack in the 1970s has put together a mega musical tribute.

The list of musicians playing and paying tribute to this gentle giant is long and hand-picked from so many that have played with Jack over the years including members of San Jose’s legendary Garage Band, Tsunami Band, Blue House, Danny Hull, The Houserockers, Mike Vanderhule of Y&T and the T Clemente Band just to name a few; many special guests will be popping in and out.

Even if you didn’t know Jack this will be one major musical event to check out. It begins at 1:30 and goes to 8 p.m. with a suggested donation at the door of $15 and well worth it. All the proceeds will go to Jack’s family to pay off the huge medical bills and other expenses incurred.

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