SONOMA COUNTY CLUBS & VENUES
Comments by Rolf Olmsted

Ace in the Hole Pub---Hwy 116 at Graton Road, Sebastopol  707-829-1223.  A pub with local folk and such acts.  The home of hard cider around here.

A'Roma Roasters---95 Fifth Street, Santa Rosa   707-576-7765.  A genuine Coffeehouse.  Fine espresso, fun people, and they have coffeehouse music four or five nights a week.  I dig the little art shows and the punkster intellectuals.  That could have been me thirty years ago.  They’re the future of the blues.

Bear Republic---435 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg   707-433-2337.  A nice bar in Healdsburg.  They used to have a lot more shows than they do these days.

Black Cat Bar & Cafe---10056 Main Street, Penngrove 707-793-9480.  One fun crazy place.  I dig the bras nailed to the ceiling.

Blue Heron---Steelhead Blvd., Duncan Mills  707-865-9135.  A beautiful place to end an afternoon at the ocean.  Dinner shows too.  Their music shows are fun.

Coffee Catz---6761 Sebastopol Avenue, Suite 300, Sebastopol  707-829-6600.  A small place with good acoustic acts and such.  Good coffee.

Flamingo Hotel---Fourth Street  & Farmer's Lane, Santa Rosa  707-545-8530.  BIG wood dance floor and that 70s feel.  Salmon pink florescent lights.

Fife's Resort---16467 River Road, Guerneville 707-869-0656.  The premier gay resort on the river has good shows.

Forestville Club---6250 Front Street, Forestville   707-887-2594.  Probably the best music room with a dance floor in Sonoma County.  The management doesn’t really push having shows.  If this place was active or if it was located closer to Hwy 101 it would be packed.

Healdsburg Bar & Grill---245 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg  707-433-3333.  A fine bar and restaurant with a big wood dance floor.  They tried to have shows here but didn’t get the support the needed from the locals.  Good occasional shows.

Jasper O'Farrell's---6957 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol  707-829-2062.  A small place with a big heart and bands.  A tiny dance floor right in front of the little stage.  A cornerstone of the local music scene.

Last Day Saloon (Santa Rosa)---120 5th Street, Santa Rosa  707-545-2343.  A great big hall that has all kinds of music events.  Home of the Sonoma County Blues Society’s weekly Wednesday Night Jam (7:00 - 11:00 pm).

La Strada---3660 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa  707-585-1111.  This would be the best club in the Santa Rosa area if the management would do strong booking.  Presently it’s mostly booking Mexican music.

Luther Burbank Center---50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa 707-546-3600.  Pricey big touring acts.

Main Street Station---16280 Main Street, Guerneville  707-865-0501.  A fun bar in Guerneville which books lots of jazz and blues from local pros.

Manny's At The Airport---2250 Airport Blvd., Santa Rosa 707-573-6900.  A restaurant and bar in the Sonoma County Airport building.  Very clean.

Murphy's Irish Pub---464 First Street East, Sonoma  707-935-0660.  A fine pub with a varied music schedule.

Mystic Theater---21 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma  707-765-6665.  The best music theatre venue in Sonoma County, it has that 1940s feel.  Nice dance floor right in front of the elevated stage.  Those seated can mostly see over the dancers.  Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall are in there somewhere.

Quincy's Pub and Cafe---6590 Commerce Blvd, Rohnert Park  707-585-1079.  The college bar.

Raven Theater---415 Center Street, Healdsburg  707-433-5448.  A good theatre that’s used primarily for the Raven’s great movie schedule.  Features special shows.  Going through big changes and possible sale.

River Theater---16135 Main Street, Guerneville 707-869-5706.  A historic venue for music in Sonoma County, in recent years it’s been oriented to gays.  Now they are returning to more general music shows on Friday nights.  Always fine sound and good dance floor.

Rose Pub & Restaurant---2074 Armory Drive, Santa Rosa  707-546-7073.  British Isles pub that features a lot of Celtic music, lately the new owners have been branching out into other music including some blues.

Russian River Brewery---725 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa  707-545-2337.  A brewpub with pizza and bands four days a week. Lots of concrete and hard finish make this a loud place.  Twenty-somethings in full fishing mode ("Many fish bite when you got good bait").

Schellville Grill---22900 Broadway, Sonoma  707-996-5151.  A tiny place that has local musician shows occasionally.

Seven Ultralounge & Restaurant---528 Seventh St, Santa Rosa. 707-528-4700.  Dance music every night at 9:30.

Spancky's---8201 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati  707-664-0169.  The bar with the bikes parked out front.  Leather, beer, and hormones.

Stim's Parkside Grill & BBQ---557 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa  707-539-6100.  A family barbecue restaurant with a big high ceilinged back room set up for music.  They rent it out for concerts from time to time.  

Sweet Lou's---8210 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati  707-664-1000.  Jazz and experimental music in a good restaurant with slow service.

Sweet Spot---619 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa  707-528-7566.  A new place just getting established. A restaurant with music several nights a week.  Jazz, funk, groove, and blues.  Nice location right downtown in Santa Rosa.

The Tradewinds---8210 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati  707-795-7878.  The ‘Winds!  Music’s Home in Sonoma County for decades!  Going through changes.  It's been less of a musician’s bar in the last year.  Whether they'll book top talent or just bar bands is up in the air.

Twin Oaks Tavern---5745 Old Redwood Highway, Penngrove  707-795-5118.  A real old time roadhouse tavern.  Mostly rock/country bands on the weekends, occasionally other kinds of music.  A good jam every other Monday.

Wild Jane's---16640 4th Street (at Mill Street), Guerneville  707-869-3600.  Two bars and a restaurant.  In Jane's words:  "dedicated to fun."  Closed in deep winter.

Willowbrook Ale House---3600 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma 707-775-4232.  The best poolhall bar in Sonoma County with a crowd of friendly locals.  They book music sometimes but it isn’t easy to find out about it.  Bluegrass Thursday evenings, Goose's Blues jam Sunday nights.

Zebulon's Lounge---21 Fourth Street, Petaluma  707-769-7948.  Jazz, blues, and intelligent rock at less than ear-splitting volume in a living room setting.  They have a real piano.  This place is hip.  Pork pie hat, dreadlocks, or trailing filmy dress are optional.

NAPA COUNTY CLUBS

Ana's Cantina---1205 Main Street, St. Helena  707-963-4921.  An old time St. Helena storefront which books local bands of all types.

Calistoga Inn---1250 Lincoln Avenue, Calistoga  707-942-4101.  A fine restaurant and inn, brewery, smallish bar.  A tourist audience on band nights.

DG's---530 Main Street, Napa  707-253-8474.  Rapidly becoming top blues and jazz club.

Downtown Joe's---902 Main Street, Napa  707-258-2337.  A brew pub with music.

Pacific Blues Cafe---6525 Washington Street, Yountville  707-944-4455.  A restaurant which books blues acts once in a while.

Silverado Brewing Co.---3020-A North St. Helena Highway, St. Helena  707-967-9876.  A brew pub with local bands.

SOLANO COUNTY CLUBS

Chris' Club---656 Benecia Road, Vallejo  707-552-2916.  This club has reduced its blues bookings to Thursdays.

MARIN COUNTY CLUBS & VENUES

Cafe Amsterdam---23 Broadway, Fairfax  415-256-8020.  An intimate little place.

19 Broadway---17 Broadway Blvd., Fairfax  415-459-1091.   A fun place with mostly loud rock acts, occasional blues.

Peri's Silver Dollar---29 Broadway, Fairfax  415-721-4086.  A bar with a great front covered patio and a nice backyard.  Mostly rock, but they book solid blues acts.

Pete's 881 Club---721 Lincoln Avenue, San Rafael  415-453-5888.  A card club with music.  They book pretty good jazz and blues acts.

Rancho Nicasio--Town Square, Nicasio  415-662-2219.  The blues version of the old country restaurant roadhouse taken a bit upscale.  Varied acts, always strong musically.

Station House Cafe---Downtown Point Reyes Station  415-663-1515.  A small place with intimate shows.

Sweetwater---153 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley  415-388-2820.  One of California's classic rock, roots and blues clubs.  A good-looking place with a lot of history.

Ted's Restaurant---218 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Anselmo  415-453-8600.  This restaurant has been sold and is supposedly going to reopen as a "family restaurant."  Music at Ted's had been declining.  We'll see if there's any music when Ted's reopens in Spring 2006.

MENDOCINO COUNTY CLUBS & VENUES

Arena Theater---214 Main Street, Point Arena  707-882-3456.  A 1920s movie house that's been restored.  Good movies and occasional music shows.

Caspar Inn---14957 Caspar Road, Caspar  707-964-5565.  One of the most historic roadhouses left on the North Coast.  Books great touring acts of several kinds.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CLUBS

Club Tac---1336 Pamona Street, Crockett  510-787-9942.  Classic working people's bar with good music bookings.  A fun place to dance.

Baltic Square Pub (formerly The Baltic)---135 Park Place, Point Richmond  510-235-2532.  A good restaurant with music on the weekend.  They've already booked several solid blues acts.