Jazz pianist David Benoit will be bringing a holiday favorite back to the Bay Area next month with “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” stopping in at the Empress Theatre in Vallejo, Dec. 10 and 11 – and this time, he’s bringing along some very special friends. Top-Ten Billboard jazz vocalist Sara Gazarek will be joining Benoit […]
Mad Hatter Festival to bring surreality back to Vallejo
The seventh annual Mad Hatter Holiday Festival will return to Vallejo Saturday, Dec. 3 with all the familiar costumes, music and characters from Alice in Wonderland and other fantasy lands, along with added exhibits and events for 2016. This year’s festival is suitable for families and children of all ages, according to festival producer Frank […]
Review: Vallejo Symphony opener dazzles, entices with a taste of things to come
Vallejo Symphony guest soloist Sara Davis Buechner wowed her audience last Sunday in a stellar performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the second of three pieces comprising the symphony’s season-opening performance and the debut of its new music director, Marc Taddei, at the Hogan Auditorium in Vallejo. Taddei led the orchestra in a […]
’70s, ’80s tribute bands to steal shows at the Empress in coming days
For the next few nights, the Empress Theatre will be flooded with tribute bands— all of whom have names that imply theft. Nonetheless, all of them pay tribute to your favorite classic rock acts so well that you won’t even mind. It all begins tonight at 8 when Benicia’s very own Cars tribute band, The […]
Mayor to host Mobile Town Hall for discussion on improving Route 20
Final day to RSVP is today SolTrans Chairwoman and Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson will be hosting a town hall discussion on the bus system’s Route 20, which stretches from Benicia to Vallejo. As a bonus, attendees will be able to ride the route as they take part in the discussion. The “Mobile Town Hall” will […]
NightMARE Island to disappear for the year after Oct. 31
Get ready to get scared for a good cause, as NightMARE Island, the annual Halloween-themed fundraiser at the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve, continues through Monday, Oct. 31. This year’s haunted house, created by Kay’s House of Horrors, is located at Building A-168, a 5,000-sq. ft. former bomb storage unit. Zombies will be on hand […]
Renowned pianist to be featured in first Vallejo Symphony Orchestra concert with new conductor
Oct. 30 will be the start of a new era for Vallejo Symphony Orchestra. It is Marc Taddei’s first show as permanent conductor. Taddei was one of three maestros to audition for the part, and he had his first performance with VSO in January. However, the first orchestra concert of VSO’s 2016-17 season— “Morning”— will […]
‘Sing-Off’ finalists Street Corner Symphony will play Empress Sunday
A cappella phenom “Street Corner Symphony” performers Jeremy and Jonathan Lister, Kurt Zimmerman, Kaleb Jones and Kyle Hogan had recorded before they appeared as runners-up on NBC’s all-vocal competition “The Sing-Off” in 2010, but that televised event rocketed the group’s success, Jeremy Lister told the Herald in an interview last Friday. The group will perform […]
Female soprano ensemble to kick off Vallejo Symphony’s new season
In addition to its regular symphony concerts, Vallejo Symphony Orchestra likes to highlight other talented composers and groups through its Vallejo Symphony Presents series. For its first production of the 2016-17 season, Vallejo Symphony will be featuring the vocal and instrumental talents of Bella Sorella. Bella Sorella are an award-winning soprano ensemble who have […]
League of Women Voters to host 3 separate candidate forums
Election Day is only 88 days away. As Benicia prepares to vote for a mayor, councilmembers, school board trustees, Solano County supervisors, state senators, a congressional representative, a senator and even a new president, expect to see a lot more yard signs and social media posts in the coming months. It would be an understatement […]