Music promoter Steve Vagnini is building his roster of venues where he’ll be curating music lineups, not least of all the newly refurbished Golden Bough Theatre in Carmel. he recently co-produced two concerts there with Beach Boy Al Jardine’s band, and Wave Street Studios in Monterey, where earlier last year he presented the Hounds of Heaven, a beloved local band of veteran musicians. Both of these venues are perfect for presenting musical acts in a setting where the performers are the focus of attention.

Small to medium in size, they are built with audio acoustics in mind, and in the case of the Golden Bough, with built-in clear sight lines for no bad seats in the house. Wave Street Studios is aesthetically built to offer a pleasing environment, not only for live music performances, but for weddings and events with the added benefit of quality video and audio recording. At this point, Vagnini is in the early stages of refining his choices of what music to present and how often and will rely on the public to come out and support the events in order to better understand the current marketplace.

With his long history of involvement in the local music scene, he’s already developed a master plan to offer a professional stage to bands he thinks people would want to hear under the auspices of his SLV Presents. All in all, it’s a way to provide a ticketed concert experience outside of the winery/restaurant/bar scene. He’s already presented two years’ worth of seasonal concerts at Carmel’s outdoor Forest Theatre, mostly presenting a three- or four-band lineup of local bands. So far he’s brought in a couple of acts who are known on a wider scale. As he builds his audience he hopes to bring in headlining touring acts with an eye to provide local bands to fill the opening slot.

So folks, we have the opportunity to support this noble effort next at the Wave Street Studios on Jan. 17 with a double bill tagged as “Nothin’ But The Blues,” featuring Brad “Guitar” Wilson and the Al James Duo. He has a series of concerts already planned for the venue in 2025 to include “Songs of Love” Feb. 14 featuring Dan Frechette & Laurel Thomsen, plus Talmon Owens & Kristen Gradwohl aka Magenta Spreen; and “Hearts on Her Sleeve,” March 14 featuring River Voices and Ripatti & Rose. Stay tuned for those, with tickets and information available at www.sites.google.com/view/wavestreetstudios/home.

Brad “Guitar” Wilson is a California born-and-raised musician with a history of professional performances in the San Francisco scene of the 1970s and the Los Angeles Sunset Strip scene of the 1980s. For the most part he’s always hung his hat on the blues rock genre, having grown up in the days when the ballrooms in San Francisco were presenting not only the classic blues artists but also the next generation of blues and blues rock musicians out of Chicago and Great Britain. Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Paul Butterfield, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones. It was a time and place that was saturated with all the greatest artists of their generations.

Born in the Northern California small town of Marysville, his family’s move to the San Francisco Peninsula town of Redwood City brought him to where the action was. Before attending San Carlos High School, he met another music loving kid, Rod Wilson. They both bought their respective instruments, guitar and drums, in the summer between their seventh and eighth grade years, forming a friendship that is still an important connection here in Monterey. Both frequented the Bill Graham Presents concert venues the Fillmore and Winterland throughout high school, developing their musical DNA from the bands they followed.

“As soon as I got out of school I moved to San Francisco for awhile,” Brad Wilson said. “I lived at Portreo Hill, Union Street and other places and lived there until the end of the ’70s. I had a really hot band at that time, but decided to move to Los Angeles. I arrived in L.A. in ’79, and got a recording contract from RCA within six months of being there, at 22 or 23 years old.”

He got into a band that in 1980s’ L.A. meant “hair band.” Those were the days when the Sunset Strip was on fire, where young people came to hang out, hear music and have a party.

“We got signed to Epic, and it was all about lots of hair, loud guitar and a loud singer. We played at the Roxy and Whiskey. Our pants were never tight enough. It was incredibly wild. I went on from there to become a session guitarist for a famous studio, Cherokee Studios, opened by the Robb brothers in 1972. Probably the biggest studio in L.A. at the time. I got to play all sorts of guitars and amps and I learned to make records from the Robb brothers. I also met people in the film and television business and did music for ‘Days of Our Lives,’ and two movies with John Carpenter. The royalties were great.”

One of his songs, “Teaser” from the John Carpenter movie “Vampires,” was on the movie’s soundtrack which reached the No. 1 spot on the charts. He toured the U.S. for three years. While living in L.A. he found that landing gigs throughout California meant packing the van up with the band’s instruments and heading out of town Thursday through Monday, and then back to home base. He discovered the town of Visalia while gigging there and realized that the quaint town that served as the gateway to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks was quite possibly the central point from which he could navigate all of California without having to stretch out from L.A.

“It’s a cool little town and affordable,” he said. “Pretty much three hours to everywhere. I thought, ‘This is perfect, why don’t I just live here.’ Since all my musicians were in L.A., I called my friend Rod, who offered me a place to stay in Monterey where I could meet musicians and play around town. I just added Monterey to the many places I played and found that the natural beauty was so inspiring that I came often and made friends.”

Among them was photographer Elfie Kluck who he hired to shoot promotional photos of him at all of the inspirational spots he loved around the Monterey area like Garrapata, Carmel and Asilomar beaches. His past five records he’s concentrated on constructing his image as the California blues rock guitarist with a base of operations out of Carmel. He’s focused on the blues and he has brought his style of the blues to Europe on several small scale tours, bolstering his presence on blues music charts with each successive album he releases. He had three No. 1 singles from his 2023 album “Lovers Before Sunrise” and he’s had chart success in the UK and Australia with Top 20 placements in those markets. His most recent album, “Buckle Up!” is well on its way to taking even more accolades, having achieved U.S. blues rock chart position for his single “Lucille” at No. 15, and blues/rock album at No. 23, among others. He has plans going forward with this current band he’s bringing to Wave Street Studios that has top notch local players Jamie DeMaria on drums, Joe Vallaire on bass, and Ray Almquist on keys. DeMaria and Vallaire go way back as founding members of Red Beans & Rice, and have a chemistry that Wilson thinks creates a groove that will distinguish the band’s distinctive sound. They’ve been rehearsing regularly and will be ready to rock the house, where their set will be recorded for both audio and video. Plans include taking this band out on the road and they’re already working up tunes for the next Brad “Guitar” Wilson album.

“I think the Golden Bough Theatre is going to be wonderful, I think the Forest Theatre is going to be fantastic and I think Steve is on the right path to shine a light on it and I am thrilled to join the crusade,” he said. “I also love the coastline here, one of the most beautiful places in the world. I want to be recognized as from Central California.”

I don’t think anyone would want to argue the wisdom in that.

Opening the evening at 7 p.m. will be Al James, a talented singer, guitarist, and composer from Seaside. He brings a unique blend of soulful roots and eclectic vibes, influenced by legends like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Wonder. His original music and fresh takes on classic tunes are always full of energy and innovation. He is joined by Jesse De Carlo on bass. Doors open at 6 p.m. at 774 Wave Street in Monterey. Show is 7-10 p.m. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 door. More information and tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.com

Thursday, 8 p.m., Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey, don’t miss Dweezil Zappa, son of the legendary Frank Zappa. Tickets are $57.08-$128.15, available in advance at www.goldenstatetheatre.com.

Jan. 18, 7-8:30 p.m., Palenke Arts, 1713 Broadway Ave., Seaside Warango, a Night of AfroPeruvian Music, tickets are $25, available through eventbrite.com. For more info, visit www.palenkearts.org or call (831) 333-6612.