SANTA CRUZ

Eugene Rodriguez to discuss life of music, education

With National Hispanic Heritage Month kicking off Sunday, Bookshop Santa Cruz will be getting a head start on the commemoration a day early by hosting renowned musician and educator Eugene Rodriguez as he discusses his new memoir “Bird of Four Hundred Voices” Saturday.

A third-generation Mexican American who studied liberal arts at UC Santa Cruz, Rodriguez is the founder of Los Cenzontles, a music group and nonprofit music academy that gives students an opportunity to develop their art skills while learning about Mexican American cultural art forms. They have collaborated with artists like Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Pete Sears, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Gregorio Hernandez Rios, Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano and Los Lobos, the latter of whom they worked with on their Grammy-nominated children’s album “Papa’s Dream.” The group has also received numerous awards, including a Coming Up Taller award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in 2002.

“Bird of Four Hundred Voices” details how Rodriguez’s upbringing led to the formation of Los Cenzontles. He will be discussing the book at Bookshop Santa Cruz in conversation with Consuelo Alba, co-founder and executive director of the Watsonville Film Festival, inaugural member of Rise Together Coalition and member of the Board of the Arts Council Santa Cruz County.

The event is 3 p.m. Saturday at Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave. To register, go to BookshopSantaCruz.com.

Get a visit from the Santa Cruz Shimmy Mob

For many years, The Crepe Place has been a venue to see bands and enjoy sweet and savory crepes. However, it is not just bands that play The Crepe Place, as Santa Cruz Shimmy Mob, World Dance Showcase and Santa Cruz Raks will be bringing in a whole range of performers for diners on the back patio Saturday.

The Santa Cruz Shimmy Mob is a coalition of dancers who perform to raise awareness of domestic abuse. They have been seen dancing along Pacific Avenue, Capitola Beach and other places.

The lineup includes the Shimmy Mob; belly dance soloists Surreyya Hada, Jill Baker, Kristy Aguirre and Monica Alvarez; a flamenco dance by BarbieAnn Imhoff; Te Hau Nui hula dancers and more. Donations and tips will be collected for the Walnut Avenue Family and Women’s Center. The performances are free, and reservations of four or more are encouraged.

The event is 4-6 p.m. Saturday at The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave.

Margo Cilker to fill hearts with delight at Moe’s Alley

Country music is most often associated with the South, but it can be found in all corners of the U.S. and beyond. That includes the West Coast, which historically has had a pretty strong country and Americana scene stretching from Washington to Southern California.

And a major player in all of that is Goldendale, Washington, musician Margo Cilker. With just two albums under her belt, she has already garnered tons of acclaim and appearances on notable music festivals. She will be performing at Moe’s Alley Sunday.

Although she now resides in the Evergreen State, Cilker has also lived in East Oregon and grew up in the Santa Clara Valley. Her Northern California roots figure prominently in her music, where you can expect to hear references to Petaluma, Humboldt County, Lodi and more. Her wordplay and detailed songwriting on both her albums, “Pohorylle” and “Valley of Heart’s Delight,” have earned her rave reviews from publications like Mojo, Stereogum, Rolling Stone and BrooklynVegan, and she played the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco last year. Opening will be Santa Cruz band Poi Rogers.

The concert is 8 p.m. Sunday at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way. Doors open at 7. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the show. This is a 21-and-older concert. For more information, go to MoesAlley.com.

Getting a Legg up: Adrian Legg to play Kuumbwa Jazz

Joe Satriani referred to him as “simply the best acoustic guitar player I’ve ever heard.” He was talking about Adrian Legg, and Satriani’s opinion is one guitarists adhere to. To get a sense of why Legg is so acclaimed, he can be seen at Kuumbwa Jazz Monday.

Born in London, Legg is well-known for his fingerstyle guitar playing, mixing alternating bass with harmonics and also blending acoustic tones with the amplification of electric guitars. He has played with the likes of Satriani, Steve Vai and Richard Thompson and was praised by Guitar Player magazine. He also is an at-large commentator for NPR’s “All Things Considered” and has also been known to tell stories during his concerts. Audiences can expect an evening of insights and skilled guitar playing.

The concert is 7 p.m. Monday at Kuumbwa Jazz, 320 Cedar St. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $34.97 for advance general admission, $31.50 in advance for members, $36.75 at the door and $18.50 for students. For more information, go to KuumbwaJazz.org.

This week’s calendar was compiled by Nick Sestanovich.