Category Archives: Site news

If you missed the news in our last email and post, we’re discontinuing the live music calendar October 9 to make room for other pursuits. We haven’t shut down So Co Dance Beat. Just the calendar, which represents the most work. 

Though they don’t do exactly what we do, or how we do it, there are other resources out there.

ON THE WEB 

You can filter a search in the online calendars on The Press Democrat, North Bay Bohemian, and other local papers with online calendars. Many of them use Spark, so it’s essentially the same calendar.

Other online resources include:

• Happening in Sonoma County
• North Bay Live Music
• The Bridge lists gigs entered by musicians and venues in Sonoma and Lake counties 

In addition, there’s an app called BandsInTown you might find helpful. On ReverbNation you can pop in your city to find local acts. 

FACEBOOK

If you’re on Facebook, Gary Shatto posts a lineup of all live music events, from solo shows, live bands, to sit down concerts. He posts it daily in the Facebook group Just Dance. It’s a private group, so you’ll have to join, if you’re not already in it. 

Other Live music Facebook Groups you might find helpful:

• Scott Colson’s Supporting Live Music/Events
• Sonoma Valley Live Music Calendar
• Bay Area Blues
• San Francisco Bay Area Zydeholics
• SF North Bay Dance Community
• Zydeco-Cajun Bay Area
• Lake & Mendo County Music Event Listings

You can get more relevant events in your feed, if you follow your favorite bands and venues on Facebook. 

EMAIL LISTS

We also suggest adding yourself to your favorite bands’ email lists.

Dear music fans, musicians, and dancers,

As of October 9, 2023, we will be shuttering the Sonoma County Dance Beat calendar. We will continue to look for ways to support the music community through our other services, such as dance lessons, event production, and musician/venue matchmaking.  

In the spring of 2014, Kevin and I founded Sonoma County Dance Beat because we needed such a resource ourselves. And we knew other dancers, who prefer live music, would appreciate it too.

Over the years we have tried various strategies for monetizing the site and enlisting volunteers, which have been met with limited success. We actually raised more money this year than in prior years, but it still doesn’t begin to pay for our time. Since the pandemic, gathering accurate information to enter into the calendar has been far more time consuming. We are ready to spend our time and money on other pursuits: Kevin’s music and my writing.

We have enjoyed many wonderful experiences through Sonoma County Dance Beat, like dancing for musicians’ music videos, doing dance demos and teaching at private and public events, running Hump Day Jump at Rossi’s 1906, and putting on April Foolery. This is why we’re not ready to scrap Dance Beat entirely. Just the most expensive, time-consuming portion.

We so appreciate all of the expressions of gratitude and the generous support we have received from so many of you. It’s a bittersweet decision for sure. We love you all and we’ll still see you on the dance floor.

Ann & Kevin Hutchinson – Founders, Sonoma County Dance Beat

5 Ways to give back to your favorite live music resource

Sonoma County Dance Beat has been listing live music events for Sonoma County since the April 1, 2014. Founders Kevin and Ann Hutchinson spend hours every week doing a variety of tasks to keep the calendar running, in addition to all of the other ways in which they support the local live music scene.

All of this is on top of their respective careers.

Since reactivating the site after the pandemic, Kevin has been doing all of the data entry himself. It may seem like that since there are fewer places hosting live music, it should be easier. However, the opposite is actually true. Getting the information from the remaining venues and new ones that continue to pop up has been harder than ever. Due to staffing issues, it’s all they can do to stay in business. Few of the venues take the time to send their monthly line-ups to us anymore. And their websites are often less than helpful. Add to that the fact that COVID hit bands hard, too. Many bands folded and those musicians have formed new ones. New ones we know nothing about. Kevin is working twice as hard for half as many events.

This is an area where we can use your help. The time required will vary by task from one to three hours per week. Volunteer opportunities with Sonoma County Dance Beat include:

1. Entering events for three – six venues per month, for which we have easy access to information.
2. Gathering information for the venues that don’t do a great job of getting the word out, either by phone or in person, when you’re there for an event.
3. Updating our band database with the genres that newly established bands play.
4. Searching through Facebook events and band newsletters for events at venues for which obtaining information is difficult.
5. Auditing the calendar for errors like duplicate entries, misspellings, missing venues, etc.

If any of this sounds like something you can do, please reach out to us online, and let us know which task you prefer. Thanks so much!