{"id":3571,"date":"2026-07-02T13:41:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3571"},"modified":"2026-07-02T13:41:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:41:51","slug":"siesta-valley-bowl-set-to-spice-up-bay-area-music-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3571","title":{"rendered":"Siesta Valley Bowl set to spice up Bay Area music scene"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While its name evokes tranquil scenes of pastoral quietude, the Siesta Valley Bowl is getting set to make a big noise on the Bay Area music scene.<\/p>\n

Read more Man charged in Fourth of July fireworks blast that killed 8-year-old California girl<\/a><\/p>\n

Created in the early 1990s as the home of California Shakespeare Theater stage company and originally known as the Bruns Amphitheater, the sylvan outdoor venue nestled in the hills of Orinda had a brief run presenting concerts in the summer of 2021. The new vision for the 10-acre facility builds on that track record while reaching beyond music to include dance, visual arts, theater and environmental restoration in the mix.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Exploring majestic new Bay Area concert venue on opening night<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe really want to let the venue get out of the way of nature, to integrate with it thoughtfully,\u201d said Campbell Foster, who launched Siesta Valley with Michael Carp and Phil Pierce. Describing the amphitheater as \u201cthe best kept secret in Northern California,\u201d they figure the location is ideally poised to attract new audiences from San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Contra Costa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reaction we get from everybody is \u2018Why doesn\u2019t anyone know about this place?\u2019 Foster said. \u201cIt\u2019s right off the highway. You take a little walk up a hill and it feels like you\u2019re in the middle of a forest grove.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inaugural season opened last month and builds serious funk momentum July 2 with a double bill featuring the recently formed super trio The Breaks, which brings together Galactic drummer Stanton Moore,\u00a0Greyboy Allstars\u00a0organist Robert Walter, and\u00a0New Mastersounds guitarist Eddie Roberts.<\/p>\n

For the group\u2019s first (and only) Bay Area performance it\u2019s paired with\u00a0the Headhunters, the seminal funk fusion outfit launched by Herbie Hancock in 1973. An independent group for some five decades, the Headhunters still feature the influential and widely sampled tandem of\u00a0drummer\u00a0Mike Clark and percussionist Bill Summers, who along with late bassist Paul Jackson Jr. brought East Bay Afro-grease into the band.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re joined by veteran New Orleans bassist Chris Severin, New York organ expert Jerry Z, and Oakland-reared New York saxophonist Craig Handy (a jazz master who\u2019s featured on the 2025 Headhunters album \u201cLive From Garcia\u2019s Chicago\u201d).<\/p>\n

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Rather than handling music programming in-house, Siesta Valley contracted with David Lefkowitz, senior vice president the Blue Note Entertainment Group, which runs the international Blue Note Jazz Club chain but confusingly is not connected to storied Blue Note Records.<\/p>\n

Hired relatively late in the cycle, he didn\u2019t start booking the venue until mid-March. New acts continue to be announced, but the season impressively eclectic lineup now features some two-dozen dates.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext year will be double,\u201d Lefkowitz said. \u201cLong term, this venue could have concerts by an incredibly diverse range of artists. They seem open to everything. I\u2019m really happy with the way things developed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose urges residents to attend drone show, official events amid strict fireworks ban<\/a><\/p>\n

The nonprofit Siesta Valley Foundation that procured the facility\u2019s lease from EBMUD is responsible for the conservation program. Michael Marchetti, an ecology professor at Saint Mary\u2019s College in Moraga, joined the board in February, attracted partly due to his experience as a long-time volunteer at Lafayette\u2019s Town Hall Theatre.<\/p>\n

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Hearing about the new organization, \u201cI shot them an email saying I have a background in ecology and conservation,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been moving forward with a lot of restoration on site, adding native plants.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Foundation, which raises money by charging fair-market rent to the parallel music presenting company created by the venue\u2019s three partners, also plans to present dance and plays, \u201cthough we\u2019re not a producing theater,\u201d Foster said. \u201cThis is not Cal Shakes 2.0. We\u2019re looking at bringing in an outside group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Foundation is also presenting master classes by musicians and artists in the 75-seat Foundation Room. And there\u2019s an artist-in-residence program, which is now filled by Orinda designer and musician Kyle Mueller, who\u2019s developing d\u00e9cor for the theater. Both the amphitheater and Foundation Room are available for rent, with discounts for nonprofit organizations, Foster said.<\/p>\n

But the Siesta Valley focus is on building awareness that there\u2019s a new venue offering a singular setting to experience an array of musical styles. The powerhouse Ukrainian avant-folk band DakhaBrakha performs July 23, and bass maestro and film composer Stanley Clarke brings his jazz fusion band 4Ever (inspired by his tenure in Chick Corea\u2019s Return to Forever) July 25t.<\/p>\n

The brass-powered August 8 double bill features two world-traveling New Orleans combos, Rebirth Brass Band and The Soul Rebels. The extraordinary jazz singer C\u00e9cile McLorin Salvant, recently named vocalist of the year by the Jazz Journalists Association, performs Sept. 22 before headlining several sets at the Monterey Jazz Festival a few days later. And the venue just announced a Nov. 1 Day of the Dead concert by the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles cumbia+ band La Santa Cecilia.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the challenges with artistic programming is that we want to be eclectic, but not unfocused,\u201d Foster said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got world-class jazz, R&B, country and bluegrass, jam and jam adjacent. At the end of the day it\u2019s all music that at least one of the three partners loves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact Andrew Gilbert at\u00a0jazzscribe@aol.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

THE BREAKS & THE HEADHUNTERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

When:<\/strong> 8 p.m. July 2<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> Siesta Valley Bowl, 100 Gateway, Blvd., Orinda (former home of California Shakespeare Theater)<\/p>\n

Tickets:<\/strong> $62.90-$104.15; www.siestavalleybowl.com<\/p>\n

Upcoming concerts:<\/strong> Dakhabrakha (July 23), Stanley Clarke (July 25), Jake Shimabukuro (Aug. 7), Rebirth Brass Band and Soul Rebels (Aug. 8),<\/p>\n

Read more San Jose office property is bought for far less than its prior value<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New concert venue at site of Bruns Amphitheatre in Orinda returns to action this weekend. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nSiesta Valley Bowl set to spice up Bay Area music scene - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3571\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Siesta Valley Bowl set to spice up Bay Area music scene - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New concert venue at site of Bruns Amphitheatre in Orinda returns to action this weekend.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3571\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T13:41:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3571#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3571\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Siesta Valley Bowl set to spice up Bay Area music scene\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T13:41:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3571\"},\"wordCount\":960,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3571#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/17d147607a4e838c18337a582c1b82fc.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3571#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3571\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3571\",\"name\":\"Siesta Valley Bowl set to spice up Bay Area music scene - 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