After last year’s COVID-19 shutdown, indoor performances are returning to Montalvo Arts Center’s Carriage House in September with a lineup that features comedy, concerts and cartoons.
Tickets for the Valley Foundation 2021-2022 Carriage House Performing Arts Series were set to go on sale June 28. The series opens Sept. 16 with the 45th annual San Francisco Comedy Competition Semifinals and closes June 3 with comedian Paula Poundstone, encompassing 40 performances in all at the historic Saratoga venue.
Montalvo favorite David Benoit returns Dec. 17 with his “Christmas Tribute to Charlie Brown.” Damien Sneed kicks off the holiday performance season Dec. 8 with “Joy to the World: A Christmas Musical Journey,” a concert of his original arrangements of gospel, jazz and classical favorites. On Dec. 16 Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles and Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar perform “Nochebuena: Christmas Eve in Mexico.” And on Dec. 18 singer/fiddler/pianist Barbara Higbie, guitarist Todd Boston and cellist Mia Pixley celebrate the 35th anniversary of Windham Hill’s series of “A Winter’s Solstice” albums with an acoustic concert.
But that’s not all, folks. The Queen’s Cartoonists will hit the Carriage House stage on Feb. 1, 2022, to play music from classic cartoons and contemporary animation. The performances are synchronized to video projections of the original films.
The new year will also feature tribute bands paying homage to ABBA and the Beatles. Arrival From Sweden will face its “Waterloo” on Feb. 27, while Yesterday & Today will provide an “Interactive Beatles Experience” on May 13.
Hawaiian music aficionados have a lot to look forward to at the Carriage House.Keola Beamer and Henry Kapono bring their legendary island sounds to Montalvo’s stage on Jan. 15. George Kahumoku Jr., Jeff Peterson and Sonny Lim perform March 20 as the “Masters of Hawaiian Music,” and slack key master Makana performs May 7.
The series also features singer-songwriters like Graham Parker (Oct. 20), Judy Collins (Feb. 11-12), and Janis Ian (March 18).
Theatrical performances include “Assisted Living: The Musical” on March 17 and “Sister’s Easter Catechism,” Late Night Catechism’s seasonal offering, on April 9.
In “The Best Seat in the House,” Grammy-nominated rock photographer Ethan Russell (Mar. 19) will guide audiences on a behind-the-scenes journey through music history via a historic collection of photos and a soundtrack of rock classics. Russell is set to tell his story on March 19.
Stories by well-known writers will be given voice on May 15, when performers from the hit public radio series and podcast “Selected Shorts” take the stage.
For a full series lineup and ticket information, visit https://www.montalvoarts.org/carriage_house or call 408-961-5858.
