Future Performers

• Layce Baker
• Tom Rigney
• Dick Bright
• Al Hart
• Nicky DePaola
• Black Diamond Follies

Past Performers

• Guillermo Muniz
• Mariachi Ortega
• The PhD's
• PHS Marching Show band
• Eddie Hart
• Filipinaina Dance Troupe
• Brenda Jacquette & Gail Kellough
• Terry Blinks & Just Priase HOUSEBLEND
• Vocal-Ease
• The Floorshakers
• Leola Jiles

LAYCE BAKER(back to top)
(appearing Feb. 4 at ‘Mardi Gras Blues Night’)

Pittsburg blues guitar legend Layce Baker Jr. has been playing the blues for nearly 40 years since forming his first band at age 12 and later performing in nightclubs with another Pittsburg legend Rosie Gaines from age 14. His teachers at Pittsburg’s Central Jr. High School and later at Pittsburg High School helped him perform during the lunch hour at both schools.

Baker, known in blues circle as the “Iceman,” learned guitar watching his father perform.
With his Black Diamond Band, Baker was voted the Bay Area Blues Society Blues Band of the Year in 2004. He was voted the Central Valley Blues Musician of the Year for 2005, and has been a feature performer for the Sacramento Blue Society, including its 25th Anniversary celebration with an unforgettable performance that stole the show that night.

Baker has performed with legends such as Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Little Johnny Taylor, Lenny Williams, Lowell Fulsom, the Whispers and California Malibus. He performed with the Caravan All-Stars, Elvin Bishop, Santana and Huey Lewis and the News at the 2000 Bay Area Music awards.
He has headlined at the House of Blues at DisneyWorld, Terra Blues in New York, Biscuits & Blues in San Francisco, Warm Daddy’s in Philadelphia and Ziggy’s in Denver as well as the Monterey Blues Festival, Portland River Festival.

Check his website at www.geocities.com/laycenet.pacbell.net.

Tom Rigney (back to top)
(appearing Feb. 4 at ‘Mardi Gras Blues Night’)

An accomplished artist with a Masters degree in Fine Arts from Harvard, Tom Rigney has developed a wide following in his nearly 30 years as a major voice in the Bay Area music scene.
Rigney, an electrifying violinist and composer, has performed with groups such as 1981 Bammie-winning Back in the Saddle, Queen Ida’s Bon Temps Zydeco Band, where he his love of Cajun and zydeco music was formed, and for 15 years the Sundogs before putting together his current band Flambeau. He can turn his violin into a passionate gypsy for one tune, an energetic Cajun from the Bayou the next to a high-spirited Celtic dancer to a wistful waltzer to a soul-stirring blues instrument.

He calls his band an “American roots” band with its original and eclectic repertoire of Cajun, zydeco, western swing and blues. His own songs and renditions of American pop classics quickly get people out of their seats and onto the dance floor.

To find out more about the son of Bill Rigney, the original manager of the San Francisco Giants, go to his website at www.rigomania.com.

Flambeau, voted the best Cajun/Zydeco band of 2004 by the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame, is an “American roots” band that masters all styles of music.

Guitarist Danny Caron was the leader for legendary bluesman Charles Brown, touring with him for 12 years before his death in 1999. His fiery solos and improvisations make him a perfect counterpoint to Rigney.

Pianist Caroline Dahl, who also plays the accordion, incorporates boogie woogie and New Orleans-style piano playing into the group. Although she is the band’s newest member, she has spent the past 20 years as a mainstay of the Bay Area music scene.

Drummer Ian Hoffman creates Flambeau’s infectious grooves. In a 30-year professional career, he has played with artists ranging from Maria Muldaur to John Stewart to Del Shannon to Juice Newton.
New Orleans native Steve Parks lays down the bass line with an unerring groove sense and big tone that has brought him work with numerous blues and R-and-B artists.

Dick Bright (back to top)
(appearing March 18 at ‘The Crooners’)

Dick Bright, the maestro of music, was called a “San Francisco treasure” by Herb Caen.
A multi-talented entertainer, Bright is an accomplished musician, composer and arranger. He was appointed musical director of the Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in 1984 replacing the legendary Ernie Heckshire. His band played for the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, B.B. King and James Brown at the West Coast’s most prestigious supper club.
He served as the musical director for the first 11 Bay Area Music Awards (Bammies).

He is the bandleader for the Dick Bright Orchestra, Encore and the contemporary 19-piece R&B revue SRO, groups that add sparkle to any occasion.

Bright is also a talented actor who has appeared in “Mrs. Doubtfire” with Robin Williams, “Metro” with Eddie Murphy and “Getting Even With Dad.” He also worked with David Byrne arranging and orchestrating feature films “The Last Emperor” and “True Stories.”

The witty, personable Bright was also a DJ on KSFO and host over 400 episodes of “Cartoon Classics,” a live children’s cartoon show.

Al Hart (back to top)
(appearing March 18 at ‘The Crooners’)

Al Hart has the most recognizable voice in the Bay Area having spent 35 of his 53 years in the radio news business as the “voice of KCBS.”

The Bay Area’s most popular newscaster, Hart has received numerous broadcasting awards, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for News Broadcasting and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Professional Journalists.

But in his previous life, he was a big band singer recording for Mercury Records while performing in a variety of venues. He is also an accomplished actor, who has performed the lead in Cyrano de Bergerac and Romeo and Juliet and has done numerous spoken-word appearances with symphonies and appears on The Legends of Radio series, most recently as the narrator in the acclaimed radio thriller “The Hitch Hiker.”

Hart is also well known for his never-ending commitment to public service, including the ALS Foundation, the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Contra Costa Crisis Center.

To find out more about Hart, visit his website: www.alhart.net.

Nicky DePaola (back to top)
(appearing March 18 at ‘The Crooners’)

One of the Bay Area’s most popular performers, Pittsburg’s Nicky DePaola is known for his hit single “Pillow Talk,” which reached No. 29 on the adult contemporary Top 40 in 2000.

He has recorded five CDs, including his debut project “This Game of Love,” which also ended up on the charts. His most recent CD, “Uptown Mood,” was recorded at Capitol Records.

Growing up in the “Soulful ’70s,” DePaola fell under the influence of a variety of performers, but he still loves Frank Sinatra the most. Those influences are reflected in his versatile style that have led him to perform at more than 3,500 events across the country, including the Peppermill Casino in Reno, where he was voted Reno’s best lounge act of 2001, Bing Crosby’s in Walnut Creek as well as the Liberty Hotel Restaurant in Pittsburg and a variety of other East Bay clubs. He headlined at last May’s CAB Concerts’ “CABFEST.”

A classic crooner with a contemporary sparkle, he has also performed at exclusive private functions and is a popular DJ. Visit his website at www.nixd.net.

Black Diamond Follies(back to top)
(appearing March 18 at ‘The Crooners’)

The Black Diamond Follies showgirls, a dozen dazzling dancers, range in age from their 40s to their 80s.

Under the direction of two-time Shellie Award winner Vince Aiello, the Black Diamond Follies were a hit in their debut at the CAB Concerts “The Divas” last October. Aiello choreographed their routines, assisted by long-time Pittsburg Community Theatre performers Brian Villanueva and David Ward.
The love of dancing unites the women of the Black Diamond Follies, who are currently enrolled in a Pittsburg Adult Education class learning a variety of routines used by Las Vegas and Broadway showgirls. Members of the expanding troupe come from Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton and Oakley.

Performing at “The Divas” were Marti Aiello, Nelia Beaman, Marisa Belleci, Mary Ann Crawford, Randi Gayewski, Patti Geyser, Lollie Gutierrez, Merl Lewis, Edie Olson, Amity O’Neil, Gloria Spahn and Phyllis Wev.

The troupe is sponsored by pittsburgca.net and costumed by The Prop Table.

THE PHD'S(back to top)

Thrilling audiences for more than 25 years, the PHDs – named because all the original members had Pittsburg High Diplomas – offer a tasty blend of contemporary R&B, Latin, oldies, standards and jazz.

Individually, the talented members of the band have recorded with artists such as Rosie Gaines, Malo, Sheila E., Sister Sledge and Narada Michael Walden. Blend that talent with their incredible stage chemistry, and you have one of Pittsburg’s most crowd-pleasing bands that turns every performance into a party.

Mundi Orozco, the band’s founder, is a trumpet player, percussionist and vocalist.
Guitarist Bob Castell-Blanch flawlessly leads the band in whatever direction it cares to soar backed by Ramiro Amador’s strong bass line and syncopated beat of Leo Vigil on drums.
The core of the band is regularly joined by talented musicians, who bring the influences of Pittsburg’s diverse culture to a band that embodies the heart and soul of the community.

PITTSBURG HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING SHOW BAND (back to top)

Under the direction of *Rob Dehlinger and Karen Bascom, the Pittsburg High School Marching Show Band continues to win awards for its music and creativity. The band recently won its 18th King Walnut Award at the Walnut Festival in Walnut Creek.