Tom Irwin

If you’re among those who count Memorial Day weekend as the official kickoff of the summer season, and I don’t know why you wouldn’t since most of America does, then welcome to the much-anticipated event. For us here at Now Playing central that means the outdoors venues all seem to be open for live music […]

Hello friends, how are things? We have a problem this week in Now Playing land, and it’s an excellent, if unfortunate in a way, one to consider. There is so much good stuff happening this weekend that decisions based on time and space must be made by you, the local music aficionado, on where and […]

Hello friends, and welcome to our continuing coverage of music happenings in our fair city and surrounding areas. As we slip into the second weekend of May, there’s a lot going on and lots to look forward to in the weeks ahead, so let’s get a-moving and a-grooving into it all. Fridays are always a […]

Cheers to the merry month of May, one filled with possibilities, or maybe not. But most assuredly there is plenty of live music happening around town as our bountiful beer gardens, wonderful wineries and other fresh air venues continue to open and thrive. Let’s see what’s happening out there so you can get an idea […]

Well, that sure didn’t take long to get through the month of April. I’m giving all the happening music events credit (plus that week of welcomed warm weather) to giving us a fly-by feeling for “the cruelest month,” but however you cut it, this is the last weekend for any “Aprilian” experience. So shall we […]

Here we go off for another music adventure on the downward slope of April 2023 with warmer weather ahead, but not this weekend. It won’t be long before the heat is here to stay, so be cool and get hot as the live music rolls on, no matter what. Before we get started on the […]

Well, they sure turned up the heat this week, and not just literally with the weather, as gigs popped up all over the place like dandelions in the yard. We’re not yet totally into the outdoor performance time that so defines our local scene, but the feeling is there, as the beer gardens, wine patios […]

Looks like we definitely have this, that and the other thing happening in our music scene this Easter weekend and throughout the week. All that’s missing is for you to agree to participate in the fun and excitement. Let’s take a look at the goings on you could be going on out to see. First […]

Here we go, finishing up with March and finding ourselves in April without a hitch. I might need schooling and you might need cooling, but we ain’t fooling nobody with these references, so let’s take a look at what’s on tap for our scene this week. Friday gets us into a large range of music […]

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends, or at least we sure hope it doesn’t any time soon. We’ve got new music from area folks that’s bouncing all around the world, plus here come some of the regulars that we once knew quite well. If that all sounds mysterious and vague, let’s […]

Great Caesar’s ghost, it’s past the Ides of March and I’ve yet to pull a pun on the word march for this month, but at least I got one in the column headline this week. We could march back to March Fourth (forth) or spend some time on March Fourteenth (3.14, Pi Day) or move […]

As we dawdle, dabble and dart our way through March, it’s a double-duty St. Patrick’s Day celebration for 2023, along with many other doings to make your week an entertainment extravaganza experience. Let us sally forth to see what occurs. First off, with great sadness we report another tragic and too soon loss in our […]