The Back Room

06/25/2026

Join us on Thu, June 25, 8pm for An Evening of Landlady and Beyond with Adam Schatz & friends | Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/adam-schatz-and-friends

Landlady is the songs project of Adam Schatz. This evening he'll be performing his newest album, Make Up / Lost Time, on the grand piano, followed by a set of improvisations with Scott Amendola and Nate Brenner. Adam Schatz recently released an improvised album Civil Engineering Vol. 1, about which Aquarium Drunkard says, “unfolds like a stately and enigmatic vision of maybe jazz and imagined soundtracks. Tremendous listening."

Schatz has also played saxophone & keys on recent releases from Neko Case, Wild Pink, Miley Cyrus, Caroline Rose, and Wye Oak and produced records from Casey Dienel, Sarah Goldstone & Allegra Krieger, with more fun stuff coming out in the near future. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Talkhouse, McSweeney's and CREEM Magazine. And yet he is a different person from the very talented journalist Adam Shatz.

06/23/2026

Join us on Tue, June 23, 7pm for Bistro Moustache | Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/bistro-moustache

Bistro Moustache plays French Café music, a style that mixes Manouche, Gypsy Jazz, Musette, Swing, and was popular in France before and after the Second World War, and that is still very much alive today.

The group goes from the popular timeless classics (Les Feuilles Mortes, C'est Si Bon, Ménilmontant, J'Attendrai, La Foule, Sous Le Ciel De Paris, La Vie En Rose) to more modern (Il Est Cinq Heures Paris S'Éveille, Le Poinçonneur Des Lilas, Le Déserteur, Vesoul), and even songs that you may hear on the French radio today. They also feature dance tunes, Waltzes, Polkas, Tangos, Auvergne Bourrées and Celtic folk, or French children comptines, like Frère Jacques, or Sur Le Pont D'Avignon. All the songs are sung in French by Olivier, a native Parisian.

It's as if Charles Trenet, Jacques Brel, Yves Montand, Georges Brassens, Serge Gainsbourg, Tino Rossi, Edith Piaf, Boris Vian, Django Reinhardt, Gus Viseur and Jo Privat were all on the same stage together for one evening.

Prepare to be musically transported to the terrace of a Paris Bistro, a Guinguette on the Marne river, or a Bal Musette on the banks of the Seine.

With Olivier Zyngier (Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals), Richard Southwick (Guitar, Clarinet) and Robert Kennedy (Accordion).

06/21/2026

Join us on Sun, June 21, 3pm for The Boon Hiker Band | Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/the-boon-hiker-band

The Boon Hiker Band includes John Bidwell, Clare Broussard, J.T. Devine, Robin Eschner, Natasha Haugnes, Dennis Hysom, Chris Smith, and John Tuttle. The 8 members of the group bring dynamic vocal harmonies to the heart of original compositions and arrangements of covers – all supported by various combinations of guitar, bass, keyboard, banjo, accordion, dobro, lap steel and percussion.

The songs lean toward Americana/Folk/Indie traditions, with energetic and vibrant musicianship provided by the 3 East Bay members – Natasha Haugnes, John Tuttle, and John Bidwell (Quake City Jug Band, The Lonestar Retrobates, Walavista Ave. neighborhood sidewalk jams). The 5 North Bay members bring additional mayhem on instruments and enhance the vocal textures and harmonies with their choral backgrounds (Acorn MusEcology Project, Chimney Full of Birds, Cantiamo).

The bond these band members share began many years ago during time spent in outdoor settings such as the Strawberry Music Festival, occasions that involved singing and playing music through every kind of weather and time of day. The person at the center of all was Bay Area composer, guitarist, singer and beloved, stellar person on the planet, Bill Horvitz. Bill always wanted to play one more song, steadily encouraging each person to join in, to try something new that was just out of their comfort zone. He loved hiking in the mountains almost as much as he loved sharing music. Bill died of pancreatic cancer in January, 2017. Later that year, when we next met up for a music festival, the Boon Hiker Band was formed. The name came from a dream in which Bill was introduced, as he hiked down a switchback trail in the mountains, as “The Boon Hiker.”

06/20/2026

Join us on Sat, June 20, 8pm for Dominick Antonelli | Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/dominick-antonelli

Dominick Antonelli is on his first national tour! His music is a mix of acoustic fingerstyle instrumentals, heartfelt lyrics and stories from the road and song inception. He utilizes alternate tunings which allows for a wide, spacious sound layered with tasteful melodies. Often, people have shared that it sounds like two guitars are playing at once.

He has received feedback that his music sounds organic in the sense of flowing smoothly together in intuitive ways, not necessarily intellectually/theoretically created. There have been many times where listeners have an inner experience of being moved to tears, gratitude, and remembering a piece of themselves that may have been forgotten. Often, listeners and himself experience a sense of hope and wonder during the performance. He has influences from many different genres of music from bluegrass, Lo-Fi, varying degrees of rock from heavy metal, to psychedelia, classic/mainstream, alternative, folk, hip hop, Celtic, meditation music, Indian ragas, and more! He feels as though he distills all the influences in his life (sound and other) and brings them into his writing.

He is currently studying music and recording arts, with hopes of bridging the acoustic and electronic worlds with textured soundscapes for upliftment and cellular healing - more to come! He has a background in Integrative Health and has offered workshops that incorporate guided meditation, group energy healing, group ear acupuncture (Acudetox/Acuwellness/NADA), movement, journaling, and live instrumental acoustic guitar. He has performed at gatherings on the East Coast in Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and North Carolina, as well as in Thailand and Costa Rica.

06/19/2026

Join us on Fri, June 19, 8pm for Will Bernard Quartet | Tickets:
https://events.humanitix.com/will-bernard-quartet

Will Bernard, guitar
Raffi Garabedian, saxophone
Sam Bevan, bass
Deszon Claiborne, drums

Will Bernard, a New Yorker with roots in the San Francisco Bay Area, blends classical music, jazz, and funk influences from New Orleans and New York. He has collaborated with notable musicians and earned Grammy nominations for his albums "Party Hats" and T.J. Kirk's "If Four Was One." Bernard performs with various ensembles and released his 11th record in 2022 and a duo album in 2023. Raffi Garabedian, born in Berkeley and educated at the New School, has toured widely and plays in Bay Area groups like Insect Life and Sticklerphonics. He is also an experienced jazz educator at Sonoma State University and Berkeley High School. Sam Bevan, originally from Oakland and Salt Lake City, transitioned from classical piano to bass and has worked with many prominent artists across jazz, funk, and Afro-Cuban music. Deszon Claiborne, a Bay Area native, is a self-taught drummer who studied with renowned percussionists and has performed with diverse artists. He is also a dedicated music educator involved in numerous Bay Area programs over two decades.

06/18/2026

This Week at The Back Room! 🎵

We have a busy week coming up, and, as is often the case, every night is a different genre. What they all have in common is their high quality. These are all great performers in their many and varied ways.

06/18/2026

Join us on Thu, June 18, 8pm for Vintage Noise: In the Style of Sinatra | Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/vintage-noise

Vintage Noise is a Bay Area jazz and bossa nova ensemble rooted in the conversational spirit Frank Sinatra explored in his recordings with Antônio Carlos Jobim in the late 1960s. Those sessions revealed a quieter kind of strength — music built on patience and the subtle connection between voice and band. Vintage Noise approaches that repertoire from the same place: not as revival or impersonation, but as music that still carries weight when it's allowed to unfold naturally.

Vocalist Michael Carter leads with restraint — his phrasing shaped as much by listening as by singing. METRO Newspaper described him as a "latter-day crooner who sings in the style of Sinatra." Guitarist and vocalist Ed Johnson brings decades of Brazilian and jazz experience to the arrangements, hearing the harmony from the inside out — recognized by JazzTimes as composing "some of the finest Brazilian music in the world from his home base in Northern California." Pianist Franz J. Díaz moves the music forward without pushing it. Bassist Mike Hallesy holds the foundation so naturally you feel it more than hear it.

The Back Room is exactly the kind of space this music was built for — intimate, attentive, and designed around the idea that a great song deserves to be heard. Come early, find your seat, and let the evening take its time.

06/17/2026

Join us on Wed, June 17, 8pm for An Evening with Stillhouse Junkies Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/stillhouse-junkies

Acoustic adventurers Stillhouse Junkies explore the worlds between roots, bluegrass, Texas swing, blues, and rock. Their free-flowing musical interplay and improvisation make every show unique as the trio weave through high-energy, intricately composed original songs, never taking the same path twice.

06/16/2026

Join us on Tue, June 16, 7pm for Jim Doran | Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/jim-doran

Jim Doran is a seasoned singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles well versed in the traditions of folk, blues and all their derivatives.

His songs are born of influences such as Stephen Foster, WC Handy, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and Robert Hunter. His arrangements reflect his time playing in old-time, bluegrass, country & western, rock & roll, and salsa bands around Los Angeles for listeners and dancers alike. He is going on a solo acoustic tour this summer and can't wait to see you there!

06/14/2026

Join us on Sun, June 14, 3pm for Durand Gist, gist4God Music - A Day of Gospel & Inspirational Music with Family & Friends | Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/durand-gist

Durand Gist is a genre-bending vocalist, songwriter, producer, and guitarist blending gospel roots with raw soul and contemporary R&B. A pastor’s kid raised in the church, his sound is both unapologetically faith-driven and undeniably modern—gritty, smooth, and emotionally charged.

Cutting his teeth in the San Francisco Bay Area’s live music scene, Durand built a reputation for powerful performances before making his move to Los Angeles, where he gained industry experience working with Motown/MoJazz Records in Artist Relations.

Now stepping fully into his artistry, Durand delivers bold, soul-stirring music that speaks to real life, real faith, and real growth—positioning him as a fresh, authentic voice in today’s music landscape.