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August 2019
San Francisco International Piano Festival
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
The San Francisco International Piano Festival returns to the Empress by popular demand after last season’s thrilling debut concerts. Now in its 3rd season, the Festival has quickly become one of the most exciting and engaging musical events in the Bay Area and has attracted international attention through its world class artists, unique programming, and friendly rapport between performers and audience. Two nights of musical magic – all are welcome!
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San Francisco International Piano Festival
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
The San Francisco International Piano Festival returns to the Empress by popular demand after last season’s thrilling debut concerts. Now in its 3rd season, the Festival has quickly become one of the most exciting and engaging musical events in the Bay Area and has attracted international attention through its world class artists, unique programming, and friendly rapport between performers and audience. Two nights of musical magic – all are welcome!
| Event Info & Tickets »
2019 VCAF Gala Fundraiser
Date: August 24th – 5:30 pm
Location: Mare Island Waterfront
Theme: USO Tribute
Entertainment: Live Music with Swing & Jitterbug dancers
Music: 5:30 pm
Elegant Dinner with full Table service.
Dress Black Tie Optional – 40’s Period Dress – Military Uniforms
Fundraiser for VCAF/Empress – Live & Silent Auction.
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John Wells Public Safety Scholarship Fundraiser
Tickets: $25 General Admission
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
Fundraising concert featuring the World Fusion sounds of “Five Ten Music”
Wednesday Night Live in the Lounge with Wayne De La Cruz Organ Trio
General Admission: $10
Doors open 6:30PM | Show 7:30PM to 10PM
WAYNE DE LA CRUZ TRIO featuring Wayne De La Cruz, organ; Jeff Massanari, guitar; and Kent Bryson, drums.
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Film Club – Loving Vincent feature film + Loving Vincent: The Impossible Dream making of documentary
Tickets: $10 | Free for Film Club Members
6:30PM Doors | 7:30PM Feature Film followed by Making of Documentary
LOVING VINCENT is the world’s first fully oil painted feature film. Written & directed by Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman, produced by Poland’s BreakThru Films & UK’s Trademark Films.
The film brings the paintings of Vincent van Gogh to life to tell his remarkable story. Every one of the 65,000 frames of the film is an oil-painting hand-painted by 125 professional oil-painterswho travelled from all across the worldto the Loving Vincent studios in Poland and Greece to be a part of the production. As remarkable as Vincent’s brilliant paintings, is his passionate and ill-fated life, and mysterious death.
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D. Patton MY WORLD CONCERT
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
DUANE PATTON, was born and raised in Richmond California. His incredible love for music started at an early age. At 11 Duane was teaching himself to play keyboard, and joined a Garage Band.
In the late 70s, Duane was blessed with signing a contract with CBS records, and joined as the lead singer of “The Together Band. The band was so fortunate to be produced by the late great Henry Cosby, who’s successes included producing Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Duane had the exciting pleasure of performing at the CBS artists convention with Barbra Streisand and Earth Wind and Fire.
| Event Info & Tickets »September 2019
Wednesday Night Live in the Lounge with María Volonté / Blue Tango Project
General Admission: $10
Doors open 6:30PM | Show 7:30PM to 10PM
María Volonté / Blue Tango Project
Hailing from the colorful and gritty La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires, the María Volonté / Blue Tango Project is a ground-breaking exploration of the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace. It is a collaboration between Argentine Latin Grammy nominee María Volonté and California harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer.
This globe-trotting duo celebrates the deep spiritual bond that joins tango and the blues, as two musical genres born of desire and lost innocence, many times censored yet always resurgent and speaking directly to our hungry souls.
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Bee Gees Gold and The Sunshine Experience
$25 Online | $30 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
John Acosta as Barry Gibb has performed in Bee Gees Tributes all over the world. His portrayal of lead singer Barry Gibb is with a zest for detail, like no other. From the look to the falsetto you will close your eyes and say its Barry! John Acosta’s Bee Gees Gold tribute Is the ultimate salute, and experience of seeing the Bee Gees in their prime, LIVE ONCE AGAIN! With the detailed vocal stylings of John Acosta (Barry) , Daryl Borges (Robin) , Jeff Celentano (Maurice) as the brothers Gibb, there is a sensation that will make you blurt out , Wow.. I just seen and heard the Bee Gees! Backed by a live band, the Vegas Bee Gees tribute recreates the look and sound of the Bee Gees from the 60’s to the late 70’s, with their unique falsettos that made them legends.
The Sunshine Experience is the first and only KC and The Sunshine Band tribute act in the world!It may be hard to believe because KC and The Sunshine Band have had five #1 hits and sold over 100 million records. KC virtually single handedly created the dance revolution of the 70’s and beyond. His music has been played everywhere on the planet, yet he remains unsung in the tribute world, until now…..
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Comedy Night with Steve Hofstetter
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
Author, columnist, and comedian Steve Hofstetter is often called the hardest working man in show-business. With all due respect to the late James Brown.
Hofstetter’s national TV debut came on ESPN’s Quite Frankly, where Stephen A. Smith yelled at him for three minutes. Hofstetter has also appeared on CBS’ “Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson”, Showtime’s “White Boyz in the Hood”, VH1’s “Countdown”, Sundance’s “On the Road in America”, and ABC’s “Barbara Walter’s Special”, where he thankfully did not cry. He is the host and executive producer of “Laughs” on Fox networks, where he only cries occasionally.
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Working for the Mouse
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors 6PM | Show 7PM
Working for the Mouse
Written and performed by Trevor Allen
Directed by Nancy Carlin
Ever wonder what really goes on at the Happiest Place on Earth? Working for the Mouse started out as a live solo show chronicling the life of a costumed character and answers this and other burning questions like, “Is it hot in there?”, “Where do you see out of?” and “What kind of underwear does Mickey wear under there?” Playwright and performer Trevor Allen spent a few years in Southern California playing Pluto, Mr. Smee, the Mad Hatter and other characters in his height range on his quest for voice clearance and his dream of becoming Peter Pan. He recounts his tales of backstage debauchery, militant managers and his quirky coworkers in this unique coming-of-age tale that blows pixie dust in your eyes while offering a glimpse behind the ears of the Magic Kingdom. Working for the Mouse was awarded Best of the San Francisco Fringe Festival and went on to play to sold-out houses and critical acclaim in Berkeley, San Francisco, and even Los Angeles without once getting a cease-and-desist order from Disney.
Love and Friendship – Classical Recital
Doors 7PM | Performance 8PM
VIP Wine and Food Pairing with Special Meet & Greet 5:30PM-7PM (must purchase festival ticket to attend)
Love and Friendship – Classical Recital
Gabrielle Wunsch, violin
Bobby Mitchell, piano
with Bruce Chrisp, trombone
Music of Clara and Robert Schumann, Joachim, and Brahms.
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Visions of the Wild – Film screenings: California on Fire & Wilder Than Wild
Doors open 6:30PM | Show start 7:30PM
Visions of the Wild free film screenings:
California on Fire – with director Jeff Frost
Wilder Than Wild – with producers Stephen Most and Kevin White and guest Elizabeth Azzuz
Visions of the Wild – Film screenings: Wild Child – 12 Short Films
Doors open 2PM | Show start 3PM
Visions of the Wild free film screenings:
2019 CURATED PROGRAM: WILD CHILD
Wild Child is a curated program for kids and families. Join us on an educational and inspirational journey from the cold Alaskan North, to the remote Karnali River in Western Nepal. We will learn about the importance of wolf and bison in our ecosystems and culture, and how anyone, regardless of age, can have a positive impact on our planet through conservation efforts, such as planting milkweed.
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Visions of the Wild – Film screenings: Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Tour
Doors open 6:30PM | Show starts 7:30PM
Visions of the Wild free film screenings:
Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Tour
SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival inspires environmental activism and a love for nature–through film. Wild & Scenic shares an urgent call to action, encouraging festival-goers to learn more about what they can do to save our threatened planet.
Featuring 10 short films.
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Vallejo Jazz Society presents Soul Sauce
$20 General | $10 VJS Members | Up to two students free with adult ticket purchase
Doors open 4PM | Show starts at 5PM
Vallejo Jazz Series Presents: Soul Sauce – It was when Drummer/percussionist Curt Moore, sitting in for drummer Vince Lateano with the Cal Tjader alumni band, Radcliffe, that he became indoctrinated to the style and intoxicating sounds of Tjader. Using the same instrumentation as Tjader’s band, Moore and vibe player Jon Eriksen formed Soul Sauce. The result is a rich, warm sound with beautiful grooves. Doing mostly jazz covers (Miles Davis, Ellington, Cole Porter, Gillespie) with new arrangements that seem to glide through the air, then cook on low flame before sizzling, Soul Sauce has most definitely inherited the qualities of the Tjader band. Listen to Eriksen’s terrific take on the Lonnie Hewitt tune “Alonzo” and the Tjader mystique will be evident.
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Wednesday Night Live in the Lounge with GroovaNova
General Admission: $10
Doors open 6:30PM | Show 7:30PM to 10PM
GroovaNova is a dynamic quintet of journeyman musicians whose musical talent fully resonates with jazz fans everywhere.
The band features the exceptional artistry of John Douglas on saxophone and flute, Marc Levine on bass, Mike Williams on guitar, Gerry Kennett on drums and Wayne Fettig on keyboard.
GroovaNova has collectively performed with Boz Scaggs, Toto, Huey Lewis, Bette Midler, Sheila E., Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, Steve Perry, Ray Obiedo and Pete Escovedo.
GroovaNova transforms the medium of “groove” jazz into a quintessential musical experience.
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Kalimba – Tribute to Earth Wind and Fire
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
The nationally touring show Kalimba, The Spirit of Earth Wind and Fire provides an Earth Wind & Fire experience so satisfying it transports audiences back to the excitement of the first time they heard these unforgettable songs.
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Real Impostors 30th Anniversary Benefit
$25 Online | $30 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 4PM | Show starts at 5PM
On Sunday September 22, 2019 from 4-9, at the historic Empress Theatre in downtown Vallejo, The Real Impostors will be joined by special guests alumni for their final farewell show. Proceeds from this special event will go to support the ongoing fight to reduce premature death and disability from the two leading killers in America: Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer.
From the bottom of our hearts and all of our SOUL, we hope you will join us in celebrating great people, music and friends as we have for the past 30 years: ”let’s party”, The Real Impostors!
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Wednesday Night Live in the Lounge with AJ Crawdaddy
General Admission: $10
Doors open 6:30PM | Show 7:30PM to 10PM
AJ Crawdaddy brings the quartet of Baxter Robertson on Keys, Peter Booras on Drums, Greg Jones on Bass and Angelo J Rossi on Guitar to the Empress Lounge in lovely Vallejo, CA! Hope to see some of our North Bay friends in attendance!
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U2America – Tribute to U2
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
Comprised of some of the best and most experienced U2 tribute musicians with hundreds of shows under their belts, U2America are obsessed with providing the best and most authentic U2-styled performance. Leaving it all on the stage, just as the original boys from Dublin have done over the years. Instrumentally and vocally, we know this will be the best sounding and visually accurate U2 tribute you will hear.
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Kimberlye Gold’s Rock n Soul Allstar
$25 Online | $30 Phone & Box Office | $40 VIP Meet & Greet w/ Eats Add-on
VIP Doors 6PM | Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
Get ready for the feel good, dance par-TAY of the year with the Kimberlye Gold Rock’n’Soul All-Star Virgo/Libra Birthday Bash…it’s another combo platter of your fav ‘70s old school R&B funk ‘n soul jams mixed with those tasty KG original tunes you can’t help but get up outta your seat and dance to the music! Kimberlye will be bringing her 8 piece all-star band with special guest stars TBA to keep the vibe flowin’ all night! And for all of you special party people, she’ll be offering a V.I.P. Meet & Greet w/ Eats (and birthday cake!) to mingle and getcha in da mood at 6pm before the show!
| Event Info & Tickets »October 2019
Ralph Bunche an American Odyssey with Pastor Dante R. Quick
General Admission: $10
Doors open 6PM | Show 7PM
Ralph Johnson Bunche (1903-1971) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for forming an armistice in the Middle East. As a Howard University professor he studied decolonization and as second in command at the United Nations worked to dismantle it. After a traumatic childhood Dr. Bunche came to California at age 13 with his grandmother, Lucy Taylor Johnson as part of the Great Migration of African Americans. Throughout his life Dr. Bunche was called upon to solve the world’s most complex problems while experiencing the stress of being a successful Black man in the United States and trauma in his own family.
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Tota & Tessie: Feel Trip To GCU
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
Tota is bringing his live experience to Empress Theater once again and this time he’s bringing back up! Tota & Tessie are coming to take the fans on a Feel Trip to GCU.
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For Folk’s Sake! An itty-bitty, teeny-weeny Music Festival
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
T-shirt + Ticket = $30
Doors: 1:30pm | Show: 2-10pm
PUDDLE SIREN RECORDS & THE EMPRESS THEATRE PRESENT:
For Folk’s Sake! An itty-bitty, teeny-weeny Music Festival…
Spend your Saturday, October 12, 2019 at the Empress theatre with an eclectic lineup of Folk / Rock / Blues / Country & Soul singer-songwriters and bands.
Guaranteed to keep you moving and groovin’ all day long!
+ Raffle prizes, full bar, snacks.
Jamaica Farewell
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
Tickets: $35 Orchestra, $30 Loge, $25 General Admission in Upper & Lower Balcony.
How expensive is a ticket from Jamaica to America? A cool million dollars.
See what happens when the audacity of youth comes smack up against the impossibility of escaping from the war-torn class struggle that seized Jamaica in the 1970s. With all the surprise and ingenuity of the best make-believe tales, the true story of Debra Ehrhardt’s dangerous journey from the island of her youth to the country of her dreams will enthrall you, charm you, and ultimately leave you celebrating at the triumphant conclusion of her autobiographical one-woman show.
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Tango de Cielo
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
Tickets: $45 Orchestra, $40 Loge, $30 General Admission in Upper & Lower Balcony.
TANGO DEL CIELO (Tango of Heaven), leads you through the tight turns, dips and smoky cafes of Argentina, the bull fights of Spain, and the jungles of South America. Harp, Strings, Percussion and Dance perform the dramatic and fiery Spanish compositions of De Falla, Albeniz, and Rodrigo as well as the sensuous and passionate tangos of Astor Piazzolla with special arrangements by recent Grammy Award winner Pablo Ziegler. The program features a tribute to the Silent Films and is full of delightful surprises and appropriate for all ages. With tango and flamenco dance, film and effects, we invite you to experience this captivating music in a way never before presented!
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Top Shelf Classics!
Due to the labor day holiday the show has been moved to October 25th
$25 Online | $30 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
Top Shelf Classics, the Bay Area’s Number One Party and Show band returns to Empress Theatre, for a soul-stirring “Lady Soul” Tribute, followed by a Soul Power Review of Funk, Motown and R&B!
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Soul Patrol featuring Larry Braggs, Blake Aaron & Tom Braxton
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
Tickets: $45 Orchestra, $40 Loge, $30 General Admission in Upper & Lower Balcony.
Larry Braggs (Former Tower of Power Vocalist),
Blake Aaron (Top 5 Billboard smooth jazz guitarist) and
Tom Braxton (Featured Saxophonist with Keiko Matsui, Earl Klugh, and formerly with Wayman Tisdale)
November 2019
Mindi Abair’s Music & Wine Festival featuring Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers, Chris Thomas King, Daniel Castro & Alvon Johnson
Doors 6:30PM | Music 7PM – 11PM
VIP Wine and Food Pairing with Special Meet & Greet 5:30PM-7PM (must purchase festival ticket to attend)
2-time Grammy Nominated Mindi Abair is one of the most recognized saxophonists in the US. No one since Junior Walker has brought saxophone & vocals in one package to the forefront of modern music, with a raucous tone and dynamic stage presence. Mindi Abair and the Boneshakers live, eat and breathe music as a collective — it’s their oxygen. Add to that a balanced mix of diverse musical backgrounds, big personalities and the bond of mutual respect coupled with friendship, and what transpires on the stage is sonic magic.
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Stanley Jordan and Raul Midon
Doors 5PM | Show 6PM
In a career that took flight in 1985 with commercial and critical acclaim, guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan has consistently displayed a chameleonic musical persona of openness, imagination, versatility and maverick daring. Be it bold reinventions of classical masterpieces or soulful explorations through pop-rock hits, to blazing straight ahead jazz forays and ultramodern improvisational works—solo or with a group—Jordan can always be counted on to take listeners on breathless journeys into the unexpected.
The New York Times has called Raul Midón “a one-man band who turns a guitar into an orchestra and his voice into a chorus.” Now, with his exciting new album – If You Really Want, to be released via Artistry Music/Mack Avenue on September 14 – Midón’s voice and guitar ride the waves of an actual orchestra: the acclaimed Metropole Orkest, the GRAMMY® Award-winning Dutch ensemble that has collaborated with artists from Al Jarreau and Elvis Costello to Laura Mvula and Snarky Puppy
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Wednesday Night Live with Oz Noy / Dave Weckl / Hadrien Feraud
Reserved Seating: $25 – $40
Doors open 6:30PM | Show starts at 7:30PM
Oz Noy / Dave Weckl (Chick Corea) / Hadrien Feraud (Chick Corea, Lee Ritenour)
“It’s Jazz. It just doesn’t sound like it.”
This is how virtuoso guitarist Oz Noy describes his intoxicating blend of jazz, funk, rock, blues, and r&b.
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Vallejo PAL Boxing
Doors 5PM | Bouts 6PM
Ringside Seats: $100 | Orchestra: $35 | Balcony & Loge : $20 Online / $25 Box Office & Phone
Vallejo PAL Boxing returning to the Empress Theatre
15 Fights • 3 Rounds, if players make weight
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Sun Kings – The White Album
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
Tickets: $40 Orchestra, $35 Loge, $30 General Admission in Upper & Lower Balcony.
VIP Meet & Greet Add-on $45 – includes Free download of concert footage after the show.
How could The Beatles possibly top themselves after their 1967 opus Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band release? Their answer: the spellbinding classic The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ released on November 22, 1968. The material of their double-disc release was mostly penned in India while on retreat and exploring Transcendental Meditation with the Maharishi. The Beatles songwriting and musical talents continued to reach new heights on the White Album. The bluesy, rock n’ roll, folk, country, as well as avant-garde numbers that fill this collection make the “White Album’ arguably their best body of work.
Stef Burns & Peppino D’Agostino
Doors 7PM | Show 8PM
Tickets: $45 Orchestra, $40 Loge, $30 General Admission in Upper & Lower Balcony.
Stef and Peppino met in Benicia, California around 1999 because both their children went to the same school. They both had the “Italian connection” and a passion for guitars. Their friend Richard Freedman got them together to do a show to benefit the school, and they quickly found out that their different playing styles complimented each other so they decided to make an album together and start touring! “Bayshore Road” on Favored Nations Label by Steve Vai. After many tours, and the normal life path changes, they are reuniting for a special event on November 30, 2019 8PM at The Empress Theater in Vallejo, California!
| Event Info & Tickets »December 2019
James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash
$20 Online | $25 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
James Garner’s Tribute to Johnny Cash celebrates the life and music of the Man in Black with strong conviction and stunning accuracy. Garner and his band faithfully recreate Cash’s biggest hits, such as Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk the Line and Ring of Fire, and incorporate historical accounts and personal anecdotes about America’s most beloved singing storyteller in this not-to-be-missed musical event. The show is a fun, classy and toe-tapping trip down memory lane honoring Johnny Cash’s life and music, and the boom-chicka-boom sound of his signature backing band, the Tennessee Three.
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The Eve of Jackie Wilson (Starring Chester Gregory)
$25 Online | $30 Phone & Box Office
Doors open 7PM | Show starts at 8PM
Holiday Special Show
Chester Gregory is a multi award-winning actor and singer. A native of Gary, Indiana, Gregory worked as a teacher for the Lake County Public School System by day, and moonlighted as an actor in Chicago’s theater scene at night. Gregory wrote and produced plays and musicals for his students, nurturing their creative talents to become successful working professionals. He became a full-time actor and performer soon after landing the lead role in the critically acclaimed stage play The Jackie Wilson Story (which had a three-year run of sold out performances) at the Black Ensemble Theatre in Chicago. Gregory has since performed all over the world in iconic roles on stage and on screen.
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