The bands closing out Sonoma’s final Tuesday Night Market

This coming Tuesday, Sept. 26, will be the last of the Tuesday Night Markets this season. The City of Sonoma provided the moneys to fund the event, enough to cover the cost of 20 weeks of live music entertainment. Sadly, it is all coming to a close.

Additionally, there were four other evenings when there were actually two bands performing; one in the horseshoe and one in Grinstead Amphitheater. Those four nights were gifted by the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society; all four nights provided superb examples of the ultra-talented jazz musicians living in this area.

And the local bands that had the crowd’s attention? They were all shining examples of the lively music scene here in Sonoma.

On Sept. 26, “Magic the Band” will entertain us all for free. The Sonoma Valley-based, multivocalist band plays an excellent and fun range of dance and party songs.

It is headed up by drummer Jim Holland, who appeared at the market earlier this season playing with Long Story Short.

Holding down the bottom end will be bass player Dan Walters. He plays around, too, and recently backed dup Trotta at His Farmers market gig. The lead guitar player is Sean Allen. The talented tele player is very busy playing with many other local bands; the Tommy Thomsen Band, Kevin Russell and his Familiar Strangers.

Keyboard and saxophone player Tony Malfatti plays with several bands in the East Bay. Vocalist and singer Don Trotta appeared fronting his own band at the market earlier this season. Santa Rosa resident and vocalist Annette Moreno performs with Stompy Jones. Sonoma born and bred Ellie James, on vocals, has a successful career singing in Los Angeles.

Yes, there is a considerable amount of cross pollination between bands here. That might be a topic for a story in the future.

Another story that will soon be written is about the three sound guys. These are the fellas who are responsible for making the bands sound good.

The musicians can practice all they want, but if the audience can’t hear them, or they are too loud, or if the highs need to be rolled off a bit, the crowd will not appreciate all that effort.

These important individuals are Jim Mora, Jim “White Cloud” Marshall and George Honey. During this last free show, let them know how much you appreciate their efforts, too.

Another story that will be worth reading is comments from you, the reader and music lover. I am looking for folks to write in. Which bands did you particularly enjoy this past season? Was there a specific moment that was fairly incredible? Maybe some overall thoughts about the music that we all enjoyed …

What a treat the Tuesday Night Market has been for the Valley of the Tunes. Please share your thoughts with me at tim.curley@sonomanews.com.