This week, tap your feet to top-notch bluegrass in Palo Alto, check out watercolor paintings of the Baylands and catch a farcical play in Redwood City
Music
Claire Lynch Band
Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless and Linda Ronstadt: These are a few of the singer-songwriters who count Claire Lynch among their esteemed colleagues. The International Bluegrass Music Association Award-winning vocalist will appear with her band this Saturday in Palo Alto.
Known for pushing the boundaries of bluegrass and producing songs of great variety, Lynch will be joined by fellow musicians Mark Schatz, Bryan McDowell and Jarrod Walker. Fans refer to Lynch’s voice as “sweet,” “pure” and “angelic,” and rave about her talent for crafting songs both buoyant and poignant.
The concert takes place Saturday, March 14, at Palo Alto’s First Presbyterian Church, 1140 Cowper St. Two free bluegrass jams begin at 5 p.m., one for novices and one for experienced players. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the concert kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door, half-price for teens and students and free for children under 13. For tickets, go to rba.org or call 866-468-3399. To learn more, go to clairelynch.com.
Art
‘Birds of the Baylands’
For most of his adult life, Hobee’s co-owner Peter Taber invested his creative energy in the restaurant known across the Silicon Valley for its streusel-topped blueberry coffee cake. Now, in his retirement, the Los Altos Hills resident is taking on an entirely new art form: watercolor landscapes. On Saturday, March 14, from 1-3 p.m., the Environmental Volunteers EcoCenter Art Gallery will hold an opening reception for “Birds of the Baylands,” Taber’s first solo show and a celebration of the Peninsula marshlands where he spends hours each week. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served, and watercolors will be available for purchase, with 25 percent of the proceeds going to support Environmental Volunteers.
Taber’s paintings capture the soft hues, low light and undulating lines of the Baylands, as well as its avian residents: storks and egrets, gulls and pelicans. As an artist, Taber says, his goal is “to convey … that moment of appreciation that profound pause when we see something magnificent.”
“Birds of the Baylands” runs through May 30 at the EcoCenter Gallery, 2560 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. The gallery is open Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 650-493-8000 or go to evols.org. For more about the artist, visit petertaberwatercolors.com.
Theater
‘Show People’
For lovers of acting, there’s no show like “Show People,” on stage now at Redwood City’s Dragon Theatre (2120 Broadway St.). The play takes a peek inside the lives of two out-of-work New York City actors who take on an unusual weekend gig: impersonating the parents of a young software entrepreneur in order to impress his girlfriend. Things only get stranger from there. Playwright Paul Weitz, who also directed and co-wrote the screenplay for “About a Boy” and directed “American Pie,” skewers the acting industry in this wildly careening comedy that blurs the lines between truth and fiction. Austin Edgington directs.
The show runs through March 22, with performances Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Stay after the show for a discussion with the cast on Sunday, March 15. Tickets are $30, with $10 rush tickets on Thursdays and Fridays. For more information, go to dragonproductions.net or call 650-493-2006.