Wisetrips Travel Blog

While developing my SF Bay Area Events search program, I discovered Raphaël Feuillâtre was playing at Stanford's Bing Concert Hall. I listened to him on YouTube and looked up his program, and it matched my interest in classical guitar. Born in Djibouti in 1996 and raised in Cholet, France, Feuillâtre trained at the Paris Conservatoire. He attracted international attention in 2018 by winning the Guitar Found…

Gunhild Carling’s performance at Biscuits & Blues in San Francisco was a terrific night out for fans of traditional jazz—from Dixieland and swing to big-band classics—and for anyone who appreciates musicians as entertaining to watch as they are to hear. The Swedish-born multi-instrumentalist, singer, and entertainer, often dubbed the Queen of Swing , brings together dazzling musicianship, vintage jazz, playful humor…

Inna purchased tickets to the  "From Me to You" concert featuring   Andrey Makarevich  (from Mashina Vremeni) and Laima Vaikule . The concert was held at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts at 19:00. I was not familiar with Laima Vaikule, so I was curious about her and the combined concert with Andrey. Artists Andrey Makarevich — legendary rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for poetic lyrics…

On the spur of the moment, Inna purchased two tickets to  Angélique Kidjo' s concert at Stanford's Bing Hall, for Saturday, April 25, at 20:00. Before the concert, we stopped by for dinner at the newly opened Zaytinya Palo Alto (Mediterranean Restaurant).  Right before dinner, we learned of a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. It made us a bit anxious at dinner, and we were happy to learn t…

I have always enjoyed listening to the Italian vocal trio Il Volo and was delighted to learn of their concert in San Jose. I purchased tickets for O1/2 seats in section 101 (excellent seating) of the San Jose Civic Center. In general, the San Jose Civic Center is not the best place for musical concerts, as the acoustics are mediocre and the seats are flat, but it is conveniently located nearby. After a short drive, we found…

For Valentine's Day, Inna decided to treat me to a fun evening of guitar music at International Guitar Night at the Villa Montalvo . International Guitar Night (IGN) is a celebrated touring acoustic guitar festival that showcases some of the world’s most inventive and expressive guitarists. Founded in 1995 by Brian Gore, IGN brings together a rotating lineup of virtuosos from diverse countries and mus…

Inna decided to treat me to a concert of Vasya Oblomov, who was playing at  Chez Nous Cafe  in Redwood City. Overview In late 2025 and early 2026 , the Russian musician and songwriter Vasya Oblomov was touring , promoting his new studio album,  Как всё было на самом деле ( How It Really Was ), and performing many of his well-known songs live. Tour Purpose & Style The tour centers on present…

Inna decided to purchase tickets to  Kasia Smolarek's Classical Guitar concert at De Anza College's Visual and Performing Arts Theater (VPAC).  When we arrived at De Anza College, we had difficulty finding the VPAC because I had programmed 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. (instead of the  Visual and Performing Arts Theater ). Even though we arrived at 19:21 for the 19:30 opening, we still had to drive another 9 minutes. We w…

On Wednesday, November 26, I found some reasonably priced tickets ($200/ticket for floor-4 seats in Masonic using StubHub ) to Sarah McLachlan's Better Broken Tour at The Masonic  in San Francisco (for Friday, November 28, 2025, at 8:00 p.m.). Though I have been a fan of Sarah's music for a long time, I was not sure what to expect at her concert. Here is a video clip of Sarah playing " Gravity " …

Inna and I saw Mashina Vremeni’s “Мы рядом” concert at the Fox Theater in Redwood City on November 4, 2025. I had never been inside Fox Theater, and it's not a bad venue. Parking was relatively easy to find. Inna purchased excellent seats in row G, and we had a perfect view of the band.  The band started out a bit sluggish (as if the musicians were weary) with "Birthday." Many of the songs chosen were also less…

Friday, September 26, 2025 For my birthday, Inna arranged a weekend getaway to Carmel-by-the-Sea with tickets to the Monterey Jazz Festival on Saturday (a big, unexpected surprise for me). We finished work early, packed our suitcases, and started the drive to Carmel-by-the-Sea. Usually, it takes about 75 minutes to reach Carmel, but there was heavy traffic with multiple slowdowns. We eventually reached Carmel at 6:20 p.m.,…