San Jose Rocks

10/17/2026

🎸 CLASSIC ROCK MEETS CHRISTMAS — FOR A GREAT CAUSE! 🎄

December People are back in Campbell after 10 years!

Join us Saturday, December 5, at the Heritage Theatre for the San Jose Rocks Holiday Rockfest Benefit Concert, featuring an incredible lineup of musicians putting a classic-rock spin on your favorite holiday songs!

But this is more than a great night of music.

Last December, San Jose Rocks made history with the installation of the Grateful Dead 60th Anniversary Plaque at San Jose City Hall.

Now we're ready for our next big project: launching the Silicon Valley Music Trail and mobile app!

Imagine exploring the places where Silicon Valley's music history was made—discovering the legendary musicians, historic venues, breakthrough technologies, and unforgettable moments that helped shape the soundtrack of generations.

Through an interactive mobile experience, we'll bring these stories to life, connecting our communities, celebrating our creative heritage, and inspiring future generations.

Your concert ticket will help make it happen!

🎬 Watch our two videos: First, get a taste of December People's holiday rock magic. Then discover how San Jose Rocks is bringing the Silicon Valley Music Trail to life.

🎟️ December 5 | Heritage Theatre, Campbell

Tickets: $40–$60

👉 Get your tickets: https://heritagetheatre.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=67

Come for the music. Be part of the legacy.

10/09/2026

Ourense International Blues Festival at the Teatro Principal de Ourense in Ourense, Spain October 9th and 10th, 2026
Headliners: Zakiya Ho**er (daughter of John Lee Ho**er and resident of the San Jose area for several decades) and San Jose's own, JC Smith, playing along with the Red Duck Blues Band with their tour manager Rogelio Pablo Rugilo (Roger) from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo credit Dani Delgado of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Saying hello to the Bay Area and San Jose Rocks' Blues Envoy, Kathy Royer!

09/29/2026

A huge thank-you to radio legend Kim Vestal for lending her unmistakable voice to our new video! And to San Jose music legend Geoff Levin for writing the soundtrack and song!

We're excited to share that the Silicon Valley Music Trail and mobile app are launching very soon!

Silicon Valley changed the world of music in ways most people have never heard about: legendary musicians, historic venues, and groundbreaking technologies that changed how music is made, heard and shared. San Jose Rocks is working to make sure these stories aren't lost, and the Trail will bring hundreds of them to life right where they happened.

Help us tell the story 👉 https://sanjoserocks.org/donate/

09/25/2026

This is not AI generated. Evidence that a music critic, The Mercury News' Jim Harrington, opened his wallet and paid for lunch!

09/24/2026

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧: 𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖, 𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗡𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬 & 𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥

This is exactly the kind of story that gets our attention at 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀.

On 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟱, West Valley College in Saratoga presents “𝟮 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀. 𝟮 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.” featuring acclaimed country musician 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗧𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗿 and 𝗛𝗲𝗻𝗿𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘀 — accessible-technology global thought leader and songwriter.

After a devastating stroke left Evans unable to speak and largely paralyzed, he became a pioneer in the use of technology to expand independence and human possibility. And he’s a 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿, creating songs one letter at a time and collaborating with Tayler.

It’s a remarkable example of something at the heart of the San Jose Rocks story: 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰. 𝗜𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘁.

The event is a production of the College of Adaptive Arts, whose mission centers on providing an inclusive collegiate experience for adults with differing abilities.

https://www.facebook.com/collegeofadaptivearts/posts/pfbid02h6pEeb6Vg2jNgzjwFGn6athHXtynfsocc7ZjpcZsSF8LDVZomdiZp8ZyVr3NSVWal

We are thrilled to collaborate with our friends at West Valley College for a very special performance showcasing what becomes possible when we celebrate abilities. Nick and Henry's partnership is an incredible story about talent, technology and opportunity—and what becomes possible when disability isn’t a barrier to creative or professional expression.

There will be two performances on October 15 at 11am and 1pm. It is free to attend, but space is limited, so we urge you to reserve your ticket ahead of time. Click the link below or scan the QR code for more information!

https://givebutter.com/west-valley-college-caa-music-disability-celebration-w2jmdo

09/18/2026

Memphis has a music story. Nashville has one. Detroit and Chicago too.

Silicon Valley's is bigger than any of them, and almost nobody knows it.

Last week our founder and Chief Rock Officer Dan Orloff told that story to the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, and the full talk is now on YouTube. In 37 minutes, Dan covers the world's first commercial radio station (San Jose, 1909), the first rock 'n' roll riot (Palomar Ballroom, 1956), the $40,000 handshake that brought the Beatles to the Bay Area, the night the Smothers Brothers discovered they were funny at a dive bar on Race Street, and how Hewlett-Packard, Dolby, Apple, Adobe and NVIDIA quietly rebuilt the way the planet hears music.

No other region can claim both the artists and the technology. San Jose Rocks is putting the two stories together for the first time, and building the Silicon Valley Music Trail so you can stand where they happened.

The video is chaptered, so jump to whatever grabs you. Our thanks to the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill for the invitation and a terrific audience.

On September 16, 2026, San Jose Rocks founder and Chief Rock Office...

09/14/2026

Leadership at its best! Congratulations to Levitt Pavilion San Jose and Chris Wilder! And a HUGE thank you to Aart de Geus!

We are *thrilled* to announce that tech founder and former Synopsis CEO Aart de Geus has committed $500,000 to Levitt Pavilion San Jose’s capital campaign! Now he’s challenging other tech leaders - who are musicians and music lovers - to step up and do the same. Fun fact: There are benches, chairs and a *bar* available to name with a donation. Talk to [email protected].

08/29/2026

60 YEARS AGO TODAY: THE BEATLES PLAYED THEIR FINAL CONCERT. BUT THE BAY AREA STORY STARTED WITH A SAN JOSE PROMOTER.

On August 29, 1966, The Beatles walked onto a stage at San Francisco's Candlestick Park for what would become their final ticketed concert.

Here’s a San Jose connection to the story.

Two years earlier, when The Beatles launched their North American tour, the man who put them onstage at the Cow Palace was a San Jose promoter: Paul Catalana.

Operating from San Jose and running the legendary Safari Room at Story and White roads in San Jose, Catalana secured The Beatles for the Cow Palace on August 19, 1964—the first concert of their 1964 US tour.

The show sold out.

And Catalana did it again.

When The Beatles returned to the Bay Area in 1965, Catalana promoted their two Cow Palace performances on August 31.

That second booking became the center of a fascinating Bay Area promotional battle. San Francisco promoters Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell's Tempo Productions reportedly believed they had an agreement to promote the 1965 shows. Instead, the contract went to Catalana. A legal dispute followed, eventually resulting in Tempo receiving the opportunity to promote The Beatles when they returned to the Bay Area in 1966.

Meet Paul Catalana and see extraordinary photographs from his years with The Beatles:
https://sanjoserocks.org/creators/paul-catalana/