By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff
Separately, the members of the Baja Boogie Band are all wildly talented and seasoned musicians. Together, they’ve created something that audiences across North American have come to know as an act you don’t want to miss.
Sandpoint has the luck of being one of the Baja Boogie Band’s stops on this year’s winter tour, as the outfit — joined by the legendary Peter Rivera — will play Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Heartwood Center (615 Oak St.). Tickets are $25 in advance online at bajaboogieattheheartwood.bpt.me or at Eichardt’s Pub (212 Cedar St.), and expected to sell out quickly. Day-of tickets, if there are any available, will be $30. Doors and bar will open at 6:30 p.m. with the music kicking off at 7:30 p.m.
The Baja Boogie Band will play the Heartwood Center Saturday, Feb. 4. Courtesy photo.
Baja Boogie Band bassist Dave Hutcheson told the Reader that the band formed in Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula about 12 years ago when he met David Raitt — brother to the famed Bonnie Raitt, but an accomplished musician in his own right. Raitt needed a band on short notice, so Hutcheson and some other players joined him for a performance that proved worth repeating.
“It went so well that we started doing a couple of tours a year in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada,” Hutcheson said, “and we’ve been doing that ever since.”
The Baja Boogie Band is known for its polished and energetic blend of blues — from Delta-inspired to R&B — with a touch of rock and a hearty dose of big-band swing. Aside from Raitt and Hutcheson, the band’s lineup also features Pat Barclay, Dave Winslow, Dennis Wilson, Jon Goforth, Al Kitchel and Dan Cox.
The band’s Sandpoint show will also feature drummer and vocalist Peter Rivera, known best for his time with platinum rock group Rare Earth.
“He’s been rated as one of the best vocalist-drummers of all time, across the board,” Hutcheson said of Rivera. “He’s a star.”
Hutcheson lauded the talent and experience of each of his bandmates, calling it “a real treat to be playing with this level of musicians right now.”
“The musicianship is off the charts,” he said.
Apart from the obvious commitment to craft, the Baja Boogie Band also takes pride in putting on a live show worthy of your best dancing shoes. On touring and playing to often sold-out crowds, Hutcheson said: “We have a hell of a lot of fun doing it.”
“We’re all doing it because we love music,” he added. “Everyone has spent their lifetimes pursuing their careers in all kinds of different ways, and for us to connect together at this stage of our lives and be able to do the stuff we’re doing — we get to go to Mexico and play, we get to go to Canada and we get to come to Sandpoint.”
Baja Boogie Band • Saturday, Feb. 4; doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.; $25 for adults in advance at Eichardt’s or online at bajaboogieattheheartwood.bpt.me, $30 at the door. Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St., mattoxfarm.com.
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