BlackWater and 120 Minutes launch Friday before Four Barrel and Supergroove take over Saturday; Bay Area guitar veteran Johnny Vernazza headlines Sunday’s Powerhouse of Blues
Country rock gives way to ’90s alternative Friday, classic rock and funk take over Saturday, and a guitarist whose career stretches back to the heyday of San Francisco’s legendary music scene brings the blues Sunday as Powerhouse Pub rolls out another full weekend of live entertainment in Historic Folsom.
This week’s lineup starts Friday, Aug. 28, with Sacramento country-rock band BlackWater for the TGIF Early Show, followed by 120 Minutes and a late-night trip back to the alternative rock era of the 1990s and early 2000s. Saturday brings Four Barrel to the afternoon dance party before Supergroove fills the late-night dance floor with R&B, funk and ’80s old-school favorites.
Sunday puts the spotlight on longtime Bay Area guitarist Johnny “V” Vernazza, whose résumé includes the San Francisco music scene of the 1960s, touring with Elvin Bishop and playing on the hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” Vernazza headlines the afternoon Powerhouse of Blues before the weekend closes Sunday night with SL@M JAM and an open mic with 90*.
Friday gets underway at 6:30 p.m. with BlackWater taking the stage for the TGIF Early Show.
Formed in 2012, the Sacramento-based five-piece has built its sound around the intersection of contemporary country and guitar-driven rock. Groove-heavy rhythms and powerful vocals provide the foundation for a setlist drawing from artists including Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, Dwight Yoakam, Dustin Lynch, Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney.
That range allows BlackWater to move between different generations of country, from the Bakersfield-influenced sound associated with Yoakam and the ’90s country of Brooks & Dunn to the heavier country-rock approach of Aldean and Gilbert.
Friday takes a sharp turn at 10 p.m. when 120 Minutes arrives with a show devoted to the alternative rock that dominated much of the 1990s and carried into the early 2000s.
The Sacramento-based cover band takes its inspiration from an era when alternative music moved from college radio and clubs into the mainstream, with MTV introducing millions of listeners to bands that would become defining names of the decade.
For 120 Minutes, the nostalgia is as much about the experience surrounding the music as the songs themselves. The band describes its shows as a return to being a teenager seeing Radiohead on MTV for the first time, listening to The Smashing Pumpkins in a Honda Accord or crowd surfing to Pearl Jam at Lollapalooza.
It is a soundtrack built for those who came of age when alternative rock was everywhere, as well as those who discovered the music later. Friday’s performance turns that era into a live late-night set and a reminder that getting older doesn’t necessarily mean leaving those songs behind.
Saturday, Aug. 29, begins at 3 p.m. when Four Barrel takes over the Saturday Afternoon Dance Party.
The group reaches across more than six decades of rock, performing a mix of classic and contemporary favorites spanning the 1960s through today. That gives the afternoon show a broad musical timeline and sets up another change of direction later Saturday night.
At 10 p.m., Supergroove returns to Powerhouse with a dance-oriented mix of R&B, funk and ’80s old-school favorites.
The band specializes in groove-driven music designed around the dance floor, moving through funk and R&B selections alongside familiar songs from the 1980s. Supergroove has become a returning act at Powerhouse, with performances centered on rhythm, vocals and a catalog of recognizable dance favorites.
Sunday, Aug. 30, brings one of the weekend’s most experienced musicians to Sutter Street as Johnny “V” Vernazza headlines Powerhouse of Blues beginning at 3 p.m.
Vernazza’s story reaches back to one of the most influential periods in Northern California music history.
Born in San Francisco and raised in Daly City, Vernazza began playing guitar in 1963, just as the Bay Area music scene was building toward the cultural explosion that would define San Francisco later in the decade. Clubs were plentiful, while venues such as the Fillmore and Avalon Ballroom and concerts in Golden Gate Park became gathering places for a generation of musicians.
Vernazza was part of that environment. Early in his career, he also played bass with a rock band that worked the Fillmore and toured as an opening act for Quicksilver Messenger Service, War and Big Brother and the Holding Company.
Around 1970, Vernazza joined the gospel group Gideon and Power, touring across the United States and eventually appearing on NBC television’s “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.”
His path increasingly moved toward the blues as he began performing with musicians including Luther Tucker and Sunnyland Slim. Vernazza was also playing with a blues band in San Francisco’s North Beach alongside former Elvin Bishop band member Perry Welsh.
Those North Beach performances brought another important connection. Elvin Bishop would regularly stop by to jam, sometimes bringing musicians including Paul Butterfield.
Before long, Bishop asked Vernazza to join the new band he was assembling.
The partnership became a major chapter in Vernazza’s career, resulting in six albums and years of touring. It also placed him on one of the most recognizable recordings of Bishop’s career.
Vernazza played guitar on “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” the 1976 Elvin Bishop hit that climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a gold record. His work with Bishop also helped establish a dual lead and slide-guitar approach that became associated with the developing Southern rock sound.
Vernazza and Bishop also appeared together on a Marshall Tucker Band album, adding their slide guitar work to another chapter of the era’s rock history.
Decades later, Vernazza continues to perform, carrying with him a musical history connected directly to San Francisco rock, gospel, blues and the musicians who helped shape those genres during the late 1960s and 1970s.
His Sunday afternoon appearance gives Powerhouse of Blues a performer whose career was formed not by revisiting that era, but by being part of it.
The music continues after Vernazza’s afternoon performance. At 7 p.m., SL@M JAM returns with an open mic featuring 90*, providing a second Sunday event to close the weekend.
Powerhouse Pub is located at 614 Sutter St. in Historic Folsom. BlackWater performs Friday at 6:30 p.m., followed by 120 Minutes at 10 p.m. Four Barrel takes the stage Saturday at 3 p.m., followed by Supergroove at 10 p.m. Johnny Vernazza headlines Sunday’s Powerhouse of Blues at 3 p.m., followed by SL@M JAM at 7 p.m.
All events are for ages 21 and over. Tickets, VIP reservations and additional information are available through Powerhouse Pub.
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