Upcoming events
Our free live music is made possible by the vendors of Abbott Square Market. When you support our market, you’re directly supporting the musicians and the experiences that bring our community together.
Redwood Express
Redwood Express Americana Roots rock band with members of The China Cats, Rosebud, &Grandpa’s Chili
Free to Be
Free To Be is a genre-blending band from Santa Cruz, California, creating a soulful experience.
Surf City Line Dancing
Sunday Funday at Abbot Square! No experience needed, no cover charge - just bring your energy! There will be beginner line dance lessons with open line dancing mixed in. Come early and enjoy some of the delicious food & drinks Abbott Square has to offer! Open to all ages!
Comedy Night
Come hang out in the garden and have some laughs, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT.
Featuring comedians from all over the Bay Area and beyond.
Tuesday Night Salsa Social
Spice up your Tuesdays! Join us every Tuesday night from 7–10pm at Abbott Square Market for a sizzling social dance party! Move to the rhythms of salsa, cumbia, merengue, and bachata in a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s the perfect midweek vibe. All levels welcome—just bring your energy and your dancing shoes!
Trivia Night
Hosted at front and cooper inside of Abbott Square!
Come test your knowledge, win some prizes and have some hand crafted cocktails!
Sean and The Skinwalkers
Sean and the Skinwalkers is a blues rock trio from the woods of Prunedale California, known for their intense live performances full of infectious energy. Spanning blues to psychedelic rock, every show is guaranteed to be the performance of a lifetime. Known for wild improvised guitar solos that take place in the audience, their immersive performance includes originals and covers of bands like Led Zeppelin, Rory Gallagher, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, ACDC, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Stray Cats and more. Everything they do is distinctly their own style of firey raw intensity and danceable grooves.
Dan Frechette & Laurel Thompson Quartet
With soaring violin, diverse guitar styles, compelling storytelling, a dash of harmonica and humor, and unique vocal rapport Dan & Laurel deliver a dynamic, engaging, polished performance.
The Trolley Drops - 1st Sundays (Copy)
The Trolley Drops play hokum blues and novelty tunes from the 20s and 30s. Vocally rich, carefree, and infectiously fun, this good time dance music, often known as Jug Band Music, blends the call and response of gospel with the drive of the delta blues and the ruckus sounds of New Orleans Jazz. The line up currently includes bass, banjo, guitar, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone with kazoo, washboard and jug players occasionally sitting in...our motto is: The more the merrier… Jug till you Drop…..
Comedy Night
Come hang out in the garden and have some laughs, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT.
Featuring comedians from all over the Bay Area and beyond.
Salsa Social Dance
Spice up your Tuesdays! Join us every Tuesday night from 7–10pm at Abbott Square Market for a sizzling social dance party! Move to the rhythms of salsa, cumbia, merengue, and bachata in a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s the perfect midweek vibe. All levels welcome—just bring your energy and your dancing shoes!
Trivia Night
Every Wednesday hosted at front and cooper inside of Abbott Square!
Come test your knowledge, win some prizes and have some hand crafted cocktails!
Ancestree (Copy)
Come down for this reggae party
https://www.instagram.com/ancestree/
https://www.youtube.com/@ancestreereggae
Trianna Feruza and The Heavy Hitters
Hailing from Santa Cruz, CA, Trianna Feruza and the Heavy Hitters are a four-piece band that combines old-school funk grooves and new school Hip-Hop pockets. Imagine Erykah Badu meets No Doubt at an Anderson Paak. party, and you'll get the essence of their sound
Comedy Night
Come hang out in the garden and have some laughs, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT.
Featuring comedians from all over the Bay Area and beyond.
Tuesday Night Salsa Social
Spice up your Tuesdays! Join us every Tuesday night from 7–10pm at Abbott Square Market for a sizzling social dance party! Move to the rhythms of salsa, cumbia, merengue, and bachata in a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s the perfect midweek vibe. All levels welcome—just bring your energy and your dancing shoes!
Trivia Night
Trivia is BACK every Wednesday starting Janurary 7th, hosted at front and cooper inside of Abbott Square!
Come test your knowledge, win some prizes and have some hand crafted cocktails!
Burnout
Burnout is a four-piece indie rock and country band hailing from Ventura and Santa Cruz, California. Drawing inspiration from artists like Zach Bryan, The Red Clay Strays, and The Backseat Lovers, Burnout blends the raw storytelling of country and folk with the energy and melodies of indie rock to create a sound that’s both dynamic and unmistakably their own
Death and Saxes
Jazz quartet based in Santa Cruz, CA.
John Bouwsma - Tenor Saxophone
Harrison Brand - Guitar
Jamie Brudnick - Upright Bass
Ben Sibley - Drums
Papiba & Friends
A collision of rock, soul, funk, reggae, and samba, this group takes current world music and stirs it up to create a refreshing new sound.
CASANOSTRA
CASANOSTRA is a Eugene based band performing virtuoso international music, a journey throughout world cultures
Priyo- Lead Guitar and Vocals
Jessica - Guitar, Flute, Violin and Vocals
Natasha- Violin and Vocals
Enahena- Percussion and vocals
The Fangers
The Fangers are a 3-piece indie rock band that hails from the westside of Santa Cruz. They came together through a shared passion of surfing and making original music. Their music is at times surf, at other times rock and folk. As local surfers, they love creating a mellow, surf rock infused sound that’s lively, rhythmic, and entertaining with stories of outdoor living and life as Santa Cruzans.
CASANOSTRA
CASANOSTRA is a Eugene based band performing virtuoso international music, a journey throughout world cultures
Priyo- Lead Guitar and Vocals
Jessica - Guitar, Flute, Violin and Vocals
Natasha- Violin and Vocals
Enahena- Percussion and vocals
Wasabi
The power trio plays primarily original music, with a few select covers, rooted in a meld of funk/rock/jazz/world/hip hop/dance music.
Vintage Point
Vintage Point, is a group of talented musicians who share the love of a well written song…
Great sounds+ Great Vibes!
Trivia Night
Trivia is BACK every Wednesday starting Janurary 7th, hosted at front and cooper inside of Abbott Square!
Come test your knowledge, win some prizes and have some hand crafted cocktails!
Salsa Social Dance
Spice up your Tuesdays! Join us every Tuesday night from 7–10pm at Abbott Square Market for a sizzling social dance party! Move to the rhythms of salsa, cumbia, merengue, and bachata in a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s the perfect midweek vibe. All levels welcome—just bring your energy and your dancing shoes!
Comedy Night
Come hang out in the garden and have some laughs, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT.
Featuring comedians from all over the Bay Area and beyond.
New Years Eve w/ Kentucky Mule
Kentucky Mule is an alternative country band based in Santa Cruz, California. The vocalist and songwriter, Coleton Joe Tidwell, effortlessly weaves small-town storytelling and metropolitan modernity. Altogether the band tips it’s cap to the full spectrum of country music while seamlessly blending in their outside influences.
Tuesday Night Social Dance
Spice up your Tuesdays! Join us every Tuesday night from 7–10pm at Abbott Square Market for a sizzling social dance party! Move to the rhythms of salsa, cumbia, merengue, and bachata in a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s the perfect midweek vibe. All levels welcome—just bring your energy and your dancing shoes!
Comedy Night
Come hang out in the garden and have some laughs, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT.
Featuring comedians from all over the Bay Area and beyond.
Big Bad Wolf
Enjoy live music from Big Bad Wolf out in Abbott Square.
Grab a tasty meal or delicious beverage in Abbott Square Market. Explore the interactive art and history exhibitions just a few steps away inside the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Run into old friends and make new ones in the plaza.
Free and all ages.
About Big Bad Wolf:
Classic Rock, Soul, and Blues
Big Bad Wolf's collection of classic covers ranges from Beatles to Bowie to James Brown to CCR with many interesting stops in between.
www.bigbadrockingwolf.com
El Brick
Santa Cruz Rockabilly! It’s the last Friday of the YEAR! We would love for you to spend it with us. Come check out El brick, bring the fam and enjoy all of Abbott Square Market.
Tuesday Night Social Dance
Spice up your Tuesdays! Join us every Tuesday night from 7–10pm at Abbott Square Market for a sizzling social dance party! Move to the rhythms of salsa, cumbia, merengue, and bachata in a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s the perfect midweek vibe. All levels welcome—just bring your energy and your dancing shoes!
Comedy Night
Come hang out in the garden and have some laughs, EVERY MONDAY NIGHT.
Featuring comedians from all over the Bay Area and beyond.
Hosted by Brian Snyder
Twistmas Carols
The Trolley Drops bring their signature Twistmas Caroling back to Abbott Square Market on December 11 and December 22, from 6–8 PM. Blending jug band traditions with hokum blues, 1920s novelty tunes, and playful holiday spirit, the band reworks familiar folk, jazz, pop, and rock standards into offbeat seasonal songs that invite laughter and sing-alongs. Featuring an eclectic mix of instruments—from washboard, kazoo, and mandolin to trumpet and washtub bass—Twistmas has become a festive, community-driven Santa Cruz tradition, perfectly suited to Abbott Square’s open-air setting.
Medicine Road
Peace, Love, and Rock-n-Roll!
Honest hard-working loving long-haired psychedelic hippy rock band.
Joe Ferrara Holiday Concert
Joe Ferrara Holiday Acoustic concert at Abbott Square Market
Holiday Market
Don’t miss the Second Sunday Holiday Market at Abbott Square on December 14th!
Find one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones while supporting incredible local artists this holiday season. Come experience Abbott Square Market during its most festive time of the year — you won’t want to miss it.
Brought to you with love by the Abbott Square Market vendors.
Music from 1-4pm
Holiday Trivia
Get ready for some festive fun with our Family Trivia! This lively event offers a classic hosted trivia game, but designed especially for families and multigenerational groups to play together as a team. Questions cover holiday movies, music, traditions, and winter wonders—so everyone from kids to grandparents can join in. Bring your holiday spirit, test your knowledge, and compete for cheerful prizes during this afternoon of laughter and jovial competition!
Alternative Zen Blues Trial
The distinguished purveyors of fine blackstrap funk are bringing the full experience of in-the-moment, rock/blues/funk-based improvisation to Abbott Square in Santa Cruz.The distinguished purveyors of fine blackstrap funk are bringing the full experience of in-the-moment, rock/blues/funk-based improvisation to Abbott Square in Santa Cruz
Joe Ferrara Holiday Concert
Joe Ferrara acoustic holiday concert at Abbott Square Market
The Trolley Drops - 1st Sundays (Copy)
The Trolley Drops play hokum blues and novelty tunes from the 20s and 30s. Vocally rich, carefree, and infectiously fun, this good time dance music, often known as Jug Band Music, blends the call and response of gospel with the drive of the delta blues and the ruckus sounds of New Orleans Jazz. The line up currently includes bass, banjo, guitar, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone with kazoo, washboard and jug players occasionally sitting in...our motto is: The more the merrier… Jug till you Drop…..
Aardvark
Aardvark is a Bay Area jam band that has been channeling the spirit of the Grateful Dead since 2012.
SambaDÁ
SambaDá will move through you and create an energy that is undeniable through downtown Santa Cruz. Do not miss this one!
SambaDá musically unites the Americas, drawing from percussion-based styles of South and Central American samba and salsa, and blending them with the funk celebrating the roots of Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian song!
Made possible by Abbott Square Market and these amazing musicians.
Free and all ages
Dancegiving SC DJ sessions
It's that special time of year again folks, a chance for us to give thanks for our wonderful community and dance off all those Thanksgiving calories! We are celebrating our 2025 season and residency at Abbott Square with our grand finale starring:
SHAMOON
Lucho
Denver Drake
Solkist
Gather your friends and fam, come shake your tailfeathers with us as we rumble the streets of Santa Cruz one last dance before winter. We'll have the most lit DJs and VJs of the entire year!
The Surf Creeps
The Surf Creeps is a new formation stemming from 3 pro successful Bay Area bands. J "Mofo" D Andersen coming from Stock Shot, Kevin "Meat Cutter" Vierra from The Thirsty 3, and of course singing sensation, Lenny "El LenoX" Fortunato from Los High Tops. ,The trio perform high quality renditions of 60's surf infused instrumentals with neo-rockabilly classics.