Earth Day Week’s Concerts of Earthly Delights

THE EARTH IS WORTH IT: We find ourselves now in the glowing company of Earth Day, and fortunately for music lovers, environmentalism and music go hand in dove-cradling hand. Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”; Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”; The Beach Boys’ “A Day In the Life of a Tree”; Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” — the list is as long as a march on climate change. If I were you, I would start bringing my reusable glass to my preferred concert venue, and not waste another plastic water bottle. I might also walk or bike to the venue, with that post-show pep in the step on the way home.

You will have plenty of chances to use such a receptacle and take such a route in the coming days. Just as the memories of last weekend’s huge Earth Day celebration begin to fade in our heads, our revolving planet brings us more enticing acts around these parts on the days surrounding Earth Day proper. Grab your earplugs, Rachel Carsons of the world — this spring looks to be a less-than-silent one.

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE: This Earth Day happens to fall as the moon is within its window of maximum fullness. So as you celebrate the Earth, let the impassioning powers of her sister sphere guide you onto the dance floors of Santa Barbara, where some deejays of real note come to spin — or scroll and click — ’til the end of these earthly nights.

Sam Feldt, a fresh young face from the Netherlands, plays We the Beat’s Thursday-night slot at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club at 9:30 p.m. Feldt creates upbeat house music, tropically infused with soulful vocoded vocals. His widely loved hits, such as “Show Me Love,” are the reason he is a sought-after name for festivals such as Coachella, where he recently played. If you like ascending piano lines and good vibes, then you will surely feel what Feldt is bringing.

On Saturday, Claude VonStroke, presented by the LateNight Society, lights and darkens up the Eos dance floor. I say lights and darkens because VonStroke’s deeply Detroit music is a little bit of both, melding thick, clubby darkness with some ornithological humor and general whimsy. Not unlike his contemporary Omar-S, VonStroke is furthering his origin city’s sound to inventive and smartly giggly territory.

With acts like these coming to town, who needs L.A.?

GIRLS ROCK FOR SUMMER, GIRLS ROCK FOREVER: One of SOhO’s coolest seasonal events, the Girls Rock S.B. Summer Showcase shines a light on some of Santa Barbara’s youngest rock talent Sunday, April 24. The event will feature acts from Girls Rock Camp Santa Barbara! and begins at 5:30 p.m. The camp provides friendship and leadership opportunities, instrument lessons, songwriting, and all-around rock ‘n’ rolling for girls and young women ages 8-17, encouraging a spirit of collaboration and nonjudgmental self-expression. Rockers of years past have become area celebrities or celebrated musicians in their own right, so you never know what amazing and promising performers will rock this summer’s showcase.

SPEAKING OF WOMEN WHO ROCK: On Thursday, April 21, we have Linda Ronstadt in conversation at the Lobero Theatre at 8 p.m. Though she can no longer sing due to Parkinson’s disease, the top-selling female singer of the 1970s will be sure to leave a positive impression on those in attendance through her spoken words alone.

IS IT GETTING HEAVY?: The Heavy, from the U.K., drops a massive weight of rock ‘n’ roll on Velvet Jones Monday, April 25, at 8 p.m. Imagine something like a British Black Keys with a little bit of Motown soul. Another Coachella act of recent times, The Heavy has grabbed the attention of the world with its smashing good rock.

Similarly, S.B.’s U.S. Elevator transports rock and moves it up a few floors to more contemporary vistas, with elevator cables rooted firmly still in a bedrock of classic rock. Roots? Bedrock? Sounds a lot like Earth. But to paraphrase a park ranger in that Ken Burns documentary about National Parks: The result of winds and waters upon the rock of Earth is music.