Davis students and community members can hear blues, folk, rock and jazz music at the café’s patio downtown
By RACHEL GAUER — features@theaggie.org
As the temperature climbs and daylight remains increasingly present into the evenings, students and community members may find themselves searching for an activity to make the most of the spring nights. On April 5, Downtown Davis’ Cloud Forest Cafe commenced their 10-week long music series titled “Saturday at the Patio,” which provides free outdoor music shows to the public.
The event’s spring season consists of 10 performances that take place at the café’s outdoor patio from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday evenings. Ranging from blues to Latin rock, the events provide the community with a unique musical experience in the heart of downtown.
TH Fang, the owner of Cloud Forest Cafe, hosts two Saturday at the Patio seasons — a spring season that runs from April to June and a fall season that runs from mid-September to mid-November. The events provide artists with a spot to showcase their music throughout 20 different shows during the year.
Fang explained that he first introduced live music to the café’s premises for informal shows by a UC Davis student.
“About six years ago, there was a student who came to me and said that they were looking for a place to play their music,” Fang said. “I looked into the situation and realized that there were not that many places that [provided] young musicians a place to play, so I let them play here.”
Once the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to close or operate in outdoor-only spaces, Fang realized that the café’s patio space could provide not only the artists with a locale to share their music, but the community with a pandemic-friendly gathering space.
“Around the pandemic, it really became an issue, because no place was open and musicians had no place to play,” Fang said. “I thought that I could provide some opportunity for them to play — so I opened the patio and because [it’s] outdoors, we could do that. I thought, ‘Maybe I should operate not only for the musicians, but also for the community.’’’
Now in their fourth season of structured programs, Cloud Forest Cafe aims to showcase local bands who primarily play jazz, blues, folk or rock music. Among this season’s performers are Nacho and the Dollar Menu, a Latin and Cumbia rock band, on May 10 and a UC Davis student jazz group on May 17.
The first show that kicked off the season was a performance by Julie and the Jukes, an electric blues band that features two UC Davis professors. The band is composed of Charles Oriel, a professor of Spanish, and his wife, Julia Simon, a professor of French — as well as their two local bandmates, Bill Mulvihill and Dave Gill.
The couple has played in various bands for about 25 years, including their duo act Chicken & Dumpling. Oriel commented on the effect of his and Simon’s longtime connection on their music.
“We’ve known each other for a long time, and we’ve been playing together for a long time,” Oriel said. “We know each other’s moves very well, and it creates a real chemistry in the band.”
Oriel and Simon have performed on Saturday at the Patio events two times prior, after Fang personally asked Oriel if his group would play at the café. Oriel noted that the central location of Cloud Forest allows their Davis colleagues, students and friends to more easily access their shows.
“It’s really nice when people we know here in Davis can come out and see us,” Oriel said. “A lot of times we are playing in places that may not be accessible to the students or are a little bit of a distance away from Davis or Sacramento, so playing in Davis is great since people that we know can come out and see us.”
Simon added that she particularly enjoys the accessibility of the events for her students at UC Davis.
“I love it when students come by, I really love that,” Simon said. “I am teaching Intro to African American Music [MUS 028] right now and I also teach classes on the blues. We see colleagues and friends, but I especially love it when students come out.”
Simon emphasized that the events are also beneficial for student accessibility due to the lack of age restrictions to enter — whereas other music venues often tend to be 21-plus events, Cloud Forest’s are fully open and free to the public.
“He’s got a lovely patio space out there on D Street, and people can come by and bring chairs and sit,” Simon said. “It’s really fun — people walk downtown and hear us and can stop for the whole time or just pass by.”
As the performances have grown in popularity, the Saturday at the Patio events have progressed from simply a place to hear music to a more structured event with a formal schedule and lineup.
Because of this change, Fang expressed that the process of choosing artists has become more selective as artists become aware of the opportunity. Regardless, Fang highly encourages local and student bands to apply to perform for the fall season.
“They can send a music clip to my email, cloudforestcafe@icloud.com,” Fang said. “I will review it and respond back to them to let them know for the next season.”
For a complete list of shows for the spring 2025 season of Saturday at the Patio, visit Cloud Forest Cafe’s Instagram or Facebook page.
Written by: Rachel Gauer — features@theaggie.org
