Welcome to Luna Star Cafe

Enjoy an evening of jazz with Amy Arlo and her band!

Joel Zoss has enjoyed a worldwide reputation as a songwriter and guitarist since Bonnie Raitt recorded his “Too Long at the Fair” and “I Gave My Love a Candle.” Featuring his own million-selling compositions and folk and blues classics by American masters such as Elizabeth Cotten, Lead Belly, and Big Bill Broonzy, Zoss’s unique fingerpicking style and moving vocals have entertained audiences from blues clubs and concert halls to the Philadelphia Folk Festival. From 2007-2009 he opened shows for B.B. King and Etta James in theaters across the country. He has performed and recorded with many highly regarded artists including  David Bromberg, Taj Mahal, James Taylor, Paul Butterfield, and Howlin’ Wolf. 

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OPEN JAMS ARE MOVING TO WEDNESDAYS EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2025! 7:00pm

Bring your axe, horn, drum, whatever! Very laid back – a great way to meet some of the Café’s favorite performers & regulars in a supportive and comfortable environment! Novices & pros are welcome to come on down & join the jam. Try out new material or just participate in some sing-alongs. 

MO MORGEN

Mo Morgen’s MoJazz Serendipity Trio

Saxophonist/Vocalist/Keyboardist/presenter Mo Morgen brings his MoJazz Serendipity Trio back to the Luna Star Cafe!

Mo started the Jazzmania Society Loft in Manhattan,
then he came here in 1993 and started the MoJazz Cafe,
the music program at Cafe Del Mar, Jazz at Miami Shores Country Club Bar, the music programs
at Claire’s Farmers Markets, the music program at Veni Vidi Vici,
and most recently the MoJazz BackRoom at now-closed Panarea

His theme song is “This Could Be the Start of Something Big”
so come on out and help it kickstart !

DOUG SPEARS

With sand in his boots and orange blossom honey in his throat Doug Spears’ fourth generation native Florida roots flow through his music revealing the history, values and perspectives that define him. The finest blend of storyteller and musician, Doug’s songs reach out like long-forgotten picture postcards discovered on a rainy afternoon, subtly and artfully telling universal stories of complex characters in often difficult circumstances that go straight to the heart of audiences of all ages and don’t let up, from start to finish. A seasoned performer and touring troubadour, Spears has invested more than 30 years developing his distinctive craft and with each song bite, the rich flavors penetrate the listening palate. Often drawing comparisons to some of the best known and well established artists of the genre Doug has carved a special niche for himself in folk and Americana music.

Doug was born in Leesburg, Florida and his best childhood memories tie back to the farm house his grandfather built in Lake County in the 1920’s. He took up the guitar at age 12, learning on an old Gibson J-45 loaned to him by a family friend, and soon began writing his own songs heavily influenced by the wealth of songwriter poets of the time. Doug’s song craft matured into a skillful weaving of lyric portraits capturing the essence of the often joyous though sometimes difficult aspects of our lives. Of his Florida homeland, he sings of the unsung and often undiscovered heart of Florida, before Disney World and Margaritaville, a simpler place covered by thousands of acres of palmetto scrub, citrus groves, family farms and cattle range. The Florida that so few know and appreciate.

In 2005 Spears released his debut CD, Truths & Lies, widely praised for its song craft and musicianship. In 2007 he followed with Break Some Stones, a “live in the studio” solo recording. Chosen by Florida Times Union columnist Ron Johnson as his 2007 CD Release of the Year, Break Some Stones showcases Doug just as you’d hear him at a live show. Released internationally in January 2010 to folk, acoustic and Americana radio, Doug’s latest recording, Welcome Home, showcases the very best of Doug’s regional Florida material produced for a national audience. Produced by long time friend Jason Thomas and promoted to folk, acoustic and Americana radio by Kari Estrin Management & Consulting in Nashville, Welcome Home, features a stellar, internationally known cast of supporting musicians including Claire Lynch, Missy Raines, Rob Ickes, Jim Hurst, Mark Schatz, Kenny Malone and Jason Thomas, as well as some of the very best of Florida’s wealth of musical talent.

Welcome Home has brought Doug a lot of attention in 2010. The album immediately broke to the top of the International Folk DJ Radio Charts at #3 in January and is maintaining position to finish in the top 100 albums of the year. It was also included on the Preliminary Grammy Ballot in three categories after passing through the committee’s submission review process. The opening track of the album, “Yellow Butter Moon,” was named runner-up in 2010 as the best new country / bluegrass song by the Interantional Acoustic Music Awards and “A Mother’s Tears” was included in a select sampler produced by Poetman Records for distribution worldwide to Americana Radio.

 SUNDOWN SOUND

Sundown Sound creates eclectic, heartfelt music channeling diverse influences of acoustic rock, jazz, blues, Americana, and progressive alternative music.  Thought-provoking, socially-conscious lyrics explore themes of spirituality, love, and beauty.  Sundown Sound at root is a feeling, one that creates a bond with their audience.   Hailing from South Florida, the band is comprised of songwriters Mike Matthews and Daniel Wolpin on vocals and guitar, Colin Fequa on bass, and Manuel Pila on percussion.  In these days of computer-generated musicmaking, Sundown Sound is on a mission to prove that homemade music is still viable and vital.

OPEN JAMS ARE MOVING TO WEDNESDAYS EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2025! 7:00pm

Bring your axe, horn, drum, whatever! Very laid back – a great way to meet some of the Café’s favorite performers & regulars in a supportive and comfortable environment! Novices & pros are welcome to come on down & join the jam. Try out new material or just participate in some sing-alongs. 

Paper Trees – Eric King

Eric King, also known as Paper Trees, is a singer-songwriter from Miami, FL who has toured locally and nationally for the past 19 years in various bands and acts. From progressive rock, to indie pop, electronica, and folk, Eric has explored many facets of music to create an eclectic sound that can be experienced at his live performances.

Arthur Gregory Cruz w/ Special Guest Jamie Granger

Singer/Songwriter/Piano Man Arthur Gregory Cruz writes and performs his own original songs – melodic tunes with pensive lyrics that blend pop, rock and jazz influences from The Great International Songbook, Classic Rock and Alternative Americana.
A hopeful romantic, with a distinctive voice and style of song, Arthur sings of longing to “Be Your Valentine” believing in “Fairy Tales Of Love” and holding on to each other through the dark night of the soul when asking “Where Are You Now?”

OPEN JAMS ARE MOVING TO WEDNESDAYS EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2025! 7:00pm

Bring your axe, horn, drum, whatever! Very laid back – a great way to meet some of the Café’s favorite performers & regulars in a supportive and comfortable environment! Novices & pros are welcome to come on down & join the jam. Try out new material or just participate in some sing-alongs. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who observe! See you this weekend!

Last Almost Blue show in 2025!

Always a good time to be had with Amy Arlo’s Almost Blue! Come listen and maybe even dance along with us! Acoustic, Funk + Soul, all sure to sweeten your evening!

Velvet Sun is an ongoing project by singer/guitarist/drummer Scott Weinkle. The songs are a hybrid of crunch guitars, pop hooks, sonic distortion and celestial atmospheres.

Weinkle’s new 4 song EP Empire continues the journey first travelled on the 2001 release Dreamhome. Never far from his roots in psychedelia, British invasion and New York noise, Weinkle, who wrote and performed much of Empire, downshifts from the incessant power of rock holding it in reserve, and then unleashing it to knock the cobwebs from our somnambulist trance..

A live version of Velvet Sun was formed after an invitation to the 1999 Independent Music Festival based on the release of Dreamhome. For Empire, contributors were Eric Gould on keyboards and Marcel Salas on bass.

“Wait is a great song with a fantastic groove; it drives on a robust beat, some gorgeously underplayed vocals from Scott Weinkle and one of those riffs that seem to be doing nothing and yet add everything at the same time. Wrap this in sensational synthy sonics that give it a smooth edge and sophisticated sheen, and you have it all. It is fair to say that Velvet Sun knows precisely what they are doing.” – The Big Takeover

“Velvet Sun paints a dreamlike rebellion with new EP Empire” – Earmilk

“Wait features jangly guitars atop a contagious rhythm. The feel of the song is quixotic, while the flow presents aspects of dream-pop allied with SoCal folk-rock. The roll and sway of the layered harmonics are wonderfully mesmerizing.” – Ink 19

“A dark and delectably moody rock success from Velvet Sun, Empire immerses with a gripping post-punk pulse and array of melodic guitar/synth interplay.” – Obscure Sound

“Velvet Sun’s Empire highlights their ability to merge beauty with intensity, further solidifying their distinct place in indie rock.” – Tunes Around

empire Reviews

OPEN JAMS ARE MOVING TO WEDNESDAYS EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2025! 7:00pm

Bring your axe, horn, drum, whatever! Very laid back – a great way to meet some of the Café’s favorite performers & regulars in a supportive and comfortable environment! Novices & pros are welcome to come on down & join the jam. Try out new material or just participate in some sing-alongs. 

Timothy LaRoque is a 24-year old singer-songwriter from Hollywood, Florida (born and raised). Being raised on the classics (The Beatles, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens are some of his favorites) yet growing up in an evolving world with a wide range of taste, he’s come up in the South Florida scene as a leader, specifically in his groups The Summit and (more recently) The Def Cats. Having played all over Florida and surrounding states, he always brings an undeniable, spiritual energy to his live performances.

 

ROD MacDONALD

Rod MacDonald (born August 17, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, novelist, and educator.^[1] He was a “big part of the 1980s folk revival in Greenwich Village clubs”,^[2] performing at the Speakeasy, The Bottom Line, Folk City, and the “Songwriter’s Exchange” at the Cornelia Street Cafe. He co-founded the Greenwich Village Folk Festival. He is perhaps best known for his songs “American Jerusalem“, about the “contrast between the rich and the poor in Manhattan” (Sing Out!), “A Sailor’s Prayer”, “Coming of the Snow”, “Every Living Thing”, and “My Neighbors in Delray”, a description of the September 11 hijackers’ last days in Delray Beach, Florida, where MacDonald has lived since 1995. His songs have been covered by Dave Van Ronk, Shawn Colvin, Four Bitchin’ Babes, Jonathan Edwards, Garnet Rogers, Joe Jencks, and others. His 1985 recording “White Buffalo” is dedicated to Lakota Sioux ceremonial chief and healer Frank Fools Crow, whom he visited in 1981 and 1985, and who appears with MacDonald in the cover photograph. Since 1995 MacDonald has lived in south Florida, where his cd, “Later that Night” was named “Best Local Cd of 2014” by The Palm Beach Post ^[3] and reached the top ten in national roots music charts. His first novel, The Open Mike, about a young man in the open mike scene of Greenwich Village, was published on December 5, 2014, by Archway Publishing.^[4] On May 1, 2018, MacDonald released his 13th solo recording, “Beginning Again,” on Blue Flute Music.^[5]

OPEN JAMS ARE MOVING TO WEDNESDAYS EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2025! 7:00pm

Bring your axe, horn, drum, whatever! Very laid back – a great way to meet some of the Café’s favorite performers & regulars in a supportive and comfortable environment! Novices & pros are welcome to come on down & join the jam. Try out new material or just participate in some sing-alongs. 

Come out on Thursday night AT 7:30 PM for this new event where we will be featuring local musicians and songwriters you may not have had a chance to hear in the past

Hosted by Lou Dominguez and Wes Malkin

THIS WEEK

 

• No cover charge but donations accepted

EVAN FRANKEL AND FRIENDS

Evan Frankel was raised in Brooklyn, NY, and showed musical talent at a very early age.   He was auditioning for Broadway parts at age 7, but, as he says, was washed up by 12.

Evan Frankel-New York bred singer-songwriter, former vagabond, attorney, world traveler.

THE CAFE WILL BE CLOSED FOR A REFRESH FROM SUNDAY DECEMBER 21st THRU FRIDAY DECEMBER 26TH. WE WILL REOPEN ON SATURDAY, DEC 27TH FOR OUR MONTHLY OPEN MIC SERIES! BRING YOUR FRIENDS!

JAMIE GRANGER

Jamie Granger is a singer-songwriter from South Florida. He was raised on the island of Montserrat and worked for a time on a cattle ranch in Montana.  A lyrical journey through museums, roadside motels, and the dreams of lost cowboys.

No cover

Last Almost Blue show in 2025!

Always a good time to be had with Amy Arlo’s Almost Blue! Come listen and maybe even dance along with us! Acoustic, Funk + Soul, all sure to sweeten your evening!

Luna Star Cafe will be closed from Sunday, Dec 21st through Friday, Dec 26th.

Join us, Saturday December 27th as we reopen for our monthly Open Mic series!

Happy holidays to all! Please check back for any updates…