Craig Chaquico plays Coach House on Saturday, Sept. 3

Former Jefferson Starship guitarist (seen here at NAMM in January 2011) has carved out a successful solo career blending rock, contemporary jazz, blues, new age and American Indian styles. He’ll be the headliner at a three-act concert in San Juan Capistrano on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011.


Craig Chaquico, the lead guitarist who performed on all of Jefferson Starship’s hits from 1973 to 1990, quickly reinvented himself as an influential instrumentalist who went on to sell more than a million albums as a solo act, with compositions that blend rock, contemporary jazz, blues, new age and American Indian styles.

Chaquico (pronounced Cha-KEY-so) will headline Saturday night (Sept. 3, 2011) at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. He most recently came to Orange County in January, when he attended the NAMM music trade show in Anaheim and performed on acoustic guitar and the laser-guided instrument Beamz.


I had the pleasure of getting to meet the legendary guitarist and see him perform at NAMM, and even took him up on his offer to play on the Beamz while he played guitar. That is likely the closest I'll ever get to performing with a high-profile player of his calibre to be sure!

Compositions such as “Indian Spring,” “Cafe Carnivale” and “Gathering of the Tribes” are among Chaquico’s memorable works.

The Sacramento native’s most recent full-length album, Follow the Sun, was released in 2009 as a tribute to his late parents. The disc includes the flamenco-style “Azores Lisboa” (a reference to the Azores Islands and Lisbon, Portugal, where his parents lived before coming to the United States), the jazz-tinged “Solar Wind,” the funky “Circus Beach” and a cover of Kenny G’s “Songbird.”

Other releases include the Grammy-nominated Acoustic Highway (1993), Acoustic Planet (1994), Four Corners (1999), Shadow and Light (2002) and “Midnight Noon” (2004).

Tickets for Chaquico's performance at The Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, CA, are $20.

For more information, contact the Coach House at (949)496-8930 or visit www.thecoachhouse.com.