Sea Change
Sun, Jun 21
|Sailing Goat at Point San Pablo Harbor
Rooted in folk and rock, Mike’s musical language builds upon powerful lyrics, driving rhythms, and melodic riffs that explore emotional depths and transformation
Time & Location
Jun 21, 2026, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Sailing Goat at Point San Pablo Harbor, 1900 Stenmark Dr, Richmond, CA 94801, USA
About the event
Yacht Rock Done Differently…
What the heck is yacht rock, exactly? That’s the question Guitar Player Magazine’s Frets Editor Jimmy Leslie was asked to answer when he was hired as the music sensei for the sailing and cruising lifestyle magazine, Latitudes & Attitudes. He dove into the deep and bizarre history behind what’s becomes an ironically hip genre, and from there he formulated his own take.
“To me, real yacht rock has to do with marine activities such as boating, sailor stories, a love for water and a general appreciation for the elements and animals in nature. I can dig some of the smooth sounds of the late ’70s and early ’80s that have come to define the yacht rock genre, and I love performing some of that stuff. But Sea Change is different from other yacht rock outfits in that we favor playing material that check all the boxes—smooth tunes that have a marine angle such as “Southern Cross,” “Sloop John B” and “Brandy,” and some that really rock such as “Come Sail Away” and “Two Tickets to Paradise.”
Leslie had been developing a repertoire of “blue tunes” since co-founding the Guitarfish Music Festival many moons ago, and he found a kindred spirit in singer-songwriter Mike Rufo, a fellow environmentally aware musician with a love for marine life. The two started performing together on the Hotel California yacht as a duo, and then decided to take the next step by forming Sea Change.
Bassist and vocalist Mikel Ross is the owner of Lucky Recording Company and a noteworthy producer of many Bay Area artists, including Spirit Hustler, which is an acoustic-electric rock band fronted by Leslie. The two also ran the Star City Music Festival in Brisbane.
Drummer and vocalist Eric Wood has an extensive history playing in East Bay tribute acts including Forjour, Stung, and Leslie’s Allman Brothers tribute, the Allmond Brothers.
Jason Zucker is a jazz-trained keyboard wizard who plays with a gang of top-shelf acts including Collectivity and Oakadelic.
Together as Sea Change, this group has the kind of instrument talent, vocal prowess, and performance experience that’s hard to beat and easily appreciated.
The Sailing Goat is the perfect venue to hear Sea Change’s unique take on yacht rock—right on the waterfront!