(HOLLYWOOD PRESS CORPS) — Hollywood, CA — BY: EVELYN HAYS / ON: June 21, 2026 / IN: ART, MUSIC, PRODUCT REVIEW.
Monday, June 8, 2026, Cadillac Zack presented “Willie Chambers – A Tribute to The Chambers Brothers” at the Maui Sugar Mill Saloon in Tarzana, California.
Since 2007, audiences on Monday nights at this venue have witnessed legends and legends-in-the-making. This night we celebrated a band that got its start in 1954 as a local Los Angeles gospel quartet. In 1965 they branched out of L.A. by playing the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, and people started taking notice.
Zack announced it was the 898th consecutive show. How fitting, because if you take out the 9, that leaves 88—which is Willie Chambers’ chronological age. He is forever young with a loving positive view of life and lives his life to the fullest.
After paying the $10 cover, I opened the heavy door for the first time in probably two months. I immediately felt like I was home as I mingled my way through the crowd, giving hugs as I traversed down the main aisle of the intimate club. The house was packed and ready for a party. And a party it was!
Joining Willie Mack Chambers (rhythm guitar & lead vocals) was Cra Z. Tomes on lead guitar, James Wadada Khufu Watts on bass, and Dan Gerass on drums. During the night they featured special guests, including Joey Delgado and the Madero Sisters.
The set list included “Money (That’s What I Want),” “People Get Ready” (written by Curtis Mayfield), and the classic 1955 Jimmy Reed track “You Don’t Have to Go.” A high-energy version of “Lucille” by Little Richard had the whole joint rockin’ & reelin’, while “Stand By Me” turned into an extended jam version.
When you heard the cowbell, you knew that the time was coming. Their most famous song, “Time Has Come Today,” burst into the club like a two-alarm fire. The musicians were on fire the entire set, but when they performed this song, the fire deepened and spread to everyone’s hearts and souls. It was a truly epic performance.
Willie might be chronologically 88, but he looks and sounds 48. I love this man, and everyone who has ever met him feels the same way. They went back in time decades before some of the audience members were even alive. It was like revisiting the music of the past, even if you weren’t there originally.
Opening the night was Soul to Soul – a Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute band. I have been frequenting Monday nights at this venue since 2009, and I do not believe Cadillac Zack has ever booked a tribute band before. I think Stevie would have approved of the way they interpreted “Pride and Joy,” “The House is Rockin’,” and others. Band members included Pete on guitar/lead vocals, Rich Smith on drums, Michael on bass, and Danny on keys.
Week after week, you can find the absolute best blues at an intimate club in Tarzana—the suburb of Los Angeles named after the man who swung from vines in the movies back in the day. If you have never been, you need to right that wrong.
the bluezy redhead
See less
