--If you want to have some fun, groove to the music of your favorite bands, and not spend a ton of money, check out some of the great tribute bands around the Bay Area.

Most of these bands have top-of-the line musicians, playing music that they love and having a blast doing it. By osmosis, you will find yourself smiling and having a ton of fun. Sure, we all want to see Tom Petty, The Stones, and Pink Floyd, but they don’t tour much, tickets cost hundreds of dollar, and the seats are generally miles from the stage. What about bands like The Yardbirds, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles? You’ll never see them again. So these cool tribute bands fill a definite void.

Some of these bands tour year round, playing major venues, the fair circuit, Las Vegas, and of course, the clubs. Some weekend soon, find our where one of these acts is playing, grab some friends, and have a great night partying and supporting the music scene.

My personal favorite bands are The RaveUps (tribute to The Yardbirds, led by Chris Solberg),

Heavy Petty (tribute to Tom Petty), Hotel California (tribute to The Eagles), Zoo Station (tribute to U2), The Unauthorized Rolling Stones (tribute to guess who), House of Floyd (tribute to Pink Floyd), and Rain (tribute to The Beatles. Ex-LeMans singer Pete Marino does an amazing Ozzie in Vegas. All of these bands put on a monster show. Check them out.--