Welcome to Backstage Bay Area — an independent jazz journalism platform dedicated to spotlighting the artists, venues, and live-music culture of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Backstage Bay Area was created to document, preserve, and amplify the region’s vibrant jazz ecosystem through in-depth interviews, concert reviews, and long-form features. The site exists to support musicians, inform audiences, and strengthen the connection between artists and the communities they serve.

At its core, Backstage Bay Area is an editorial project rooted in live performance, musical context, and cultural continuity — with a focus on keeping jazz visible, vital, and accessible in the Bay Area.

About the Host

Steve Roby is a professional music journalist, contributing writer for All About Jazz, and a member of the Jazz Journalists Association. He has spent more than two decades covering jazz and contemporary music through concert reviews, in-depth features, artist interviews, and broadcast work.

He is the founder and host of Backstage Bay Area, a long-running platform dedicated to chronicling the Bay Area jazz scene and the artists shaping it. His work centers on live performance, creative process, and the evolving role of jazz within local, national, and international culture.

Steve’s photography is produced in support of editorial coverage and accompanies his journalism, documenting performances, musicians, and venues. Licensing for institutional or commercial use is arranged separately.

Backstage Bay Area

Backstage Bay Area launched in response to a simple need: sustained, thoughtful coverage of the Bay Area’s jazz community. The site features:

• Concert reviews and performance criticism
• Long-form interviews with local, national, and international artists
• Podcast conversations exploring creative process and musical lineage
• Event previews spotlighting upcoming shows and series
• Photo-supported reporting focused on live music culture

The project operates independently and is built around journalistic values: documentation, context, access, and storytelling. Its purpose is to serve both audiences and artists by providing informed, respectful, and consistent coverage of the music.

Meet the Host

Steve Roby is a veteran music journalist and broadcaster whose work appears regularly in All About Jazz and has been featured in other established music and arts publications. Over the course of his career, he has interviewed hundreds of artists across jazz, blues, rock, and contemporary music, with a focus on live performance and artist-driven storytelling.

Through Backstage Bay Area, he produces original editorial content, including concert reviews, podcast interviews, and performance features that highlight the Bay Area’s active jazz community and its connections to the broader international scene.

Backstage Bay Area is not a promotional outlet or marketing service. It is an independent journalism platform dedicated to documenting the music, the musicians, and the venues that sustain jazz as a living art form.

Our Mission

Backstage Bay Area exists to:

• Support live jazz and creative music in the Bay Area
• Provide informed, consistent editorial coverage
• Amplify the voices and stories of working musicians
• Encourage audiences to attend performances and engage with the scene
• Contribute to the cultural record of the region’s music life

The most meaningful way to support jazz is simple: show up, buy a ticket, and experience the music live.

For professional updates and industry connections, follow us on LinkedIn or connect with Steve here.

For media inquiries, interview opportunities, or coverage suggestions, please visit the Contact page.