This ‘Sag Harbor’ Docks in Oxnard

In one of the finest art exhibitions around this year, James Britton’s paintings of Sag Harbor in the 1920s, at the Maritime Museum in Channel Islands Harbor, subtly capture life on the oceanic brink.

Britton (1878-1936) was an East Coast artist, affiliated with the Ash Can and American Impressionist schools, whose reputation has been recently reconsidered thanks to the advocacy of his granddaughters Barbara, a New Yorker, and Ursula, a Venturan.

A proud resident of Sag Harbor--a poor man’s neighbor of the Hamptons--Britton dons a swooping red hat in a self-portrait. His artistic presence is felt more intensely in his 1925 painting “Sag Harbor Island,” a space overflowing with a mosaic of canvases.

His inspired Impressionist touch is reflected in paintings of sea and sky and in the iconic “Small Lonely Tree.” Clandestine Prohibition-era activities in town are alluded to in “Rum Runner’s Cottage,” a picturesque little place half hidden in green tufts of trees, and in “Bootleg Storehouse.” More innocent local color is evident in the evocative “Alippo’s Garage,” and the local meets the celestial in “Zep Clouds (With Rum Runner’s Cottage).”

A strong sense of place emerges from this potent little show, along with a sense of an artist deserving greater recognition.

* “James Britton: Sag Harbor in the 1920s,” Ventura County Maritime Museum, 2731 S. Victoria Ave., Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard. Ends Sept. 28. (805) 984-6260. Daily, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

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Return of Newness: The Ventura New Music Concert Series, one of the more challenging musical offerings in Southern California, kicks off its season this Saturday. This time out, SoCal musical “outsiders” take on City Hall. Headlining is the Rain Trio, with noted drummer Alex Cline (twin brother of guitarist Nels Cline), along with saxophonist Eric Barber and bassist Scott Walton. Also on the bill is the Jeff Kaiser Trio, with bassist Jim Connolly and drummer Richie West, premiering a new Kaiser work, “Ululatus.”

* The Rain Trio and the Jeff Kaiser Trio, Ventura City Hall atrium, 500 Poli St., Saturday, 8 p.m. $10. (805) 676-9660. https://www.pfmentum.com.

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Reel Report: Film festivals are popping up everywhere projectors lurk, including Ventura County. The next one, the Channel Islands Indie Festival, is dedicated to the kind of film art flying below the radar of Hollywood, and that’s good. The fourth annual festival, which kicked off Tuesday and continues through the weekend, features plenty of short films, including work from Ventura County, and a program of documentaries about the Zapatistas. On the feature film front, the festival tonight screens “Thundering 8th,” a World War II-oriented drama with Bo Hopkins, June Lockhart and Jan-Michael Vincent. Sunday night’s closing film is the German comedy “The Wedding Cow.”

* Channel Islands Indie Film Festival, through Sunday. Screenings at Channel Islands Cinema, 101 W. Gonzales Road, Cafe on A Street in Oxnard and Century 10 Theaters, 555 E. Main St. in Ventura. Tickets are $7 general admission, $5 for students and seniors; (805) 487-9075. https://www.channelislandsfilmfestival.com,

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Riffs ‘n’ Rifts: Some of us have adolescent memories of cocking an ear toward a cheap stereo, putting on early Allman Brothers classics like “Live at Fillmore East” and “Eat a Peach,” comparing and contrasting the respective styles of twin guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. It wasn’t so much a duel as a dialogue, producing some classic guitar solos, a rapport stilled by Duane’s 1971 death.

Since that was a generation plus change ago, it might be surprising that the reconfigured Allman Brothers and Dickey Betts himself are going strong, flinging riffs and rendering their Southern comfortable mixology of rock, country and blues. Then again, the recipe is fairly timeless. Rifts have struck Allman-land over time, including an ousting of Betts last year, but we assume that the music will prevail.

This Saturday, Betts’ band hits the Ventura Theatre, on the heels of a new album, “Let’s Get Together,” out in July. It’s his first album under his name since the too-aptly titled “Pattern Disruptive.” .

* Dickey Betts Band, Ventura Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St., Ventura, Sunday, 7 p.m. $22-$32; (805) 653-0118.

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The Old Ultra-Auction: Malcolm McDowell, one of Ojai’s luminous residents, will appear in an unusual role Sunday. At the “Front Row Seat” auction, he’ll be the auctioneer for artfully altered and/or deconstructed theater chairs, for the benefit of the small but big-spirited Theater 150 as well as youth outreach programs. There’s a family connection, in that his wife, Kelley, is one of the artists involved in turning utilitarian tush containers into art.

* “Front Row Seats,” at a private home in Ojai, Sunday, 2-5 p.m. $35. (805) 646-4300.