For Napans who enjoy the AAA (Adult Album Alternative) radio format, with its emphasis on singer-songwriters like John Mayer and Dave Matthews, Downtown Joe’s will showcase several original acts July 19.

 The Howling Coyote Tour, brainchild of songwriter Jim Sobo, brings together a collection of performers from Prescott, Arizona’s thriving music scene.

 “We’re trying to extend our musical community here to other musical communities,” Sobo said. “We’re trying to get these artists the recognition and exposure I feel they deserve.”

 This is the Howling Coyote Tour’s third annual foray into northern California, and its first appearance in Napa County since a 2006 show in Calistoga. Returning artists include Sobo and singer-songwriter Kenny James, a popular festival performer; this year, the tour welcomes three new faces with the JNG Band.

 Sobo describes the trio as a keyboard-driven, pop-rock group with a sound that summons both “early Steely Dan and more jam-band stuff along the lines of Widespread Panic.

 “The songwriting in the band is some of the best I’ve heard in a long time,” he continued.

 Sobo is not just spouting hyperbole: He’s an industry veteran who has been writing and performing music since his early days in the Bay Area two decades ago.

 In the 1990s, while playing with the Los Angeles band Common Ground, Sobo got the break many songwriters only see in their dreams: after gaining local airplay on AAA stations, he licensed a song to Hollywood.

 Sobo’s original, “Hello,” appeared in the film “Mafioso: The Father and the Son,” now out on DVD. The royalties helped him quit the L.A. scene and relocate his family to Arizona.

 “I moved up here to get away from the industry, but I found myself creating my own little scene,” said Sobo, who works as a culinary arts instructor when he’s not making music.

 As tour leader, “I try to keep the guys in a really healthy creative environment so they can really enjoy the experience,” he said.

 “When they’re having a good time — that’s when the performances really come out and the true nature of why I do this comes through,” he added.

 “We try to keep the show lively and diverse and dynamic. You get to see several different artists in a two- to four-hour period. You’re exposed to music that you wouldn’t have heard otherwise.”

The Howling Coyote Tour usually books around a half-dozen shows in northern California; this year, the performers are sticking close to the Bay Area, where they have a place to stay.

“Last year we started in Monterey and played all the way to the city and back,” Sobo said.

“It’s a little bit more of a challenge with our current economic climate and the oil crunch,” he continued. “It’s more and more difficult to take acts on the road.”

The economic crunch isn’t hindering Sobo’s plans for the future, however.

“Next year, I’d like to see us playing festivals,” he said. Satellite radio play and exposure in national magazines like Performing Songwriter are also on his list.

“I’m on a 10-year plan,” continued Sobo, 44. “Hopefully by the time I’m about 55, I’d love to be able to create a national company that helps support local artists.”

For now, though, the Howling Coyote Tour will be barnstorming small venues around the North Bay and San Francisco through the end of this month. Sobo is still lining up more places for his musicians to perform: “They just want to be out there playing,” he said. “Their home is on the stage.”

For more information about the Howling Coyote Tour, including links to recordings by all the artists, visit Sobo’s Web site, www.howlingcoyotetour.com.

Howling Coyote Tour

July 19, 9 p.m.

Downtown Joe’s

902 Main St., Napa

Info, 258-2337