Water Bear is an avant-garde rock band with classical and jazz overtones. The music is complex and orchestral, yet rhythmic and hard hitting. Like their namesake, they are versatile, able to traverse such styles as jazz, bossa nova, and impressionist parlor music.

Steven Coolidge was playing keyboards with various local musicians and had an idea for a rock opera. Flyby was performed at the W. J. Geery Theater in 2016 to rave reviews. The core of that ensemble was the beginning of Water Bear. The band performed a handful of Sacramento area shows and developed a small following, but fell apart after COVID. They have reassembled with renewed vigor by drawing on area academia with Michael LaPilusa on saxophone, Jon Chengary on drums, and Sean Metcalfe on bass. Rick Marcroft returns on EWI, with Steven handling all manner of keyboards and vocals. The band is working on an album of original music which will be released in 2026.