As a warm-up for their upcoming two-night Vegas run at Dolby Live at Park MGM in collaboration with Blue Man Group on March 7 and 8, venerated rock act 311 will play a Numbskull and Good Medicine show at the Alex Madonna Expo Center on Tuesday, March 3 (doors at 6 p.m.; all ages; $60.25 general, $189 “Down” superfan package, or $498 “Hive” meet-and-greet experience at goodmedicinepresents.com).
311 has been a functioning professional rock band since 1990, but the musicians have deeper roots than that, not to mention a very circuitous route to success.
“All five members of 311 grew up in the 1970s in Omaha, Nebraska,” press materials explain. “Nick Hexum, Tim Mahoney, and Chad Sexton lived on the west side of town and went to Westside High School together. P-Nut and SA Martinez lived on the south side of town and went to Bryan High School together.
“During high school, Nick and Tim played in a rock band together called The Ed’s. Nick was also in the high school concert jazz band with Chad.
“At 17, Nick graduated early from high school and moved to downtown Los Angeles in pursuit of a music career,” their bio continues. “When Nick returned to Omaha for Chad and Tim’s high school graduation, the three of them jammed and realized they had a special musical chemistry. They soon added a keyboardist named Ward Bones and called themselves Unity. In late ’88, Nick, Chad, and Ward moved to LA and made an unsuccessful stab at getting a recording contract.
“Disillusioned with the LA scene, Chad soon moved back to Omaha and began jamming with P-Nut and a guitarist named Jim Watson. Months later, Chad persuaded Nick to move back to Omaha and join them. They played their first gig opening for Fugazi on June 10, 1990.”
First gig opening for Fugazi! Now they’re returning to Vegas for an annual event called 311 Day celebration, which includes two concerts with entirely different set lists, and a 311 pop-up museum showcasing rare artifacts, artwork, instruments, and posters from across their history.
The band’s currently on fire. Their newest album, Full Bloom (2024), yielded “You’re Gonna Get It,” the band’s highest charting single in 13 years that’s been streamed more than 1 million times, and their 311 Caribbean Cruise sold out in 24 hours.
Tunnel Vision opens.
Also this week from Numbskull and Good Medicine, singer-songwriter and comic book artist Jeffrey Lewis brings his quirky and charming indie-rock-folk-art vibe and hit songs like “Sad Screaming Old Man,” “The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane,” and “Exactly What Nobody Wanted.” See Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage at Club Car Bar on Wednesday, March 4 (7 p.m.; all ages; $18.23 at goodmedicinepresents.com).
Folk artist Willy Tea Taylor and country artist Cotton Clifton share the bill at Club Car Bar on Thursday, March 5 (7 p.m.; all ages; $16.17 at goodmedicinepresents.com). These are both magnificently bearded singer-songwriters you’ll want to pay attention to.
Jangly slacker blues from Philly
I remember well when G. Love and Special Sauce (1994) was released. G. Love and his band didn’t sound like anyone else. They played a weird and infectious hybrid of garage rock, hip-hop, blues, and soul. Between 10 Special Sauce albums and four solo records, he’s got a deep catalog and has scored a number of hits like “Cold Beverage,” “SoulBQue,” “Baby’s Got Sauce,” “Rodeo Clowns,” and “Rainbow.”
This week, G. Love & Special Sauce on their Lemonade 20th anniversary tour play Rod and Hammer Rock on Friday, Feb. 27 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $44.20 at ticketweb.com). Lemonade, released in 2006 on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, rose to No. 39 on the Billboard 200 and 13 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums. It included guest appearance by Ben Harper, Blackalicious, Jack Johnson, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Marc Broussard, Jasper, and Tristan Prettyman
Super cool performer!
Also, The SLO Comedy Festival plays at Rod and Hammer Rock on Saturday, Feb. 28 (8:30 p.m.; all ages; $29 at ticketweb.com). The fest is running through March 1 at various locations.
Laugh, cry, and get down
Good Vibez presents Carlos Mencia: The Liberated Tour at the Fremont Theater on Friday, Feb. 27 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $37.05 to $69.50 at prekindle.com). He’s known for his raw and unfiltered style and insightful and funny explorations of race relations, criminal justice, Latin culture, and societal hierarchies. His current stand-up special, Here I Am, is streaming digitally, and he’s set to reprise his role as Felix Boulevardez in Disney-Plus’ The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
Also from Good Vibez at the Fremont, The Emo Night Tour returnson Saturday, Feb. 28 (show at 8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.78 at prekindle.com). “The Emo Night Tour Band will play some of the biggest emo songs in existence with the ENT DJs spinning all the angst your teenage dirtbag heart desires all night long that will make you feel like you’re at Warped Tour ’08 minus all the dust and melting in the sun,” organizers announced.
Finally, Two Feet: The Next Steps Tour plays on Thursday, March 5 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $42.72 general, $99.62 early entry VIP, to $139.28 meet-and-greet VIP at prekindle.com). Two Feet is Zachary William “Bill” Dess, a NYC singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. His music has been called “mesmerizing” with “silky vocals, low-key beat.” Sub Urban and Brothel open.
Thriller
The Clark Center has two tribute shows scheduled this week starting with Iconic: A Glorious Tribute to Michael Jackson on Saturday, Feb. 28 (two shows at 3 and 8 p.m.; all ages; $49 to $79 at clarkcenter.org). The show’s apparently endorsed by Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, and it’s noteworthy for its precision to Michael’s sound and dance moves. Expect to hear all your favorites.
The Clark Center also presents The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra directed by Scotty Barnhart and featuring vocalist Nneena Freelon on Sunday, March 1 (3 p.m.; all ages; $45 to $75 at clarkcenter.org). This 18-time Grammy-winning orchestra has performed at every major jazz festival and concert hall. For this 90th anniversary tour, jazz royalty Freelon (a seven-time Grammy Award nominee) is featured.
Latter-day Saints come marching in
Cal Poly Arts presents hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo on Tuesday, March 3, and Wednesday, March 4 (7:30 p.m.; contains explicit language; $84 to $129 at calpolyarts.org). This hilarious show follows two missionaries as they preach their faith to residents of a remote Ugandan village. Written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone with Robert Lopez, the show received broad critical praise and continues to tour. It’s a nine-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical!
Step back in time
Canzona Women’s Ensemble presents Renaissance, Baroque, and Beyond at SLO’s United Methodist Church on Sunday, March 1 (3 p.m.; all ages; $30 to $35, $10 student at my805tix.com). Journey through centuries of sacred music from a Renaissance “Magnificat” by Isabella Leonarda to Poulenc’s 19th century “Litanies à la Vierge Noire” for women’s voices and organ. Also hear Italian trios, Baroque duets, and lively a cappella madrigals in English and French. ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Weddings 2026.
This is good exposure for our special pink inn in San Luis Obispo calif. Now hear this ….and this is important based on a post i read today concerning Donald Trump and the Iran business etc…some reporter has stated that the Madonna inn will become a site of biblical proportions and a important place of great upheaval and change for this American experiment. I’m so very curious what this entails. Is California and the West Coast leaving the United States. Will we become part of Canada….or our own country divided in three parts of Calif. A gov. By and for the people. Ending curruuption…cleaning up the illegal activities of the ruling class. Ending drug abuse, healthcare plan, stopping useless wars and military domination, national infrastructure rebuilding, Calif. And American jobs in manufacturing, a national zeppelin peoples airline to lift our spirits..to name a few. I am so very curious what is going on at the Madonna inn .shall we give up our cars for horses ….should we mail trump the horsehead option Nadia style with a list of demands. At this point I don’t see why not . Remember fascism is bad for people everywhere….it must be defeated at all costs. John Edwards slo and what about this ball at Madonna inn….is it only for the rich people.