If you’re ready to take a one-two knockout punch of soul and blues, Sugaray Rayford will belt it out for you. Born Caron Nimoy Rayford in Smith County, Texas, Sugaray started singing and playing drums in church at age 7, and to this day, there’s an undeniable gospel influence permeating his sound.
He eventually moved to California and started performing contemporary music, singing with the Urban Gypsys and later Aunt Kizzy’s Boyz, whose two albums, Trunk Full of Blues (2004) and It’s Tight Like That (2007), were the pathway to an Urban Artist of the Year title and a record deal with RBC Records.
Sugaray’s current path really began with his fifth solo album, Somebody Save Me (2019), on Forty Below Records, where he teamed with producer and songwriter Eric Corne. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. The following year, Rayford was presented with two Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year.
He’s touring in support of his second go-round with Corne on Forty Below, In Too Deep (2022), which won the Blues Music Awards Best Soul Blues Album of the Year.
The San Luis Obispo Blues Society presents Sugaray Rayford on Saturday, March 30 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $32 at my805tix.com or $40 at the door), in the SLO County Vets Hall (801 Grand Ave., SLO), where he’ll perform with a septet that includes a killer horn section. Los Osos-based R&B act Blues Asylum opens the show. If you’re a blues fan, don’t miss it!
Live Oak!
Get your camping gear out of the garage and dust off those dancing shoes, the Live Oak Music Festival is coming in hot! Seriously, this fundraiser for local NPR affiliate KCBX 90.1FM is my favorite festival of the year. Organizers just announced this year’s Saturday headliner: The English Beat! The late-’70s and ’80s New Wave, two-tone ska act is still fronted by Dave Wakeling and will hit the outdoor stage with a seven-piece band featuring toaster Antonee First Class. They sound as good as ever, and their catalog of hits runs deep—”Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Save it for Later,” and “I Confess,” to name a few. The weekend’s lineup could fill another column, so stay tuned, get your tickets now at liveoakfest.org, and get ye and ye family to El Chorro Regional Park Friday, June 14, through Sunday, June 16! I’ve been going to Live Oak for more than a decade, so take my word for it.
Good Medicine, Numbskull, and KCBX
Teamwork makes the dream work, and this week promoters Good Medicine and Numbskull have partnered with KCBX to bring you Tyler Ramsey (formerly of Band of Horses) to Morro Bay’s The Siren on Friday, March 29, at The Siren (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com).
The singer-songwriter pens penetrating narrative songs like “Where Were You”: “I need to hide away/ Whenever I start feeling the way I do/ I don’t want to bring all of this around you/ And I need to hide/ Wish I could drive away/ Find a place to have a breakdown/ Fall apart where there’s nobody around/ I could drop you off before I hit the ground/ Where were you/ When I wanted you around/ Where were you/ When I was hoping to be found.”
“Writing is simply a release for me,” Ramsey said in press materials. “It’s a way for me to process my own path through this life. Some of the time I get it right—my aim is always honesty in writing.”
His new album, New Lost Ages, was produced by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty, The Shins, Built to Spill) and released in February. Its 10 tracks mix indie and folk-rock sounds with his spellbinding lyrics.
“What I’m after is still trying to make myself a better guitarist, a better writer, and a better human,” he added. “I feel secure in what I do musically, and I believe in what I’m writing. I try to write songs that I believe every word of. I don’t want to ever dance around something or have to sing lyrics that don’t feel like truth to me.”
Also at The Siren …
In addition to the aforementioned Good Medicine, Numbskull, and KCBX show, The Siren also brings you Americana, folk, jam, and bluegrass act Fistful of Nickels on Saturday, March 30 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free), delivering “toe-tapping, soul-stirring sounds,” according to the club. They play “original songs with influences from the likes of Lost Dog Street Band, Devil Makes Three, and bluegrass staples from the legend himself, Jerry Garcia.”
Seattle-based Racoma brings their indie sensibilities and folk influences to Morro Bay’s best night club on Wednesday, April 3 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). The band is lyricist and lead vocalist Glenn Haider, drummer Spencer Templeman, guitarist Sean Collopy, and bass guitarist Garrett Gue.
SLO Brew Live presents at Rod & Hammer Rock
Oxnard-based soul band Los So-Lows plays Saturday, March 30 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $25 at ticketweb.com) with XL Middleton and Moniquea, and DJ sets by Vinylistics. Los So-Lows are super chill septet with an old-school vibe that plays originals and rare soul covers. Pasadena modern funk duo XL Middleton & Moniquea have an ’80s sound. Finally, local record collective, Vinylistics, will present “A Night of Soul, Oldies & Funk.”
Psychedelic rock act Meatbodies play on Tuesday, April 2 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $12 at ticketweb.com), with Pancho & The Wizards and Repeater. Should be a great night of indie rock.
Fremont Theater
Stand-up comedian Felipe Esparza on his The Bigfoot Tour returns to the Fremont on Friday, March 29 (doors at 6:30 p.m.; all ages; $37.50 to $84.50 at prekindle.com). The Mexican born funnyman won the 2011 Last Comic Standing competition.
Are you ready for a battle royale? Shabang Battle of the Bands Tour: San Luis Obispo happens next Thursday, April 4 (doors at 6:30 p.m.; all ages; $15 at prekindle.com). Squaring off is Plywood Love, Margot Sinclair, Juniper Honey, Suburban Dropout, and Krooks competing for $1,000 and a spot at the Shabang Music Festival on Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4, at Dairy Creek Golf Course.
The Clark Center
Formed in Los Angeles in 2000 by emerging taiko drummers led by Bryan Tamami and Masato Baba, the TaikoProject is the only American group to win the prestigious Tokyo International Taiko Contest. Their new full-length concert program “Benzaiten” is inspired by the Japanese goddess of wisdom, beauty, and dance. See TaikoProject: Benzaiten on Friday, March 29 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $45 to $65 with $25 student/child at clarkcenter.org).
More music …
Twisted Gypsy, a tribute to Fleetwood Mac, plays this Friday, March 29, in Cal Poly’s Spanos Theatre (7:30 p.m.; $40 at pacslo.org) According to press materials, this show is “more than just a tribute” and “takes you back to the early days of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip and the heyday of ’70s rock ‘n’ roll. They will transport you back in time to memories you forgot you had with their passion, ultra-high energy, stellar all-live harmonies, fun stage banter, and raw, track-free performances!” Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 7, 2024.