Fourteen years ago, a couple of Cal Poly students met and did a really “collegey” thing. They started playing music together. The pair added other players over the next few years, went from busking to house parties to night clubs, and eventually took their show on the road. Now indie-soul act Próxima Parada will return to Cal Poly to play a very special concert with the SLO Symphony in the Performing Arts Center on Thursday, May 21 (doors at 6:30, show at 7:30 p.m.; ages 5 and up; $25 to $110).
“For me, this concert feels like a real full-circle moment,” singer-songwriter and guitarist/pianist Nico Larson explained on the Linnaea’s Cafe patio. “We’re coming back to the campus where we met, and it feels like we’re doing something that we would only do for home. It feels like a love letter to SLO. We love playing at home. We want to do something very special that we’d only do here.”
Even the band’s name has a local Cal Poly connection. Próxima Parada means “next stop” in Spanish.
“It comes from taking the bus to Cal Poly,” Larson explained. “There’s that recording that says, ‘Now approaching, próxima parada.’ And man, people hear that all around the world, too. You hear it on the metro in Spain, in Brazil even, because it’s also coincidentally the same phrase in Portuguese.”
In addition to Larson, bassist Kevin Middlekauff is the other founding member, with guitarist Josh Collins added in 2015 and drummer Aaron Kroeger added in 2016.
“For us, it feels like [Josh and Aaron were there from] the beginning in that we hadn’t been touring yet,” Larson explained. “We were still very much just a local band. We’ve known those guys before then, too, so it’s a long history.”
Since those early days, they’ve embarked on many national and regional tours, have a well-attended YouTube channel, and are Spotify stalwarts.
In addition to the SLO Symphony, percussionist Val Collins will be joining them at the PAC.
“Doing it at the PAC is also just kind of a dream come true. We’ve been seeing shows there since we were students,” Larson added. “We saw John Prine and Lake Street Dive, and of course lots of symphony shows, too. The thing that takes it over the top for me is to not just playing in the PAC, not just playing in SLO, but having the symphony with us. It’s something I could only have dreamt of. It feels surreal that we’re actually doing this.”
‘That’s just an example of the way San Luis Obispo shows up, and they always have, since the beginning, since our first album when we did a crowdfunding campaign. It was wildly successful. We’ve felt so supported all along the way.’
—Nico Larson, Próxima Parada
Since their 2014 debut, Songs of Music, they’ve gone on to record five more, most recently Into the Way (2024), though their biggest hit is from their 2019 album, Kind Reminder—“Musta Been a Ghost” has been streamed 67 million times and counting and has enjoyed a lot of radio play.
They plan to record and film this upcoming concert for a live album. The symphony musicians have received the music for the concert’s 16 chosen songs.
“All the individual players will learn their parts, and then we’ll come together the week of the show in the PAC, which is nice. We get to rehearse on the stage, so they’ll be able to dial in the sound and everything,” Larson said.
“Josh has been taking the lead on writing the orchestrations, which was a crazy undertaking,” Larson continued. “The symphony didn’t write the music that they’re going to play. We did all the arrangements. Josh and I basically got together and mapped out what we thought would be a dynamic, interesting set, how we could do things differently, what would make it special.”
They wrote parts for flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, French horns, trumpets, trombones, two violin sections, violas, and cellos. A single song might have upwards of 40 pages of charts for the symphony to play their parts simultaneously.
“It’s just going to add all this extra color, texture, different emphasis. The dynamic range is going to be so much greater, bringing it way down, taking it way up. It just feels so special,” Larson said.
Próxima Parada is arguably one of the most successful bands to come out of Cal Poly, and Larson says they’ve always appreciated the local love they’ve received.
“I feel so supported by San Luis Obispo,” he said. “When we have this big opportunity, just seeing how people come out. I have a friend, Dan Curcio, a musician, he’s like, ‘Oh, you know, my sister’s 40th birthday is that night.’ So he got the whole birthday to come! It’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re coming 12 deep.’ It’s just cool to see, and that’s just an example of the way San Luis Obispo shows up, and they always have, since the beginning, since our first album when we did a crowdfunding campaign. It was wildly successful. We’ve felt so supported all along the way.”
It you come to the concert and want the party to keep on going, you can add a VIP after-party and meet-and-greet to your ticket.
“That’s going to have Castoro Cellars pouring wine, Sichuan Kitchen SLO serving food, and Bread Bike with dessert,” Larson said.
Sounds like a hometown hoedown.
Good Vibez at the Fremont Theater
As usual, there’s a ton of great music at the usual locations. Good Vibez is hosting Jerry Garcia Band tribute act Jerry’s Middle Finger on Friday, May 15 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $36.02 at prekindle.com). This close-knit band of musicians continues to carry on Jerry’s musical legacy three decades after his loss.
“This isn’t just a cover band—it’s a band that genuinely honors the music Jerry made and the community he built,” Rodney Newman, the group’s drummer and co-founder, said in press materials. “We’ve studied these songs: the guitar tones, the vocal arrangements, the keyboard sounds. We play them the way Jerry did, and we connect with the audience in an interactive, open-hearted way. It’s an approach that transcends the perfection of a performance or the spectacle of a light show, because we’re not really about that. We’re about the music, the feeling, and the communal experience.”
Comedian, actor, and podcaster Tig Notaro plays on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, but both shows were essentially sold out except for a couple of random single seats as of May 11 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $50.96 to $63.32 at prekindle.com).
Unknown Mortal Orchestra brings their ethereal experimental sounds on Wednesday, May 20 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $46.32 at prekindle.com). They’re touring in support of their newest EP, Curse, that “reflects the cursed times we find ourselves in,” the band announced. Sean Solomon opens
The Siren …
Mojo Risin’ (a tribute to Jim Morrison and The Doors) plays on Friday, May 15 (6 to 9:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.30 at tixr.com). Based out of The Doors’ hometown of LA, this tribute act plays hits like “Light My Fire,” “L.A. Woman,” “Roadhouse Blues,” “Break on Through,” and “Riders on the Storm,” “with a focus on giving audiences a respectful and nuanced tribute to this legendary band,” their bio explains.
Legion of Groove plays on Saturday, May 16 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $8.45 at tixr.com), delivering a night of funky hip-hop rock ’n’ roll. The group is co-fronted by rapper Gehrig Kniffen and DJ Tommy de Silva. A Win For Wolves opens.
Legendary Bad Brains vocalist Paul “HR” Hudson performs on Tuesday, May 19 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $23.77 at tixr.com). Best known for his stint with the iconic punk band Bad Brains, in 1984, HR formed his reggae-rock band Human Rights. Trippin’ & G opens.
Jamaican dancehall superstar King Yellowman plays on Wednesday, May 20 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $28.02 at tixr.com). “He also epitomized dancehall’s penchant for ‘slack’ lyrics—that is, casual violence, sexism, homophobia, and general rudeness,” his bio explained. Eric Cotton and One Love Bomb opens.
The Siren also has a few free ones this week. Visit thesirenmorrobay.com for details.
SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock
The club by the airport lifts off with Steely Dead on Friday, May 15 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $32.36 at ticketweb.com). The Denver-based national touring band “seamlessly fuses the iconic sounds of Grateful Dead and Steely Dan into one electrifying live experience.”
More music …
The Bald Spots, a popular local doo-wop group, brings their mix of ’50s and ’60s American music and humor to a fundraising concert at SLO’s First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, May 16 (4 p.m.; all ages; free but donations encouraged). Proceeds will support Green Pastures, a church ministry that provides mini grants to locals in need of temporary assistance.
Award-winning singer-songwriter Matthias Clark is pulling out all the stops for his upcoming show at SLO’s The Gathering Place (11245 LOVR Road) on Saturday, May 16 (doors at 6, show at 7 p.m.; all ages; $10 includes a seat, $25 includes an unreserved table seat, or $180 for a reserved table for six at my805tix.com). His backing band includes Kenny Lee Lewis, Bobby Santa Cruz, Eric Stever, and Darryl Voss. Expect a retrospective of Clark’s deep catalog.
Bryan Bielanski, a singer-songwriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina, plays Sunday, May 17, at Paso’s Sculpterra Winery (12:30 to 3:30 p.m.; all ages; free). According to his bio, he’s “inspired by good old rock and folk music.” He’s performed more than 2,500 shows all over the U.S. and in Asia, Europe, Central America, and more. He’s touring in support of his album Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time! ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in May 14-21, 2026.
