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Jeffrey Halford's 2021 song "Walk to the River" opens like a gospel hymn as he repeats the chorus, "I'm gonna walk to the river. I'm gonna walk to the river. I'm gonna walk to the river." When he gets to the first verse, you quickly realize this is a song about immigration.
"Got my family close at hand. We'll march like ants across the sand. We're not criminals. We're refugees, and we're heading down to the land of the free."
Halford, who fronts the Americana band Jeffrey Halford & The Healers—playing the Olde Alehouse in Los Osos on Sunday, Sept 7 (2 to 5 p.m.; all ages; free)—had read about a father trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico with his young son.
"When we got down to the water, oh the water was high. He held on tightly to my hand. We jumped into the Rio Grande," he sings. "Vultures ride the thermals. They're circling 'round and 'round. Something in the water. I think somebody drown. Maybe it's a blessing not to realize your dreams 'cause they're locking kids in cages. At night you hear the screams. America has no place for you. There's nothing left to sell. It's the secret of the river and the river never tells."
It's a tragic song that seems even more relevant today than when he wrote it.
"I'm disgusted," Halford said by phone from his home in Marin County when asked about the current immigration situation in the U.S. "I stopped playing that song [for a while]. I went on European tour, and that album [2022's Soul Crusade] I put out went to No. 1 in Europe. We just—for two years in a row—played the shit out of that song, so I got kind of sick of it. But people love it, right? I'm lucky. I'm lucky to have written a song like that. So I stopped playing it, but now I'm back on it. It seems as relevant as it ever was. That's why I kicked it back in."
Halford is a very literary songwriter with a knack for creating engaging narratives about people living on the fringes of society. Most of his songs eschew contemporary politics, but "Walk to the River" was born out of outrage.
"I was just literally pissed off about it, you know? Like, what the fuck? Can't we somehow treat these people in a humane fashion? In a country like ours with so much money, we should be able to handle this situation better, so I wrote the song in anger."
A more typical Halford song is "A Town Called Slow," which paints a drunken Wild West saloon gambling scene: "We drank that bottle 'til the last drip/ I reached over to grab the pot/ Pulled out a sawed-off with one side cocked/ Bad men like that you gotta let 'em know you're here/ I shot down the chandelier/ Ladies screamed when they heard that sound/ Pour me another round."
These edgy slices of life are gritty and engaging, and Halford's soulful voice sells these scenes as his melodies and sound move from swamp folk to country to roots blues and back again.
He's heading out on another European tour in a couple of weeks, and he's releasing on vinyl his 2000 breakthrough album, Kerosene, for its 25th anniversary. It's really the album that launched his European success.
You can catch Halford and his band this Sunday before he heads overseas.
Award-winning local singer-songwriter David Lynch will open the show. Mixing blues and folk, Lynch creates heartfelt songs that will get under your skin. He's got three albums out, most recently I Can See Sound. See two great songwriters on one kickback Los Osos afternoon.
Legends
Nederlander Concerts is bringing multi-Grammy Award-winning band and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago to Vina Robles Amphitheatre on Tuesday, Sept. 9 (doors at 6:30, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $67.89 to $233.13 at ticketmaster.com). The long-running rock band "with horns"—as they like to mention—started in 1967 and over their long career became the first American rock band to chart Top 40 albums in six consecutive decades.
The current lineup includes founding members Robert Lamm (keyboards, vocals), Lee Loughnane (trumpet), and James Pankow (trombone) along with eight newer members, re-creating that amazing full Chicago sound. There are really too many hits to list, but songs such as 1971's "Saturday in the Park," 1969's "25 of 6 to 4" and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is," 1970's "Colour My World," and 1982's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" remain an indelible part of rock history. They've sold more than 100 million records for a reason!
Dazzler
Good Vibez presents jazz fusion and world music guitar master Al Di Meola in the Fremont Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 9 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $50.96 to $81.86 at prekindle.com). He makes complex rhythmic syncopation look easy as he weaves arrestingly beautiful melodies.
Starting in 1974, the now 71-year-old is a worldwide sensation who has recorded 28 albums, most recently 2024's Twentyfour. Three of his albums are certified gold, and he's sold more than 6 million records worldwide. Truly a dazzling master of the guitar.
Also from Good Vibez at the Fremont, tickle your funny bone with comedian Trey Kennedy when he stops as part of his Relatable Tour on Thursday, Sept. 11 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $44.78 to $176.62 at prekindle.com). He rose to fame on YouTube and TikTok.
Mr. Telecaster
Venerated British guitar Legend Albert Lee plays The Siren on Thursday, Sept. 11 (6:30 to 9:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $29.59). Over his long career, the 81-year-old has worked with acts such as The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris, and The Crickets. The lightning-fast fingerpicker has 17 albums to his credit and won a Grammy Award in 2002 for his contribution to Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs' 2001 performance of their classic 1949 song "Foggy Mountain Breakdown." Lee plays his signature Ernie Ball Music Man Guitar.
Also this week at The Siren, there are a couple of free shows when cover bands Legends plays on Friday, Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older), and Back Pages Band plays on Saturday, Sept. 6 (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older).
Local reggae, rock, ska, punk, funk, and hip-hop act Nada Rasta plays on Saturday, Sept. 6 (7:45 to 10:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $13.17 at tixr.com).
Sk8r deluxe and Grrrl Zep
SLO Brew Live presents downtempo art rocker and soul guitarist Tommy Guerrero in Rod & Hammer Rock on Sunday, Sept. 7 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $32.36 at ticketweb.com). The talented musician and composer was first known as a professional skateboarder—a former member of the Bones Brigade, a prominent skateboarding team of the 1980s that included Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero.
All-female Led Zeppelin tribute act Zepparella returns to Rod & Hammer on Thursday, Sept. 11 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $27.21 at ticketweb.com). The band pays reverent homage to the British blues and hard rock heroes.
Mo Better Jazz returns
Mo Betta Jazz Productions presents a free jazz and R&B concert at Mission Plaza on Sunday, Sept. 7 (2:45 p.m.; all ages; donations welcome at my805tix.com). The public is invited to bring a lawn chair and relax.
The Mo Betta Band is fronted by vocalist Deborah Gilmore: "My music journey has brought me from homelessness to this point and plans for bigger shows are already in the works. The goal is to bring a certain level of musicianship and professionalism to the genres of jazz and R&B, especially to SLO! I'm currently working on an exclusive venue for the arts with a strong focus on jazz. GoFundMe has been established to raise money for this project (gofundme.com/f/bringing-jazz-to-san-luis-obispo)."
At Sunday's concert, Gilmore and her band will perform songs such as Stevie Wonder's "Do I Do," Earth, Wind & Fire's "In the Stone," and Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much."
"For some of the jazz pieces, the band will be playing tunes by Herbie Hancock and the late Lenny White," Gilmore added. "The band members are always a combination of professionals, Cal Poly jazz musicians, as well as some Cuesta musicians."
In addition to Gilmore on vocals, Cal Poly Jazz Director Jamaal Baptiste will be on piano, Josh Crain on bass, Jacob Cherdak on guitar, Andre Copher on drums, Cal Poly music professor Ana Nelson on sax, and Jose Valdez on congas.
Couples who play together ...
Husband-and-wife duo Bob & Wendy with special guest Paul Griffith play The Bunker SLO on Sunday, Sept. 7 (doors at 3 p.m., show at 3:30; all ages; presale $15.77 at my805tix.com or $15 at the door if any remain). Their shows usually sell out, so act quickly and expect to hear Wendy's sparkling and emotive original songs and adroit guitar work with Bob's stirring cello accompaniment.
Ha-ha!
Cal Poly Arts presents comedian, actor, and writer Sheng Wang at the PACSLO on Saturday, Sept. 6 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $41 to $75 at pacslo.org). Born in Taiwan but raised in Texas and educated at Berkeley, the droll observational comic has been doing stand-up since 2002 and had his first Netflix special, Sweet & Juicy, in 2023. He was also a featured stand-up on HBO's 2 Dope Queens, and he wrote for the ABC show Fresh Off the Boat. Δ
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
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