Australian gender-fluid multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Tash Sultana play Avila Beach Resort on Aug. 23 

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I'm pretty sure the next seven days are packing in the most live music we've had since the pandemic, so let's get cracking. Otter Productions Inc. and Good Vibez have teamed up to bring Tash Sultana to the Avila Beach Resort on Wednesday, Aug. 23 (doors at 4 p.m.; all ages; $47.58 general admission at tixr.com).

Sultana is a "gender-fluid multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer-songwriter, engineer, and entrepreneur," according to their bio (preferred pronouns they/their, dig?).

They've been called a one-person band thanks to looping technology, and they burst onto the Australian music scene about a decade ago and gained an international audience in 2016 with the release of "Jungle," a reggae-esque track, though they also mix in psychedelic rock, soul, R&B, hip-hop, blues, roots, and neo soul into their sound.

They scored more hits with tracks such as "Mystik," "Murder to the Mind," and their cover of MGMT's "Electric Feel." It's been an epic journey from busking on the streets of Melbourne to playing huge venues all over the world. They're currently touring in support of 2021's Terra Firma, the follow-up to their 2018 debut, Flow State.

Montreal-based artist Chiiild opens. He hit the scene in 2020 with the EP Synthetic Soul, and he's now touring in support of his full-length, Hope for Sale. He's been compared to D'Angelo, Marvin Gaye, and Tame Impala. Should be a cool concert overlooking the Pacific.

Vina Robles Amphitheatre

Michael Franti and Spearhead are heading to Paso Robles on Friday, Aug. 18 (7 p.m.; all ages; $45 to $65 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). Franti is the most socially conscious, optimistic, soulful performer out there. He simply exudes positivity. His bio explains that he's "spent decades peeling back the layers on what it means to be human, how to be the best version of ourselves, and how to follow our hearts."

His current tour is called the Big Big Love Tour 2023, about which he said, "Big big love represents being able to hold space for the micro and the macro of love. Everyone has someone they love, whether it's their child, spouse, pet, or friend. But then there's holding space to love people of difference—people who are in the midst of war, people where there is pain and suffering. You show up as love, determination, and spirit in those places where people really need a caring soul connection to help them heal. That's what big big love is: holding space for the personal and the worldly."

Reggae band SOJA opens.

Seattle-based indie folk act Fleet Foxes plays Vina on Tuesday, Aug. 22 (8 p.m.; all ages; $42.50 to $60 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). They formed in 2006 and hit it big in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and debut self-title full-length, which landed on a bunch of "Best Of" lists, including Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums of the 2000s" and Pitchfork's "50 Best Albums of 2008."

They've since released three more studio albums and the live album A Very Lonely Solstice from 2021. Aside from a hiatus between 2013 and 2016, they've been going strong ever since.

"Our shows last summer were by far the best of our career, and we can't wait to do it again," frontman Robin Pecknold said in press materials. "It's an honor to bring this music to life with and for everybody, and we hope to see you there. With love and gratitude."

Nigerian-born singer-songwriter Uwade opens the show.

Fremont Theater

You snooze, you lose. Fremont has two upcoming shows that are already sold out. If you'd hoped to see Yahritza Y Su Esencia on Sunday, Aug. 20, or Dogstar—with everybody's favorite dreamboat bassist Keanu Reeves—next Thursday, Aug. 24, you're out of luck. Don't worry, though. Fremont's got a couple other great shows this week.

Get ready to rock 'n' roll this Friday, Aug. 18, when Enjoy headlines a three-band show in downtown SLO (doors at 8 p.m.; all ages; $25 at seetickets.us), with opening acts Dumb Fucks and Bad Vacation. Enjoy is Wyatt Shears of The Garden, whose music and aesthetic are informed by his interest in SoCal and UK punk, '70s funk, and drum and bass.

Rebels & Renegades presents Charles Wesley Godwin on Wednesday, Aug. 23 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $25 at seetickets.us). The West Virginia native plays cinematic country-folk that's informed by his home state's Appalachian Americana roots. He's also inspired by Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and John Prine. So far, he's released two albums, 2019's Seneca and 2021's How The Mighty Fall.

"I started a family around the time Seneca came out," he recalled in press materials. "After my son was born, I remember sitting in the hospital, thinking about how that very experience would eventually become one of those life moments that flash before my eyes when I'm old. I realized that time is passing, and my time will pass, too. Becoming a father made it all sink in."

Them Dirty Roses opens.

Numbskull and Good Medicine

Brett Dennen plays The Siren on Friday, Aug. 18 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $30 at goodmedicinepresents.com) as part of his Fool in Paradise Acoustic Tour. He was so great at the Live Oak Music Festival. Charming, funny, and so down-to-earth. He's a self-described "songwriter, performer, watercolor artist, and environmental conservationist and outdoorsman," whose shows are meant to gather like-minded music fans "to consistently try to make the world a better place." Jordyn Shellhart opens. She's a terrific on-the-rise country singer.

David Nail plays BarrelHouse on Saturday, Aug. 19 (6 p.m.; all ages; $30 at goodmedicinepresents.com). The modern country artist hails from Southeast Missouri and has had hits such as "Whatever She's Got," "Let It Rain," "Red Light," and more.

The Siren

In addition to hosting the Numbskull/Good Medicine Brett Dennen show, Morro Bay's The Siren has a bunch of other in-house concerts. First, don't forget about Kyle Eldridge's Rockabilly Review on Thursday, Aug. 17 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at tixr.com). The Kentuckian is a ripping guitarist.

If you're in need of some outlaw country, and who isn't, check out The Highwayman Show on Saturday, Aug. 19 (8:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $17 at tixr.com), a tribute to the timeless music of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. Tony Suraci will channel the spirits and voices of the original Highwaymen in an unforgettable two-hour performance.

Mighty Mystic brings his reggae sounds to Morro Bay on Sunday, Aug. 20 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at tixr.com). He recently released his fifth studio album, Giant, which scored hits with singles such as "Far from Jamaica" featuring Sizzla and Tyler Loyal, as well as "Goshen," a tribute to the community in Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, from whence he hails.

SLO Brew Rock

SLO Brew Rock is swinging for the fences this week starting with The Basement Tapes featuring Chuck Prophet on Friday, Aug. 18 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $20 at ticketweb.com). Prophet and company re-create Bob Dylan's famed 1975 album The Basement Tapes, that Dylan recorded with The Band in 1967 and '68, adding overdubs in 1975.

Said Prophet in press materials, "I played some shows recently working exclusively from the book of The Basement Tapes. It was billed as Bob Dylan's 80th Birthday Celebration: featuring The Basement Tapes Live! We had a blast taking those songs out for a joyride. We weren't crazy enough to think The Basement Tapes could be reproduced. It's not scientific. But we freely added and took away from the recipe."

On Saturday, Aug. 19, head to the Rod & Hammer Ranch 2023 Whiskey Festival, which features alt-rock by Carbon City Lights (1:30 to 3 p.m.), country by the Shawn Clark and Ryan Delmore Band (3:30 to 5 p.m.), and folk by the Mark Adams Band (5:30 to 7 p.m.). Doors open at noon, it's all ages, and totally free. You can ride a mechanical bull, do some line dancing, throw axes, and sample whiskeys and smoked meats.

Later that same night on Saturday, Aug. 19, SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) present M. Ward (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $30 at ticketweb.com). Ward unleashed his musical calling in San Luis Obispo when he was a Cal Poly student, forming a trio called Rodriguez. He's gone on to an amazing career, with a dozen well received solo albums and collaborations with Zoey Deschanel as She and Him and with the supergroup Monsters of Folk with members of Bright Eyes and My Morning Jacket. His most recent solo album is Supernatural Thing, which was released in June.

SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) also present Os Mutantes with Marco on Sunday, Aug. 20 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $25 at ticketweb.com). This influential Brazilian psychedelic rock band is linked with the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s, combining a range of influences from the English-speaking world like The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly & the Family Stone with bossa nova, tropicália, and samba.

The Clark Center

The Clark Center presents an evening with Judy Collins on Tuesday, Aug. 22 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $57 to $67 at clarkcenter.org). Now 84, Collins' career has spanned decades. Her debut album, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, was released in 1961, but her breakout album was Wildflowers (1967), where she had a huge hit with Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now," as well as Leonard Cohen's "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye." Her version of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns" won Song of the Year at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She's a national treasure.

New band, familiar faces

There's no stopping Ted Waterhouse, who has put together another new band with some inveterate local performers: The Quadratones.

"The group has evolved over the last year or so to the current lineup consisting of Phil Wimer on electric guitar and vocals, Kevin McCracken on harmonica and vocals, David Block on electric bass and vocals, Wes Starr on drums, and yours truly on slide guitar, electric guitar, and vocals. I also serve as the principal songwriter in the band," Waterhouse said. "Wes Starr, our drummer and newest edition, has fairly recently relocated to Morro Bay after decades in Austin and Nashville, where he performed and recorded with an amazing list of artists including Asleep at the Wheel, Delbert McClinton, Hal Ketchum, Marcia Ball, Jimmie Dale Gilmour, the Golden State Lone Star Blues Revue, and many others."

Check out their mix of revved-up roots-rock, blues, soul, and rockabilly originals as well as classic covers from the likes of Muddy Waters to Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix to Sam Cook, Led Zeppelin to Mose Alison, and Fontella Bass to the Grateful Dead when they play Saturday, Aug. 19, in the Paso Lounge (adjunct to the Paso Robles Casino; 7 to 10 p.m.); the Secret Garden, an outdoor venue attached to the Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort next Thursday, Aug. 24 (3 to 6 p.m.); and Castoro Cellars on Sunday, Aug. 27 (1 to 4 p.m.).

More music ...

"Ready to get baked ... goods?" asked bandleader and quip-meister Cliff "Crawdaddy" Stepp of the New Orleans-style boogie band The Cliffnotes. They'll bring their sweet, swampy sounds to Buttercup Bakery & Cafe in the heart of Morro Bay (kitty corner from Central Coast Music) this Thursday, Aug. 17 (5:30 p.m.; all ages; free). Expect "a patio party complete with the Buttercup Food Truck serving gourmet pizza, microbrews, and more," Stepp added.

There are only four more Concerts in the Plaza events this season, so that means only four more chances to boogie down in the front of the mission to your favorite Central Coast performers. This Friday, Aug. 18, singer-songwriter Dave Tate will open the show at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. set by Cali-Cubano, Afro-funk ensemble the Zongo All-Stars, who'll have you shaking your moneymakers.

Damon Castillo plays Templeton's Venteux Vineyards on Friday, Aug. 18 (5:30 p.m.; all ages; $12 at exploretock.com). Expect great wine, food, and jazz-informed rock, funk, and soul music during this special reunion show with Abraham Robles on drums and Ben Del Giorgio on bass. Gabriela Welch and Jineanne Coderre will be singing, with Larry Kim on sax and Kristian Ducharme on keyboards.

Old-school roots rock and rockabilly band The Boneshavers play Atascadero's Raconteur Room on Saturday, Aug. 19 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $5 at the door). These guys go way back, playing at clubs like The Dark Room and D.K.'s West Indies Bar. Featuring Bob Denike (vocals), Johnny Mojo (guitar), Steve Burt (bass), and Rory Koff (drums), they only play a couple shows a year these days, so we're lucky to have them.

Jazz Vespers Concerts returns to SLO's First Presbyterian Church this Sunday, Aug. 20, with saxophonist Ron McCarley sitting in with the Sam Hirsh Trio (4 p.m.; all ages; free, though donations are welcome). McCarley is the director of Jazz Studies at Cuesta College. Hirsh is a longtime pianist, composer, and educator in Los Angeles. His trio includes Jermaine Paul on bass and Kevin Kanner on drums.

Symphony of the Vines plays Adelaida Vineyards and Winery on Sunday, Aug. 20 (5:30 p.m.; all ages; $35 general, $30 senior, $15 student tickets at my805tix.com), performing Johannes Brahms' String Sextet in B-flat major and Franz Schubert's Strig Quintet in C-major. Tony Navarro and Daniel Muñoz are on violins, Emily Gilman and Bridget Boland on violas. And Katrina Agate and Hilary Clark on cellos. Gorgeous setting and gorgeous music. Δ

Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at [email protected].