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You know how some bands just exude cool, just embody confidence, just signal they've got straight-up street cred? That's The LowDown Brass Band—a Chicago horn ensemble that melds reggae-style dancehall with hip-hop and street beat rhythms, mixing in touches of jazz and soul.
Check out any of their videos online and you'll be intrigued. Keep digging and you'll be hooked. Their phat horns, rocksteady riddims, and smoothly delivered rap and harmony vocals are absolutely infectious, and they're coming to Morro Bay's The Siren this Saturday, Oct. 22 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15.50 at eventbrite.com), with local hip-hop, funk, and rock act Silk Ocean opening.
Silk Ocean was founded and fronted by Hakeem Sanusi, a past New Times Music Award winner who's in the running again for this year's NTMA showcase on Friday, Nov. 4, at SLO Brew Rock (7 to 9:30 p.m.; all ages; $15 at my805tix.com) with his writing partner Vincent Angelo.
Singer-songwriters Andrew Duhon and Haley Johnsen play on Wednesday, Oct. 26 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $13 at eventbrite.com). Duhon is a New Orleans native with a soulful voice. Johnsen is a Portland-born musician with a knack for genre bending.
Singer-songwriters Taylor Ashton & Bella White play next Thursday, Oct. 27 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at eventbrite.com). Ashton is a Canadian singer and songwriter living in Brooklyn who, according to his bio, "croons poignantly clever lyrical insights while effortlessly gliding between a Bill Callahan-esque baritone to a Thom Yorke-like falsetto." White, hailing from Calgary, grew up on "classic country and old-time music she first discovered thanks to her father, a Virginia native who played in bluegrass bands all throughout her childhood."
Numbskull and Good Medicine is bringing blue-collar rocker Will Hoge to the club on Friday, Oct. 21 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com). His sound if rooted in Telecaster guitar riffs and anthem-like songs made for "roadhouses and rallies, for car stereos and dive-bar jukeboxes, for Saturday night hell-raising and Sunday morning comedowns."
"I always want to embrace change—to accept new things artistically—but at the end of the day, I can try to run from this idea that I love good, guitar-based rock 'n' roll music, or I can wear that badge of honor," he said in press materials. "I'm in the 'wearing the badge of honor' phase now."
Don't forget Numbskull and Good Medicine also have Bright Eyes playing the Alex Madonna Expo Center on Thursday, Oct. 20 (6 p.m.; $37 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Their song "This is the First Day of My Life" was an early big hit that put the band on the map. Lala Lala opens.
Finally, get your sweet mini-music-fest vibe on this Saturday, Oct. 22, at Tree Bones Resort in Big Sur during Rock the Bones (doors at noon; all ages; $60 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Alt-pop singer Eric Hutchinson opens followed by American roots band Dustbowl Revival, bluegrass rippers Brothers Comatose, and headliner The White Buffalo, a deep souled, enigmatic outlaw country singer-songwriter with a rumbling voice and towering presence.
Jason Ross on his The Atlas Tour plays this Thursday, Oct. 20 (8 p.m.; all ages; $25 at seetickets.us). He's one of dance music's premier acts: "Once a mainstay on the legendary Anjunabeats and a rising star of new age trance shepherded by Above & Beyond and co., Jason quickly outgrew the boundaries of four to the floor grooves, expanding into the less finite space of broken beats and pop vocals of melodic bass," according to his bio.
And speaking of dancing, next Thursday, Oct. 27, the Fremont hosts a One Direction Dance Party with Blade Trip (9 p.m.; all ages; $13 at seetickets.us). Expect an interactive DJ theme night with music and visuals dedicated to One Direction. Stylers unite!
Starcrawler embraces a dirty LA, heroin chic, deep sleaze milieu with their tongues firmly in cheek. The quintet is known for incendiary live shows. Fronted by Arrow De Wilde, the band purportedly formed when she met guitarist Henri Cash at LA's Grand Arts High School, when Wilde reportedly approached Cash, who was carrying a tuba at the time, and said, "You look cool. Do you play guitar?" The band added Cash's brother Bill Cash on pedal steel/guitar, drummer Seth Carolina, and bassist Tim Franco. See them this Thursday, Oct. 20 (7 p.m.; all ages; $18 at ticketweb.com).
Delicate Steve plays SLO Brew on Wednesday, Oct. 26 (7 p.m.; all ages; $15 at ticketweb.com). Steve is touring in support of his new album After Hours, which was written and recorded on a 1966 Fender Stratocaster "that reignited his love for the instrument."
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tribute act Petty Fever plays Saturday, Oct. 22 (7:30 p.m.; $38 to $52 at clarkcenter.org). This award-winning full production tribute features Frank Murray as Petty, performing over four decades of classic hits such as "American Girl," "Free Falling," "Breakdown," "Running Down a Dream," "I Won't Back Down," and many more.
"Geez, I wish we had gotten this popular when I didn't mind hauling all the equipment around so much," The Cliffnotes bandleader Cliff "Crawdaddy" Stepp quipped. His popular band will bring their New Orleans-flavored boogie blues to Mulligan's at the Avila Bay Golf Resort this Friday, Oct. 21 (5 to 7 p.m.; all ages; free).
SeepeopleS plays Frog and Peach this Wednesday, Oct. 26 (9 p.m.; 21-and-older). They've toured the country for 22 years, "bringing their defiant, politically charged music to the masses, challenging audiences to question the world around them, while creating a community of misfits hell-bent on speaking truth to power." Their new album is titled Field Guide For Survival In This Dying World.
If you're in the mood to laugh—and these days who isn't?—you have two terrific female comics to choose from this Friday.
Cal Poly Arts brings Michelle Wolf and her stand-up comedy stylings to the Performing Arts Center of SLO this Friday, Oct. 21 (8 p.m.; $45 to $65 at calpolyarts.org). She was all over the news for her raucous performance as the headliner of the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner. She's also been an on-air contributor and writer for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and a writing supervisor and performer on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Brash funny-lady Chelsea Handler performs her Vaccinated and Horny standup at Vina Robles Amphitheatre on Friday, Oct. 21, and it's the last scheduled event of the venue's season (8 p.m.; $45 to $85 at ticketmaster.com). The comedian, television host, best-selling author, and advocate is known for her often shocking candor. Oh my. Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at [email protected].