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Travelers and World Enders rejoice. Lord Huron, your favorite cinematic indie rockers, return to Vina Robles Amphitheatre next week to deliver live versions of their hits such as "The Night We Met" (streamed over a billion times!), "Wait by the River," "When the Night is Over," and their newest chart topper—"Not Dead Yet"—off their fourth and most recent album Long Lost (2021).
Based in Los Angeles, they take their name from Lake Huron, the second largest of the Great Lakes where founding member Ben Schneider grew up visiting as a child growing up in Michigan. Their sound—a combination of country, folk, surf rock, pop, and new age sounds—has been compared to The Band, Neil Young, My Morning Jacket, and Fleet Foxes.
Lord Huron plays next Thursday, May 23 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $44.40 to $54,50 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). Clover County, aka A.G. Schiano, opens. Switching between her white electric Gretsch guitar, which she calls her Cadillac, and a variety of acoustic guitars, Clover delivers sweet and silky-smooth vocals and heartbreaking melodies.
Also this week at Vina Robles, check out dark and amoral stand-up comic Anthony Jeselnik on Saturday, May 18 (8 p.m.; all ages; $29 to $99 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). Known for his Netflix specials, podcast, and Comedy Central roasts, he surprises with ironic misdirection and non sequiturs. Is he a psycho or does he just play one on TV?
Fremont Theater
The historic downtown SLO theater has a full slate this week starting with Canadian indie pop act Tegan and Sara on Thursday, May 16 (8 p.m.; all ages; $43.50 at prekindle.com), with special guest Devan opening. Tegan and Sara are identical twin sisters and multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters.
Stand-up comic Alfred Robles hits the stage on Saturday, May 18 (8 p.m.; all ages; $24.50 to $49.50 at prekindle.com). According to his bio, "After getting kicked out of the police academy, Alfred Robles rose to become one of the hottest young comedians in the country."
Emo Orchestra featuring Escape the Fate plays on Sunday, May 19 (8 p.m.; all ages; $13.75 to $59.50). Emo Orchestra performs your favorite emo hits with full orchestra arrangements. Escape the Fate is their special guest artist performing their own songs and works by New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At the Disco, and more.
American-Samoan reggae and hip-hop star J Boog returns on Tuesday, May 21 (8 p.m.; all ages; $30 at prekindle.com), with L.A.B. and Cas Haley opening the show. J Boog is touring in support of his fourth album, Pennies From Heaven (2023).
The Wallflowers, fronted by Bob Dylan's immensely talented son Jakob Dylan, plays on Wednesday, May 22 (8 p.m.; all ages; $47 to $77 at prekindle.com). The two-time Grammy winners (Best Rock Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song for "One Headlight" in 1998) have enjoyed hit singles with "6th Avenue Heartache," "The Difference," "Three Marlenas," "Sleepwalker," and their David Bowie cover of "Heroes."
The Wallflowers, including Dylan and his rotating cast of players, are currently touring in support of Exit Wounds (2021). As Dylan noted in press materials, "The Wallflowers has always been a vehicle for me to make great rock 'n' roll records. And sometimes the lineup that makes the record transfers over into touring, and sometimes it doesn't. But my intention is always to make the Wallflowers record I want to make, using the musicians I have beside me."
Grammy-nominated Leslie Mendleson opens, delivering her "distinctive folk-rock, pop-Americana flavor, evoking the sounds of Laurel Canyon," according to her bio.
Finally, Gogol Bordello plays next Thursday, May 23 (8 p.m.; all ages; $37 to $187 at prekindle.com). This international punk act fronted by Ukrainian frontman Eugene Hütz is bubbling over with manic energy, musical ingenuity, and these days political messaging. Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, Hütz and his bandmates have been tirelessly advocating for Ukrainian solidarity. Mary Shelley and Grace Bergere open.
Numbskull and Good Medicine
Numbskull and Good Medicine also have a big week lined up with three concerts at three venues. Singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau, who annually tours the U.S. with his band, will play solo this time around on Friday, May 17 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com) at Club Car Bar. He's touring in support of this 13th studio album, Wood, Fire, Water, and Air (2023). Defining himself as a seeker, his new album is "recognition that perhaps all those spiritual treasures he's been chasing for so long were closer than he thought," his bio explained.
Red Dirt and Texas country star Aaron Watson returns Saturday, May 18 (6 p.m.; all ages; $33 at goodmedicinepresents.com), to play BarrelHouse Brewing. He's a real maverick in the country world, the first independent male country artist ever to debut a self-released and independently distributed album at No. 1 on the Billboard Country chart for The Underdog (2015), a feat recognized in the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Wilder Blue opens.
Pacific Northwest three-part harmony folk act Fruition plays on Wednesday, May 22 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com) in The Siren. These folks are stunning vocalists, amazing musicians, and wholly engrossing performers. Americana fans, don't miss this band live. Word from the band is they have a new album coming later this year and another planned for 2025.
Also at The Siren ...
Don't forget the original Morro Bay-grown show The Surface Walkers—a Sci-Fi Rock Opera happens this Thursday, May 16 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $12 at tixr.com). Expect an epic sonic journey "through a futuristic tale of love, war, betrayal and redemption, as our band performs two acts of 100 percent original rock music, with influences of funk, progressive rock, metal, and electronic dance music, flooding your senses with visual art and immersive soundscapes," the band said.
Experience Glow Up: A Blacklight Price Extravaganza on Friday, May 17 (6:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at tixr.com). "Step into a world of vibrant hues and electrifying energy as we illuminate the night in celebration of love, equality, and pride," said organizers from Central Coast Pride.
Déjà Vu plays an afternoon show on Saturday, May 18 (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older; free), playing a variety of covers from classic rock to country to R&B to Top 40.
Later that night on Saturday, May 18, dance to Vintage Renegades (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free), "a multi-genre rock band" featuring "an upbeat, eclectic blend of rock music."
Finally, Hawaiian singer-songwriter John Cruz plays next Thursday, May 23 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25 at tixr.com). He grew up playing with his father and brothers, eventually moving to the East Coast and playing around NYC, Martha's Vineyard, and Boston before becoming a leading member of the prestigious New World Theater. Local surf rock act Surfeza opens.
Rod and Hammer Rock
Reminder! SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) present L'Eclair with Omar Velasco on Thursday, May 16 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $22 at ticketweb.com). L'éclair, from Geneva, Switzerland, delivers instrumental cosmic sounds.
SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) also present Rayland Baxter on Saturday, May 18 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $30 at ticketweb.com). The creation of his fourth album, If I Were a Butterfly, is weird and wild. He holed up in a former rubber-band factory turned studio in the Kentucky countryside.
"I spent that year living in a barn with the squirrels and the birds, on my own most of the time, and I discovered so much about music and how to create it," the Tennessee-bred singer-songwriter said in press materials. "Instead of going into a studio with a producer for two weeks, I just waited for the record to build itself. I'd get up and go outside, see a butterfly and connect that with some impulsive thought I'd had three months ago, and suddenly a song I'd been working on would make sense. That's how the whole album came to be."
And for the trifecta, SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) also present LA LOM on Sunday, May 19 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $25 at ticketweb.com). The Los Angeles League of Musicians, LA LOM, are an instrumental trio formed in Los Angeles in 2021 that blends the sounds of cumbia sonidera, '60s soul ballads, and classic romantic boleros.
More music ...
If you're looking for a remarkable night of handmade indie music that breaks all known molds, get thee to the Donald Beaman and Little Wings (Kyle Field) double bill at SLO's A Satellite of Love this Thursday, May 16 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $10 to $20 at the door). Little Wings is probably familiar to locals. Field lived in SLO Town for years before heading north. His music is deeply charming and highly unusual. Similarly, Donald Beaman does things his own way. He's touring in support of his new album, Fog on Mirror Glass, which is contemplative, plaintive, and starkly beautiful.
Bay Area bassist, bandleader, composer, educator, and Cal Poly alumnus Marcus Shelby will be the featured performer at the Cal Poly Jazz Ensembles' Spring Jazz Concert on Friday, May 17, in the Performing Arts Center (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $15 and $20 general, $10 for students and SLO Jazz Fed members, available at the Cal Poly Ticket Office or by calling (805) 756-4849). Shelby may be best known for acting in Pixar's 2020 Academy Award-winning animated film Soul, where he voiced the father of the movie's protagonist, Joe, but his Marcus Shelby Orchestra has also released five albums.
SLO Wind Orchestra presents Notes of Triumph on Sunday, May 19, in the Cuesta College Performing Arts Center (3 p.m.; all ages; $20 to $30 at slowinds.org). Under the direction of Maestro Jennifer Martin, the orchestra will perform a diverse selection of pieces, including Hanson's Overture and love duet from "Merry Mount Suite."
Get your old-time mountain music fix when Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves play the historic Octagon Barn Center on Tuesday, May 21 (6 p.m. jam; concert at 7 p.m.; all ages; $20 presale at eventbrite.com or $25 at the door, subject to availability). "Adventurous, masterful, and original ... they expand on the eccentricities of old songs while never losing sight of what makes them endure," their bio explains. The duo's 2022 sophomore album, Hurricane Clarice, won Best Instrumental Group of the Year and Best Traditional Album of the Year from the Canadian Folk Music Awards and also received a Juno nomination for Traditional Roots Album of the Year.
Two Cal Poly choirs—The Chamber Choir and Cantabile—present Sacred Sounds in Mission San Luis Obispo on Thursday, May 23 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $20 general and $10 students at the Cal Poly Ticket Office or by calling (805) 756-4849). The concert will feature a vast array of music from the sacred choral tradition, spanning more than 600 years. Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at [email protected].
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