On the rise country artist Joshua Ray Walker returns to The Siren 

With a baby face and a 6XL frame, Joshua Ray Walker appears to be an unlikely country music hero, but his star is unquestionably on the rise. After his 2019 debut, Wish You Were Here, he hit the ground running. In 2020, Rolling Stone called him "country's most fascinating young songwriter."

His songs certainly cut deep. On "Voices" off his second album, Glad You Made It, he sings about suicidal ideation: "I'd stare at my reflection through bottles behind the bar/ I didn't know hate could feel this good behind the wheel of a car/ Might put this truck in neutral, let it roll into the lake/ but first I'll finish off this bottle so it looks like a mistake."

click to enlarge

• Photo Courtesy Of Chad Windham
• HONKY-TONK WITNESS Joshua Ray Walker brings his songs about barflies, wannabe cowboys, and bleary-eyed dreamers to The Siren for a Numbskull and Good Medicine show on Oct. 30.

On his video for "Sexy After Dark," a horn-driven honky-tonk ripper, a mélange of people dance their way through neon glare or ride in a convertible through darkened streets. Some are beautiful, some quirky, some hipster—the song is about embodying your inner sexy beast: "I feel sexy after dark/ Be any me I wanna be/ Anticipation is a lost art/ Saw it coming from the very start/ You say you want a go, my vision dances/ Locked in trances, feel that spark/ I feel sexy after dark."

He got into music at 13, but he credits his beloved grandfather's death for inspiring his country songwriting. He'd been playing in rock, metal, and blues bands, but after writing a song called "Fondly" about his grandfather in the hospital parking lot where he passed, "I quickly realized that the songs I was writing were country songs."

He found vocal inspiration in Slim Whitman and later Dwight Yoakum, but he also lists Texas icons like Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver as touchstones. On his third album, See You Next Time, his songs celebrate the ne'er-do-wells, drunks, dreamers, and downtrodden—the sort of people one might find in a roadside honky-tonk on a Saturday night.

"There's not a lot of pretension at a honky-tonk, and there's much more interaction than in other bars—you see a lot fewer people on their phones," he said. "We're there to talk to other humans, put a song on the jukebox and dance with a stranger, get to know your bartender and tell them all your problems. I really wanted to capture that feeling on this record—I want everyone to feel like they know all these characters, and that they're somehow better understood because these songs exist."

Numbskull and Good Medicine bring Joshua Ray Walker to The Siren on Sunday, Oct. 30 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com).

Numbskull and Good Medicine also host Led Zeppelin tribute act Led Zepagain at The Siren on Friday, Oct. 28 (6 p.m.; all ages; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com).

And mark you calendar for next Thursday, Nov. 3, when Good Medicine and Numbskull bring rock, soul, and R&B singer-songwriter Son Little with special guests Moorea Masa & The Mood to The Siren (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com).

Also this week at The Siren, the club is hosting singer-songwriters Taylor Ashton and Bella White this Thursday, Oct. 27 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at eventbrite.com). Both hail from Canada and play Americana music.

The Stevie Nicks Illusion plays on Saturday, Oct. 29 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25 at eventbrite.com). They've been called "the most authentic sounding tribute to Fleetwood Mac to date."

Rock on, rockers

On Eat the Wolf's new album, Lightning from a Gun, the Central Coast quintet delivers seven new rock anthems filled with blazing guitars (Derek Brooks) and vocalist Pat Fisher's high-register classic rock vox. Head bobbers like "Orphans and Dolphins" will give you whiplash. Tracks like "Baby Panthers" will want to make you drive fast in the middle of the night. The band plays an album release party at SLO Brew on Friday, Oct. 28 (7 p.m.; all ages; free), with Pancho & The Wizards opening.

click to enlarge

• Photo Courtesy Of Orgone
• SAN FERNANDO SOUL California octet Orgone brings their Afrobeat, funk, and soul to SLO Brew Rock on Oct. 29.

Super tight, super swank, and super funky LA-based soul band Orgone returns to SLO Brew, this time with special guest Dante Elephante, on Saturday, Oct. 29 (7 p.m.; all ages; $25 at ticketweb.com). With a great horn section and rock-steady rhythms, Orgone is touring in support of Lost Knights, their 14th album.

Also, get your tickets now for the upcoming New Times Music Awards showcase at SLO Brew Rock on Friday, Nov. 4 (7 to 9:30 p.m.; all ages; $15 at my805tix.com). Performers will include Jacqui Bomben (youth), Jody Mulgrew (songwriter), Megan Stoneson (open), Ha Keem & Vincent Angelo (hip-hop/rap), Susan Ritchie (R&B/blues), Dead Magic (rock/alternative), Stephen Styles (county/folk/Americana), and Derek Senn (album). New Times will also present the Readers' Choice Award, the Local Legend Award, and the Best Live Performance Award.

South of the border

click to enlarge

• Photo Courtesy Of Carla Morrison
• LOW TICKET WARNING Mexico-born Latin Grammy winner Carla Morrison brings her emotive indie-pop to the Performing Arts Center on Oct. 28.

Cal Poly Arts presents Mexico-born singer-songwriter Carla Morrison at the Performing Arts Center on Friday, Oct. 28 (7:30 p.m.; $40 to $65 at calpolyarts.org). "Her raw retellings of emotional, personal heartbreaks, and honest approach earned her multiple Grammy nominations and Latin Grammy wins over the course of five albums," according to organizers. Tickets are low.

This one's for los niños (K-5). Sonia De Los Santoa and The Okee Dokee Brothers play the Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 30 (3 to 4 p.m.; $24 to $48 at calpolyarts.org). The "Grammy and Parent's Choice Award winners" bring their "Somos Amigos" ("We're Friends") concert to SLO, and pre- and post-concert activities include decorating masks (for the first 100 kids), Día de los Muertos coloring pages, and Halloween candy. Kids are invited to wear Halloween costumes.

click to enlarge

• Photo Courtesy Of Mariachi Herencia De Mexico
• CORRE POR LA FRONTERA Mariachi Herencia De Mexico with special guest Lupita Infante brings their authentic ranchero music to the Clark Center on Oct. 30.

Herederos—featuring Latin Grammy-nominated Mariachi Herencia De Mexico with special guest Lupita Infante (a multi-Grammy nominee)—plays the Clark Center on Sunday, Oct. 30 (7:30 p.m.; $39 to $59 at clarkcenter.org) Infante is granddaughter of Mexican icon Pedro Infante.

More music ...

Yo, Harry Styles and boy band fanatics, don't forget this Thursday, Oct. 27, the Fremont hosts a One Direction Dance Party with Blade Trip (9 p.m.; all ages; $13 at seetickets.us).

Also at the Fremont, check out Saved by the '90s—West Coast on Saturday, Oct. 29 (8 p.m.; all ages; $15 at seetickets.us). This '90s dance party will feature music by Third Eye Blind, The Spice Girls, The Backstreet Boys, The Beastie Boys, and more.

The Basin Street Regulars hosts The Barrelhouse Wailers (Prohibition era hot jazz and blues of the '20s and '30s) and opening act The Decomposing Brass Quintet (jazz standards, pop, Broadway, and movie themes) this Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Pismo Beach Vets Hall (11 a.m. jam; 1 p.m. concert; all ages; $10 at my805tix.com and the door).

Cambria Concerts Unplugged presents forceful female folk duo Lewis & Rose at Cambria's beautiful, intimate, and sonically stunning Old Santa Rosa Chapel this Sunday, Oct. 30 (3 p.m.; $30 at my805tix.com). These are two terrific songwriters and singers who have joined forces and are making amazing music together.

Orchestra Novo will accompany the silent film Show People at the Cuesta College Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 30 (4 p.m.; $45 at my805tix.com). The 1928 film stars Marion Davies as Peggy Pepper, a young woman who heads to Hollywood with big dreams. Directed by King Vidor, the film also stars William Haines and Dell Henderson. Δ

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