It’s another one of those weeks where there’re more great shows than I have space to write about. Let’s start with Good Medicine and Numbskull, which are bringing Pecos and the Rooftops to BarrelHouse Brewing on Thursday, Oct. 16 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $31.62 at goodmedicinepresents.com), with Austin Meade opening.
Pecos and The Rooftops have a country and classic rock sound. Formed in Lubbock, Texas, in 2019, this tight-knit quintet of college friends delivers anthem-ready stadium shakers like “Rock Song,” an ode to love gone wrong. It kicks off with a zinger: “I was happy/ Then I found you” and goes on with “Like the ring on your finger everything revolves around you.”
The opener is amazing too. Austin Meade’s new song, “Almost Famous,” the title track off his new album, is a blast.
“I never cared for all the high-class banquets/ Oh, wasting time out jerking rich folks off/ I’m having fun just doing lowlife bullshit/ I was born to piss the whole world off.”
And the hooky chorus is killer! “I’m just a white trash dive bar, local favorite/ Front porch rockstar, bush line wasted/ They say I’m something, but I never asked for this/ Guess that I’m alright with being not/ Almost famous/ Almost famous.”
Numbskull and Good Medicine have a whole slew of other shows this week, too, like Santa Cruz-based soul and Americana act The Alex Lucero Band on Friday, Oct. 10, in Club Car Bar (8 p.m.; all ages; $13.08 at goodmedicinepresents.com). They were a fave at Whale Rock.
The big doubleheader this week is from Good Medicine, Numbskull, and KCBX, which team up to present Jackie Greene and The Mother Hips in BarrelHouse Brewing on Friday, Oct. 10 (6 p.m.; all ages; $47.07 at goodmedicinepresents.com).
Greene is an amazing multi-instrumentalist who was lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013 and also toured with the Tedeschi Trucks Band. The Mother Hips have been a touring favorite for decades, with 14 albums to their credit, most recently California Current.
Good Medicine is also hosting Shrek Rave: a Shrek Themed Rave in SLO’s The Libertine on Friday, Oct. 10 (9 p.m.; 21-and-older; $23.90 at goodmedicinepresents.com). “It’s dumb. Just come have fun. Who cares. Cool is dead,” organizers quipped.
Nashville singer-songwriter Liam St. John plays on Saturday, Oct. 11, in The Siren (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.41 at goodmedicinepresents.com). His music meets at the blues and rock ’n’ roll crossroads.
Good Medicine, Numbskull, and KCBX team up again for the tall, booming voice singer-songwriter The White Buffalo in BarrelHouse Brewing on Saturday, Oct. 11 (6 p.m.; all ages; $32.65 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Dude writes amazing songs and is very funny.
Reggae bonanza
Vina Robles Amphitheatre’s season is winding down, but reggae fans won’t want to skip the co-bill with Ziggy Marley and Burning Spear on Saturday, Oct. 18 (doors at 6:30, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $63 to $313 at ticketmaster.com), with Bam Marley opening.
The headliners are both Grammy Award-winners, and Bam, born Daniel Bambaata Robert Nesta Marley, is Ziggy’s eldest son. Called the Do the Reggae Tour, organizers say you can expect “Marley’s uplifting anthems and Burning Spear’s deep-rooted rhythms.”
Island sounds
Speaking of reggae, another touring favorite is returning to the Fremont Theater when Good Vibez presents Hirie on Thursday, Oct. 16 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $40.14 at prekindle.com), with Artikal Sound System opening.
Hirie’s “father worked for the United Nations, and she was born in the Philippines, spent years in Italy, before her family settled in Hawaii, which became her spiritual home,” her bio explains. Her band’s name comes from the mix of “irie,” the Jamaican patois word for warmth and positivity with an “H” for Hawaii.
Good Vibez and the Fremont will also see the return of The Emo Night Tour on Saturday, Oct. 11 (8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.78 at prekindle.com), with DJs spinning your favorites from the likes of Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance, and many more
Close your eyes and ‘Go Your Own Way’
The Siren is bringing a tribute band fav when the Morro Bay club hosts Stevie Nicks Illusion on Friday, Oct. 10 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $31.71 at tixr.com). Fans of Nicks and Fleetwood Mac will be blown away by Diana Grace, who sounds exactly like ’70s and ’80s Stevie Nicks.
Hear some classic rock, country, and blues covers when Back Pages Band returns for a matinee show on Saturday, Oct. 11 (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older; free).
CAPSLO fun-draiser
“For 60 years, the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County (CAPSLO) has helped individuals and families achieve self-sufficiency through a wide range of community-based programs and services,” organizers of Play it Forward, an upcoming fundraiser, explained.
Hear Cali-Cubano dance act Zongo All-Stars (7 p.m.) and ’90s grunge tribute band Flannel 101 (9 p.m.) at Rod & Hammer Rock on Saturday, Oct. 11 (doors at 6:30; $10 to $30 at my805tix.com).
“Proceeds will directly support CAPSLO’s local programs, including the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center—a year-round facility offering shelter, meals, medical care, case management, and more for those experiencing homelessness,” organizers continued.
Also at Rod & Hammer Rock, see soulful Americana singer-songwriter Nolan Taylor on Thursday, Oct. 16 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $27.21 at ticketweb.com), with Chris and Harmony Beland opening.
Kid stuff!
Cal Poly Arts presents Story Pirates: The Amazing Adventure Tour in the Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre at Cal Poly on Saturday, Oct. 11 (1 to 2 p.m. p.m.; all ages; $35 to $102 at calpolyarts.org). Expect fan favorites from the “multi-award winning The Story Pirates Podcast and improvised sketch comedy based on ideas from kids in the audience,” Cal Poly Arts announced.
Eat me
As a child, I found the Brothers Grimm story of “Hansel and Gretel” terrifying. Kids left in the woods and stolen by a witch to fatten up and eat? What are we teaching kids?
Published in 1812, composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Not the British crooner) made “Hansel and Gretel” into an opera in 1893, and next weekend, Opera SLO presents Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel in the PACSLO on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18 and 19 (doors at 1, show at 2 p.m.; all ages; $34 to $90 at pacslo.org).
Expect a grand orchestra, lots of voices, vivid costumes, a two-story woodland set, and choreography by Drew Silvaggio. Justine Prado directs, and Brian Asher Alhadeff conducts the OperaSLO Grand Orchestra.
Celebrate world music and culture
On Sunday, Oct. 12, in Los Osos’ Red Barn, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and director of the Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble Ken Habib as well as La Gitane, a local flamenco dancer, accompanied by Bay Area guitarist Ricardo Diaz, will present an afternoon of song and dance, and also discuss the history of their art forms and how they became involved with them (2 p.m.; all ages; $20 presale or $15 student at devinwalla@gmail.com or 805-709-2227).
“Having grown disgusted with the anti-diversity, anti-immigrant fever that is plaguing the country right now, I decided to start putting together some celebrations of world music and dance as a countermeasure,” organizer Devin Wallace explained via email.
Record swap returns!
After a seven-year hiatus, The SLO Record Swap returns on Saturday, Oct. 12, in the SLO Brew Rock Event Center (noon to 4 p.m.; all ages; $5 entry).
Hosted by Traffic Records, the “event will feature over a dozen vendors from across California, offering everything from rare pressings and classics to bargain-bin gems,” organizer Manuel Barba announced. “The day will also include two live DJ stations—one indoors and one outside—providing an eclectic soundtrack for crate diggers and casual browsers alike.
“Attendees can also enjoy a special live courtyard performance by our keynote speaker, Gene Aguilera, presenting the Sounds of East LA Aguilera—also known as ‘The Duke of Boyle Heights’—is a historian, record collector, lyricist, music producer, author, and lifelong advocate of the storied East LA sound.” ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 9-19, 2025.