I like classic rock bands that know where their bread is buttered. When someone comes to an Air Supply concert, they don’t want to hear a minor hit like “Goodnight” off their 2003 album Across the Concrete Sky. You’re there for the hits … the monster hits!
Air Supply plays Vina Robles Amphitheatre on Saturday, July 12 (8 p.m.; all ages; $65 to $501.50 at ticketmaster.com), so I immediately looked up some of their recent set lists, and I’m happy to report you can expect to hear all their biggies: “Lost in Love,” “All Out of Love,” “Sweet Dreams,” “Even the Nights Are Better,” “Two Less Lonely People in the World,” “Every Woman in the World,” “The One That You Love,” “Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You),” and the Jim Steinman-penned “Making Love Out of Nothing At All.”
A typical set list included all those hits as well as a couple of covers, like Rob Hegel’s “Just as I Am” and Badfinger’s “Without You,” and a few songs from Air Supply’s extensive catalog.
Core members Englishman Graham Russell and Australian Russell Hitchcock joined forces in 1975 after meeting in the chorus of the Australian touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar. By their estimation, they’ve played 5,560 concerts and counting. They’ve also sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. Now under musical direction of lead guitarist Aaron McLain, the Air Supply band also includes Mirko Tessandori (piano/keyboards/vocals), Pavel Valdman (drums), and Doug Gild (bass).
“I’m grateful that I’ve had an incredible life so far and find it very fulfilling that our songs mean so much to people everywhere we travel,” Graham Russell said in press materials. “It’s also been wonderful to work with and meet so many great people and to have had such a long friendship with Russell that is the envy of so many!”
Russell Hitchcock added, “We are so grateful to have a legacy that we can be proud of and that our music has meant so much to so many for this long.”
Their current tour marks their 50th anniversary as a band, and they plan to celebrate their milestone with a few new projects, including a biopic titled All Out of Love: The Air Supply Story, a Broadway comedy-drama musical featuring their songs (Lost in Love), and an autobiography (yet to be titled) by the pair. The duo will also be releasing their 18th studio album, A Matter of Time, their first new studio album since 2010’s Mumbo Jumbo, along with a special vinyl compilation of remastered hits.
It’s been quite a run for this soft rock powerhouse.
Happy Birthday, ‘Merica!
As a kid, Independence Day was one of my favorite holidays. I grew up in a close-knit community in Wisconsin in a neighborhood full of kids, and we’d all decorate our bikes, trikes, and wagons with red, white, and blue crepe paper. Our moms would sew us patriotic costumes, and we’d put on a parade where neighbors lined the streets and cheered us on. Our little parade ended in a park with a baseball field and grilled burgers, brats, and hot dogs. It was truly all-American. When it got dark, our parents would light sparklers for us, one in each hand, and we’d run shrieking in delight through the warm night air.
In our divided times, it’s sometimes hard to find that kind of nonpartisan patriotic fun, but it’s exactly what’s on the menu at Atascadero’s Fourth of July Live Music Festival, taking place at Atascadero Lake Park this Friday, July 4 (3 to 8 p.m.; all ages; $25 plus fees presale at my805tix.com or $30 at the gate; anyone under 18 free). The event kicks off the Tent City Limits Summer Concert Series and features a stellar lineup including San Francisco-based progressive bluegrass band Hot Buttered Rum, vintage Western swing and mountain string music players Jordan Bush & The Packrats, and cheeky country duo The Doohickeys.
According to organizers, “Guests will enjoy live music, local wine and beer, food vendors, and a family-friendly lakeside setting. All proceeds benefit the restoration of the historic Atascadero Printery Building. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs for the perfect summer celebration.”
Female house spirit
Are you a good kikimora or a bad kikimora? The good news is neo-soul, jazz, and funk act Kikimora, hailing from El Paso, Texas, is good. Very good. It could go either way. According to Wikipedia, a kikimora is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology, that can be either good or bad. The choice of name evokes an air of mystery—perfect for Kikimora’s musically complex sound.
This quintet lists artists such as Sade, Jamiroquai, and Hiatus Kaiyote as inspiration, and the members are monster players. If you’re into masterful musicianship delivering intricate rhythms and soulful melodies, you’ll want to see them live when they play The Siren on Friday, July 4 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free).
Also this week in The Siren, see Rock Odyssey on Saturday, July 5 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). Formed in 2016, the band consists of all locals from the Central Coast who have a “shared love for rock music and a desire to re-create the sounds that defined a generation,” according to their bio. “With a dynamic blend of energy and nostalgia, Rock Odyssey brings to life the timeless hits of the classic rock genre, covering iconic artists from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Our mission is to transport audiences back to a time when rock music was not just a genre, but a lifestyle.”
Feel the pride
It’s Pride Month, woohoo, and Rod & Hammer Rock is getting into the spirit when Let There Be Lesbians Presents: The Gay Awakening on Saturday, July 5 (doors at 7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $29.27 at ticketweb.com).
“After being forced to close Bang the Drum’s Laurel Lane location in May, we’re throwing our first party in a new space and are excited to team up with The Rock,” Bang the Drum owner Noelle Dubois and General Manager Kimberly Hancock announced. “Gay Awakening is about honoring the moments that helped us realize who we are, the movie scenes, music videos, late-night confessions, and quiet truths that shaped our queer identities. We didn’t always see ourselves in the world around us; now we get to be the representation. This Pride, we’re not just celebrating visibility, we’re celebrating the joy, power, and stories that brought us here.”
Also this week at Rod & Hammer, Mikaela Davis plays on Thursday, July 10 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.21 at ticketweb.com), with Lily Seabird opening. Davis, a vocalist and harpist trained in classical music, now creates genre-bending music that explores alt-country twang, ’60s and ’70s psychedelic rock sounds, and beyond. Her band includes drummer Alex Coté, guitarist Cian McCarthy, and bassist Shane McCarthy, as well as steel guitarist Kurt Johnson.
Visual album
Numbskull and Good Medicine present Turnstile: Never Enough, a 14-song “visual album” screening in the Fremont Theater on Thursday, July 3 (doors at 8 with the film at 9 p.m.; all ages; $20.57 at prekindle.com), directed by Brendan Yates and Pat McCrory.
I have no idea what to expect, but apparently the film follows Baltimore hardcore rock band, Turnstile, “as they search for meaning in the vastness between tranquility and chaos,” according to press materials. “Turnstile: Never Enough is a 14-song visual album, and a journey into the heart of their sound.” Δ
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 3-13, 2025.