“This tour isn’t just about the music—it’s about celebrating what really matters: connection, resilience, and finding light even in tough times,” Spearhead frontman Michael Franti explained in press materials regarding his current Welcome to the Family Tour, coming to Vina Robles Amphitheatre on Friday, Aug. 15 (doors at 6, show at 7:30 p.m.; all ages; $65.25 to $172 at ticketmaster.com).
Franti’s career has always been about more than music. Politics have been front and center in both his earlier bands, the spoken-word and industrial act The Beatnigs (1986-1990) and hip-hop group The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy (1991-93) and their songs about social justice. He’s leaned more into his humanism since forming Michael Franti & Spearhead in 1994 and moved more toward funk and soul sounds, but anti-war and human dignity remain reliable topics.
On his newest album, Welcome to the Family released in May, songs like “Be Who You Are” drive home the idea of self-acceptance and rejecting soul-killing comparison: “Be who you are/ Nothing more and nothing less/ Be who you are/ Don’t try to second guess/ You ain’t gotta be the best/ All you gotta do is/ Be who you are/ And you will find the very best in you.”
Franti’s become something of a cottage industry spreading messages of unity, connection, and positivity. His goal, simply put, is to spread joy, and he’s made a business of it. For instance, he’s embarking on his third Soulshine at Sea music and wellness cruise that sets sail in November. The cruise features HIIT and yoga classes, wellness seminars, guest speakers, and music from guest artists like Dispatch, Allen Stone, Hirie, and Tropidelic. It sold out last year.
Franti also owns a 40-room, five-star boutique retreat in Ubud, Indonesia, called Soulshine Bali, “dedicated to wellness, creativity, and human connection,” according to press materials. “He and his wife also founded Do It For The Love, a nonprofit that grants live music experiences to individuals facing life-threatening illnesses, veterans, and children with severe challenges. Since its inception, the foundation has granted over 3,500 wishes, touching more than 15,000 lives worldwide.”
If you got famous, how would you use your notoriety and wealth? Franti has used his for philanthropy, activism, and to build community.
Members of opening act Tank and the Bangas met at an open mic show in the Algiers section of New Orleans and formed the group in 2011. Mixing funk, hip-hop, soul, rock, gospel, and spoken word, they won NPR’s 2017 Tiny Desk Contest, and in 2019, they were nominated as Best New artist for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They won the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album Grammy for their 2024 album, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul—their fourth studio recording. Backup singer Anjelika “Jelly” Jospeh coined the term “Soulful Disney” to describe their sound, which is apt.
Sounds like it’s going to be a killer show.
Peripatetic upbringing
Good Vibez presents two acclaimed acoustic guitarists this Sunday, Aug. 10, when Leo Kottke and Julian Lage play the Fremont Theater (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $43.23 to $74.13 at prekindle.com).
Kottke, who’ll turn 80 on Sept. 11, was born in Athens, Georgia, but his family moved a lot. He was raised in 12 different states. Along the way, he tried his hand at both violin and trombone before turning to the guitar at age 11. His debut album, 1969’s 6- and 12-String Guitar (often called the “armadillo record” due to the animal on its cover), is iconic and remains his best-known album, though over the years he’s recorded 20 more. Tendon damage has changed the way he’s played over the years, but he remains a master of the fingerpicked guitar.
Kottke is also a two-time Grammy nominee and holds a Doctorate in Music Performance by the Peck School of Music at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He also has a “Certificate of Significant Achievement in Not Playing the Trombone from the University of Texas at Brownsville with Texas Southmost College,” his bio quips.
New Yorker magazine called Julian Lage “highest category of improvising musicians,” and he’s lauded for his impeccable technique.
Also this week at the Fremont, enjoy an evening with Phil Rosenthal, creator of Everybody Loves Raymond and star of Somebody Feed Phil, on Saturday, Aug. 9 (doors at 6, show at 7 p.m.; all ages; $50.96 to $206.07 at prekindle.com). He’s also a New York Times bestselling author who’ll be telling all the funny and true stories of his life, his television career, food, travel, friends, and family.
Tribute fever
Numbskull and Good Medicine have a slate of tribute acts lined up this weekend at Club Car Bar. Get a dose of metal when Maiden California and Metalifornia deliver homages to Iron Maiden and Metallica on Saturday, Aug. 9 (8 p.m.; all ages; $24.41 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Both bands strive to emulate their heroes through musicianship, persona, attire, and instrumentation. Maiden California even has the Eddie mascot to complete the experience.
Tom Petty tribute act Pettybreakers plays the next evening on Sunday, Aug. 10 (3 p.m.; all ages; $26.99 at goodmedicinepresents.com).
“Ours is more than just a performance,” the band announced. “It’s a celebration of those unforgettable moments those songs have etched into our hearts. Whether it’s the rebellious anthem of ‘I Won’t Back Down,’ the dreamlike escape of ‘Free Fallin’,’ or the reflective beauty of ‘Wildflowers,’ each note, each lyric, takes us back to the simpler days when the radio was loud, the windows were down, and anything seemed possible.”
Tribute, ska, and reggae
The Siren is hosting what they’re calling “a double dose of ’80s femme fatale” when vocalist Mindy Milburn channels Debbie Harry of Blondie and Madonna as she fronts tribute acts Heart of Blonde and Like a Material Girl on Friday, Aug. 8 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $29.59 at tixr.com). You can also expect a few other hits from ’80s divas.
Third wave ska band Let’s Go Bowling plays on Saturday, Aug. 9 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.30 at tixr.com). Formed in Fresno in 1986, they’re known for their high-energy horn-driven sound and albums such as Music to Bowl By and Mr. Twist. They don’t tour out of Fresno as often as they used to, so this is a rare chance to catch this hard skanking act.
The Siren hosts a reggae tripleheader with True Zion, Rise Up, and Eureka Sound on Sunday, Aug. 10 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $16.36 at tixr.com). According to their bio, “Eureka Sound was founded by close friends Ryan Kordich and David Yun. Based out of Southern California, the group’s sound consists of luscious harmonic compositions combined with the syncopated, heavy rhythms of roots reggae. The band’s name, Eureka Sound, takes on the meaning of finding spiritual enlightenment and epiphany through conscious music.”
Experimental music for alt.earholes
The Frequent Weaver (aka Abe Gibson) and A Satellite of Love (1335 Walker St., SLO) have teamed up to bring two Los Angeles-based acts to town on Friday, Aug. 8 (8 p.m.; all ages; $10 at the door).
Headliner Jack Name “creates genre blurring music that is often atmospheric and enigmatic, with evocative, ethereal lyrics,” Gibson explained. “His songs have been covered by White Fence, Cate Le Bon, and U.S. Girls, and his experimental music has been performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art. He’s currently working on a new full-length LP of pieces for 12-string guitar and playing solo shows in the U.S. and European Union supporting his 2024 release FABULOUS SOUNDTRACKS.
ESCAPE-ISM features “former frontman of The Make Up, Nation of Ulysses, and The Scene Creamers Ian F. Svenonius and his partner in crimewave rock, Sandi Denton (bass),” Gibson continued.
Their most recent album, The Charge of the Love Brigade, has been called “a no-nonsense beatmachinefuzzosophocal rocker.”
“Their last SLO performance in August 2024 left audience members shattered and bewildered,” Gibson said, “and this one promises to deliver more of the same. Local garage punkers, Net Worth, get the evening started with songs that expose the seedy underbelly, and upon occasion the soft white underbelly, of our fair town.” Δ
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Education Today 2025.