Priscilla Block won me over with “Couldn’t Care Less” off her second full-length album, Things You Didn’t See. She’s so vulnerable on the track, and it turns out to be the perfect response to the judgmental haters out there.
“I posted a picture, and it got a bunch of likes/ That ‘she should lose weight’ comment kept me up all night/ I hit reply and made a little light of what they said/ Like I couldn’t care less// Walked the carpet, sat a couple rows up from the stage/ Hoping I would hear mine, then they said a different name/ I was clapping, laughing, smiling, standing in a sparkly dress/ Like I couldn’t care less// Ooh, like it don’t mean something/ Ooh, like to me, it’s nothing/ Like I do my best to tune it out, shut the door/ Like I couldn’t care less/ Hell, I couldn’t care more.”
Block, 30, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, moved to Nashville after high school and did what a lot of hopefuls do—second guessed herself and contemplated moving home and giving up. Then in 2020, her song “Just About Over You” went viral on TikTok, leading to a record deal with Mercury Nashville. Her debut full-length, Welcome to the Block Party (2022), reached 39 on the U.S. Country Charts.
In 2021, The Academy of Country Music Awards nominated her for New Female Artist of the Year. She didn’t win. In 2022, the CMT Music Awards nominated her video for “Just About Over You” for Breakthrough Video of the Year. It didn’t win. In 2023, The Academy of Country Music Awards again nominated her for New Female Artist of the Year. She didn’t win.
“Hell, I couldn’t care more,” indeed. She’s an artist on the rise that still hasn’t quite hit, but she deserves to. Her mix of country, pop, and Southern rock is super catchy. She calls her sound “a little sass, a little trash, and a little sad.”
With songs like “Thick Thighs” and “PMS,” she’s made a name for herself as an artist unafraid to face her critics. I admire her talent and bravery to turn pain into empowerment.
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMIE LISSOW
Good Vibez presents Priscilla Block at the Fremont Theater on Thursday, Jan. 22 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $20 to $33.96 or $134.90 VIP at prekindle.com).
If you need a laugh, Good Vibez has you covered with comedian Jamie Lissow on his Better Off Dad tour at the Fremont on Saturday, Jan. 17 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $39.11 to $57.14 at prekindle.com). The actor and comedian is a regular weekly guest on the No. 1-rated late night talk show, Gutfeld! He’s currently working on the feature film, The Animal 2, for Fox/Tubi.
There’re more laughs on tap when comedian Trevor Wallace on his The Alpha Beta Male Tour plays two nights, Sunday, Jan. 18 (nearly sold out), and Monday, Jan. 19 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $44.78 to $69.50 at prekindle.com). Wallace has a digital thumbprint of more than 2.5 billion views across his social media channels and is followed by 16 million fans.
Rock, folk, blues, and ska
Good Medicine starts its week with San Francisco-based rock and folk act The Sam Chase & The Untraditional in The Siren on Saturday, Jan. 17 (doors at 8 p.m., show at 8:30; 21-and-older; $21.84 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Band leader The Sam Chase is a natural storyteller with a rustic voice, and the band is boot-stomping fun. Local singer-songwriter Max MacLaury opens.
Good Medicine, Numbskull, and KCBX present Tommy Castro and the Painkillers at The Siren on Sunday, Jan. 18 (6:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $30.59 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Castro is back with a new album, Closer to the Bone, his 17th overall and eighth on Alligator Records. He calls the album “a real blues record, the way they would have made them back in the day.”
It features some of Castro’s originals such as “Ain’t Worth the Heartache,” “Can’t Catch a Break,” and “Crazy Woman Blues,” alongside some deep-cut covers by Castro’s friends and influences—Johnny Nitro, Magic Slim, Ron Thompson, Chris Cain, and more. Musical guests include Rick Estrin, Billy Branch, Deanna Bogart, Chris Cain, Jim Pugh, and gospel harmonies from The Sons of the Soul Revivers. The album won Blues Blast magazine’s 2025 Contemporary Blues Album of the Year Award.
Castro said of the album, “Here, I’m not the contemporary guy, not the rock guy, not the soul guy. This is the deeper blues side of me. I know, with these songs, I am at my most authentic.”
Numbskull and Good Medicine wrap up their week with ska and pop punk act Mad Caddies in The Siren on Wednesday, Jan. 21 (doors at 7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25.96 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Hailing from Solvang, the band has myriad eclectic influences such as Dixieland jazz, polka, Latin music, cowpunk, and sea shanties.
Also at The Siren, Ultra, an ’80s and ’90s dance cover band, plays Friday, Jan. 16 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $8.45 presale at tixr.com or $10 at the door). Hear songs by The Smiths, The Fix, Depeche Mode, New Order, INXS, The Cure, Foo Fighters, Tears for Fears, and more.
FaultLine plays a free matinee show on Saturday, Jan. 17 (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older).
“We’re quite different than most cover bands in the area,” drummer Dan O’Donnell explained in an email. “We are talented musicians in our 70s who have a passion for music from decades past. So, you say, nothing new there. Sounds like most of the bands around here. Well, here is why we stand out: Our lead vocalist is a very talented 20-year-old woman who considers herself an ‘old soul.’ Despite her young age, she loves old music. And, by old, we are not talking Motels, we are talking Ricky Nelson old. Connie Francis is her favorite singer.”
When Milania Espinoza joined the band, O’Donnell, Bob Vandehey (keyboard/vocals), Scott McKechnie (lead guitar), and Wayne Brown (bass/vocals) revamped their set list.
“Her versatility of both range and style is so unique,” O’Donnell continued. “We’re covering songs from the Doobie Brothers to Little Richard, Linda Ronstadt to Dolly Parton, and Blondie to Pretenders. We’re constantly amazed that no matter what song, how old, what style we propose, she says, ‘What key?’ looks up the lyrics and off we go. She is really quite amazing.”
Espinoza studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and is active in the PCPA Pacific Conservatory Theatre in Santa Maria.
“Despite her formal training and work in theater arts, she loves to sing rock ’n’ roll with a bunch of old rock ’n’ rollers,” O’Donnell quipped. “We’ve played shows at Puffers in Pismo Beach and the Moose Lodge, but we view The Siren as our official coming-out party on the Central Coast.”
Jokes and a Zep homage
SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock presents stand-up comedian Sam Tripoli on Friday, Jan. 16 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $31.36 at ticketweb.com). The comedian, writer, and podcaster is known for his fearless, high-energy, unfiltered takes on culture, politics, and society.
All-female Led Zeppelin tribute band Zepparella returns on Saturday, Jan. 17 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $27.21 at ticketweb.com). These ladies rock hard. I just watched their video for “Kashmir,” and it thundered. If you dig Led Zeppelin, they bring it.
Americana magic
Brittain & Silva formed in 2018. Eric Brittain is an incredible multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, dobro), and Paul Silva is a talented singer-songwriter and guitar player. They both sing well together and have compelling onstage musical chemistry. Definitely worth checking out at one of their five upcoming North Country gigs.
They play Templeton’s Club Car Bar on Saturday, Jan. 17 (8 to 10 p.m.; all ages; $5); Paso’s Primal House on Saturday, Jan. 24, and Friday, Feb. 6 (both 5 to 7 p.m.; all ages; free); Atascadero’s Decades on Friday, Feb. 13 (8 to 10 p.m.; 21-and-older; free); and Santa Margarita’s The Porch on Saturday, Feb. 21 (5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; all ages; free). ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 15-22, 2026.