On GA-20‘s new four-song EP, Volume 2, right from the opening guitar riff of the lead track—a cover of Billy Boy Arnold’s 1966 classic “Cryin’ & Pleadin'”—the band reassures fans that despite their recent personnel changes, the trio remains committed to delivering an authentic, 1950s and ’60s stripped-down Chicago blues sound.
Formed in Boston 2018, the band first consisted of lead guitarist Matthew Stubbs, a 16-year veteran of Charlie Musselwhite’s band, singer-guitarist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman. Right from the get-go, the band seemed like it was firing on all cylinders. Every single got radio play, every album was acclaimed, debuting at either No. 1 or No. 2 on the Billboard Blues Album chart.
Then, surprisingly, Carman left the band in the summer of 2024, replaced by current drummer Josh Kiggans, and then Faherty—who co-wrote some of the band’s original songs with Stubbs—left too. What happened?
“It was just artistic differences,” Stubbs said during a recent phone call. “All those records did really well. When I started the band, I produced all that stuff. Pat left in December 2024, and the new singer-guitar player is Cody Nilsen, and he came right aboard right after we announced Pat was leaving.”
Despite swapping out two-thirds of the band, GA-20’s signature sound remains, and the news songs I’ve heard—the other three tracks on Volume 2—sound consistent with the band’s earlier material—gritty, guitar-driven blues with emotive singing.
“When it was clear there was going to be some changes and Pat was leaving, Cody was the obvious choice,” Stubbs said. “I had moved from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island, a few years ago, and it just so happened [Nilsen] moved there as well, so he’s actually a neighbor. He lives like 2 miles from me, which is kind of a wild coincidence. We just started right away writing, rehearsing. I mean, we’re still [playing] the whole catalog, all the GA-20 stuff. You know, we’ve got four records out, so we’re doing all that [earlier] stuff, plus a bunch of new stuff. And we have two albums that are done, and they’ll be coming out over the next year, year and half.”
Did you hear that? After being together less than eight months, the new lineup already released the new EP and recorded two albums’ worth of new material. And according to Stubbs, Nilsen and Kiggans have the band’s earlier material down pat.
“It was seamless,” Stubbs said of the transition. “Cody’s a great singer. He’s got his own voice. But it’s definitely still on-brand with the GA-20 concept.”
Kiggans played half of 2024 with GA-20, and he was familiar with Nilsen because they’d been in a band together for seven years. It was like the new lineup was meant to be.
“They have a long relationship of playing and recording music together,” Stubbs said of his new members, and he also noted that all three of them were now writing new songs collaboratively.
“Pat was a little bit more of a separate approach,” Stubbs said. “I would write a riff or progression or come up with a line, you know? I’m not a big lyricist, but I’d come up with a line or a concept, and we would just kind of send things back and forth. With Cody and Josh, it’s a group. We’ll demo things together and then hash it out together. It’s much more of an in-person songwriting approach for the three of us.”
Even GA-20’s recording process is traditional and collaborative. They go into a studio, set up live in a room, and let it rip.
“We’re trying to capture live performances like they did on the records we love,” Stubbs explained, “all these great blues and R&B records. We’re just trying to make records that we would want to listen to, and that’s how I approach it as a producer.”
Even the band’s name, GA-20, signals their commitment to authenticity. It refers to Gibson’s classic GA-20 tube amp produced from 1950 to 1961—a favorite of many Chicago blues guitarists.
“In the studio, we use pretty much exclusively vintage, small amps from the ’50s and the ’60s and vintage guitars,” Stubbs noted. “On the road, it’s kind of a mix. We were using vintage GA-20s up until this tour, but we just teamed up with an amp builder out of Nashville called West Side Amp, so he designed an amp to our exact specs of what we would want. It’s based on an old Fender Tweed Deluxe Amp from the ’50s.”
This week, Good Medicine, Numbskull, and KCBX present GA-20 at The Siren on Wednesday, Sept. 3 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $21.84 at goodmedicinepresents.com), with Savannah Pope opening.
“I hope people come out and see the band, see the new lineup,” Stubbs said. “We’re blues, but it’s definitely a high-energy, uplifting show. This is our—I think—third time at The Siren. Last time we were there with Duane Betts as a co-bill and it was packed. It was a great night, so we’re looking forward to coming back.”
Also at The Siren …
Country and rock act Daring Greatly plays on Friday, Aug. 29 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). They were the 2023 San Diego Music Awards Song of the Year winner for “Never A Goodbye,” along with nominations for Best Rock Artist and Best Rock Album for Gird Valley.
R&B act The Sinners plays a matinee show on Saturday, Aug. 30 (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). The band describes its sound as “a finely mixed cocktail [with] swirls [of] rhythm and blues, a sprinkle of rock, and down and dirty stories to create a smooth, danceable concoction.”
Powerhouse horn band Brass Mash plays later that night on Saturday, Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18.48 at tixr.com). They’ll perform “all of your favorite tunes from the 1960s to today. You’ll be guessing all of our throwbacks, super jams, and power ballads with your nearby strangers.”
The band’s arrangements mix unlikely combos like Britney Spears and Black Sabbath, Lorde and Dr. Dre, and Daft Punk and ZZ Top.
Dead tribute
and I’m lovin’ it
SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock presents Grateful Dead tribute act Wall of Sound on Saturday, Aug. 30 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $27.21 at ticketweb.com), with Phish tribute band The Great Divide opening. That’s a whole lot of jammin’.
Channel your McDonald’s cravings with Mac Sabbath on Thursday, Sept. 4 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $32.36 at ticketweb.com), with The Schizophonics and Descartes A Kant opening. Mac Sabbath is a parody heavy metal tribute band performing what they call “drive-thru metal,” playing Black Sabbath music with fast-food-centric lyrics.
Get ready to sail away
Vina Robles Amphitheatre is bringing your yacht rock favorite back when Yachtley Crew plays on Saturday, Aug. 30 (doors at 6:30, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $62.25 to $362.52 at ticketmaster.com). The SoCal septet is also known as “The Titans of Soft Rock,” playing classic tracks such as Boz Scaggs’ “Lido Shuffle,” Ace’s “How Long,” Robbie Dupree’s “Steal Away,” the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love,” and Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind.”
So long, summer
OK, so technically summer doesn’t end until the autumn equinox on Sept. 23, but with the kiddies back in school, I guess people can be forgiven for mourning the end of summer a bit early. This weekend, Damon Castillo headlines an End of Summer Beach Party at Avila Beach Golf Resort on Sunday, Aug. 31, with sets by folkie Graybill (noon), R&B act IMVA (2 p.m.), and R&B-jazz act the Damon Castillo Band (5 p.m.). The concert ends at 7 p.m. RSVP at facebook.com/events/1023730333166497.
Fundraiser for Morro Elementary
World-renowned maestro Kent Nagano will conduct a benefit concert at the Cuesta College Cultural and Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Aug. 31 (3 p.m.; all ages; $85 at cuesta.universitytickets.com).
“The benefit is for the purchase of the 90-year-old Morro Elementary school site,” according to organizers. “Mr. Nagano went to Morro under the tutelage of Botso Koresheli.”
Deemed “surplus,” the old school site is for sale and at risk of development, so a recently formed 501c3 organization, Friends of Morro Elementary, hopes to raise funds for and to encourage the city of Morro Bay to buy the site and turn it into a civic center. Learn more at friendsofmorroelementary.org. Δ
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 7, 2025.