Ringo Starr (née Richard Starkey), or Uncle Ringo, as I like to call him even though we’re no relation as far as I know, is returning to Vina Robles Amphitheatre with His All Starr Band on Saturday, Oct. 15 (8 p.m.; $80 to $175 at ticketmaster.com).
Sir Starkey (yes, he’s been knighted) is one of two still-living Beatles—unless you believe the “Paul is Dead” hoax of 1969, meaning Uncle Ringo is the very last living Beatle. That alone should make you want to see him before it’s too late.
Don’t panic: He’s a robust 82 (Paul McCartney, who for the record is alive and not an imposter, is 80). My point is we’re not going to have Beatles to kick around forever. Also, Starr is a wicked-good drummer who’s surrounded himself with wicked good musicians, and when he comes out from behind the drum kit and sings, you just want to put him in your pocket and take him home because he’s a real charmer. Go see him.
It’s not music, but comedian George Lopez plays Vina this Friday, Oct. 14 (8 p.m.; $46 to $66 at ticketmaster.com). Maybe it’s music to your funny bone?
Arizona electro-rock act Puscifer appears at Vina on Sunday, Oct. 16 (7:30 p.m.; $45 to $65 at ticketmaster.com). Featuring Maynard James Keenan, Mat Mitchell, and Carina Round—this date is an extension of their Existential Reckoning tour. Secret Agents. Dancing Aliens. Video Vignettes. Expect theatrics!
Quirky wisdom
Troubadour and raconteur Todd Snider plays the Fremont Theater on Tuesday, Oct. 18 (7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $22 to $35 at eventbrite.com), bringing you an evening of offbeat songs and offbeat stories but on-beat rhythms and on-point tales of life on the road as a weirdo poet. His newest record is First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder (2021).
“I think my first thought with this record was I wanted to remind people really quickly that I’m a troubadour,” Snider said in press materials. “Playing live is the only chance for me to show, ‘This is what I really do.’ I’ve never thought of myself as a recording artist. I’m someone who gets over by traveling around, telling stories, making up new songs, and singing them alone on stage.”
Don’t forget British trip-hop group Morcheeba plays this Thursday, Oct. 13 (8 p.m.; all ages; $33 plus fees at seetickets.us) with Eaglin opening.
Also DJ and record producer Jason Ross plays next Thursday, Oct. 20 (8 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $38 at seetickets.us). In 2022, he released his debut record, 1000 Faces, featuring progressive house, trance, dubstep, and future bass sounds.
The Siren’s call
Don’t forget Numbskull and Good Medicine bring singer-songwriter James McMurtry to The Siren with Johnny Burke opening this Thursday, Oct. 13 (6:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25 at goodmedicinepresents.com). McMurtry’s newest, The Horses and the Hounds, is a career highpoint.
Also at The Siren, Brazilian-style music ensemble Sambadá plays on Friday, Oct. 14 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18 at goodmedicinepresents.com), bringing Afro Brazilian Carnival sounds.
Former Japanese Breakfast guitarist and Le Rev frontman Nick Gamer plays on Sunday, Oct. 16 (7 to 9 p.m.; 21-and older; free), with Johanna Rose opening. “Oregon’s Nick Gamer writes dark, cinematic Americana songs that sound equally at home in the western cosmos of Lucinda Williams and The Byrd’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo,” his bio reads.
Hawaiian ukulele jam band Kanekoa plays on Tuesday, Oct. 18 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at eventbrite.com). It’s like a cheap, quick trip to the islands.
Nebraska’s finest
Numbskull and Good Medicine present indie rock act Bright Eyes at the Alex Madonna Expo Center next Thursday, Oct. 20 (doors at 6 p.m.; $37 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Fronted by singer-songwriter Conor Oberst, the band has released 10 well-received records, most recently 2020’s Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was. They’re touring in support of their ongoing “Companions project, which sees the band rereleasing their entire catalog, each album accompanied by new recordings.”
SLOfolks down under
SLOfolks returns with native New Zealander and now Nashville singer-songwriter Jackie Bristow playing two shows: Friday, Oct. 14, at Coalesce Bookstore (7 p.m.; $25 at 805-772-2880, coalescebookstore@gmail.com), and Saturday, Oct. 15, Castoro Cellars (7:30 p.m.; $25 at (805) 238-0725 or (888) 326-3463, castorocellars.com/events).
“While particularly inspired by the music of the American South, Jackie has the ability as a world class singer-songwriter to observe what is around her, take it all in deeply, and then express what she finds inside her soul and connect with her audience right where it matters the most—the music in one’s heart!” organizers said.
More music …
Boogie blues band The Cliffnotes play this Friday, Oct. 14, at Black Lake Golf Resort (5 to 7 p.m.; all ages; free). “We had the crowd swingin’ more than just golf clubs the last time we played,” said bandleader Cliff “Crawdaddy” Stepp.
Classic Entertainment presents the Best in SLO Live Music Showcase this Friday, Oct. 14, at Trinity Hall (6565 Edna Road, SLO) with performances by Riding with Alice, the Mo Betta Jazz Band featuring vocalist Deborah Gilmore, and father-and-son duo Two Dog Night with Billy and Charlie Foppiano (doors at 4:30 p.m., show at 6; all ages; $10 presale at my805tix.com or $15 at the door). Food from Taqueria Don Jose will be available.
St. Vincent Folk, featuring frontman Vincent Bernardy, plays A-Town’s Raconteur Room this Friday, Oct. 14 (7 to 10 p.m.; free). Bernardy is a New Times Music Awards Album of the Year winner for his 2013 album Moonlight Dream Bed, and he got his start in the Minneapolis scene before relocating to SLO.
Hip-hop collective Connect the Coast makes two stops in SLO Town this weekend on their Good Day Tour to support their new compilation album Good Day The Mixtape on Friday, Oct. 14, at The Milk Room; and Saturday, Oct. 15, at Buffalo Pub. The album, which dropped Oct. 7, features recordings by Lorde Sanctus, D BANKS, $horty Duwop, Jay Reilly, Cav, and Niko Cochi$e.
Alt-country act Tommy Drinkard & The Remedy play several local shows this week: Friday, Oct. 14, and Tuesday, Oct. 18, at Frog and Peach (10 p.m. to 1 a.m.; 21-and-older), Schooners in Cayucos on Saturday, Oct. 15 (4 to 6 p.m.), and Pine Street Saloon (9 p.m. to midnight), and BarrelHouse Brewing on Friday, Oct. 21 (5:30 to 8:30 p.m.). Drinkard is banjo player for Water Tower.
Cambria’s Painted Sky Studios presents Bojack recording artist Jude Johnston in concert with Bob & Wendy this Saturday, Oct. 15 (7 p.m.; $30 at paintedskystudios.com). Johnston, who used to live in Cambria but now calls Nashville home, has written songs for the likes of Trisha Yearwood, Johnny Cash, and Stevie Nicks.
OperaSLO presents the Tony-winning Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 to 16, in the Performing Arts Center (2 p.m.; ages 10 and older; $35 to $85 at pacslo.org). Hear iconic songs like “If I Loved You,” “June is Bustin’ Out All Over,” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
First Lady of Country-Soul Petrella Bonner is on her final tour, and one of her last performances will be this Sunday, Oct. 16, at Rava Wines (1 p.m.). The 75-year-old legend defined her own genre and sang, wrote, and produced eight albums in her singular style.
On Sunday, Oct. 16, Louisiana-born Americana singer-songwriter Dylan LeBlanc plays Bristols Cider House (7 p.m.). His newest album is Renegade (2019).
Austin-based reggae-rock act Lion Heights plays the Frog and Peach on Wednesday, Oct. 19 (10 p.m. to 1 a.m.; 21-and-older). They call their style “Outlaw reggae—not quite traditional Caribbean reggae, not quite West Coast American reggae.”
NTMAs Readers’ Choice ends Monday!
You have until Monday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m. to cast your vote for the Readers’ Choice Award presented at the 2022 New Times Music Awards showcase, scheduled for Friday, Nov. 4, at SLO Brew Rock. Visit newtimesslo.com and click on the voting tab. Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 13-23, 2022.