If you’re reading this, chances are you value the live music experience. You know the sensation of being in a crowd, feeling the energy and anticipation, listening to and watching players and singers pour their hearts and souls into a performance. It’s the magic of live music—a shared artistic, community-building experience.
Considering the size of our relatively small population in SLO and northern Santa Barbara Counties, we have an outsized music scene with a remarkable depth of talent, and this Friday, Nov. 22, we’re going to celebrate the folks who give our community so much vibrancy during the 15th annual New Times Music Awards showcase and awards ceremony at Rod & Hammer Rock (7 p.m.; all ages; $15 at my805tix.com).
Performers include Sadie Jasper (Best Album) and Cate Armstrong (Best Songwriter), and genre winners Gehrig Kniffen (Hip-hop/Rap), Azere Wilson (Country/Americana/Folk), Carbon City Lights (Rock/Alternative), Hot 45 (R&B/Blues), and Walk the Whale (Open) who will compete for Best Live Performance. We’ll also be awarding second and third place genre winners, our Local Legend Award, and the Readers’ Choice Award.
Come on out and join us as we celebrate local musicians and music.
Also at Rod & Hammer Rock, SLO Brew Live and Luvlab Collective present Baltimore singer-songwriter and EDM artist Life on Planets on Saturday, Nov. 23 (doors at 7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $32.36 at ticketweb.com). He’ll create a unique blend of soul, R&B, and house music. Ardaland, who hails from Tehran and was raised there and California, will open, bringing his mix of traditional Iranian music, underground house, and techno.
Film and music
I’m telling you about this one week early, because it’s probably going to sell out, and it combines two of my favorite things.
Avatar: The Last Airbender in Concert screens clips from the beloved 2005-2008 animated Nickelodeon TV series while a live orchestra performs the iconic soundtrack. Expect a nearly two-hour recap of the animated series’ three seasons displayed on a full-size screen.
“The projection will feature the original dialogue and sound effects without any pre-recorded music, allowing the live orchestra to perform the legendary score live and in perfect sync with the show scenes,” organizers explained. “The result? A truly immersive and grandiose concert experience that breathes new life into Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
It happens on Friday, Nov. 29, in Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center (7:30 p.m.; ages 5 and older; $62 to $99 at pacslo.org).
Fremont Theater
The always amazing Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) returns on Friday, Nov. 22 (8 p.m.; all ages; $40 to $170 plus fees at prekindle.com). The ensemble takes pop hits and gives them the vintage jazz, ragtime, and swing treatment to remarkable effect. They’ve generated viral views with songs such as Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.” Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” Lorde’s “Royals,” Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” Radiohead’s “Creep,” and many more. PMJ has surpassed 1.9 billion YouTube views That’s “billion” with a “B,” baby!
The shows are a real spectacle, replete with tap dancing, and New Times spoke to NYC-based dancer, choreographer, and burlesque artist Demi Remick about her tenure with the band. How’d she get involved?
“One of the original tap dancers recommended me. I was in New York, and I got a text from Scott Bradlee, and he wanted me to come in and jam with him for a bit. I met up with him, and we jammed on ‘Sweet Georgie Brown.’ He played the piano and he was like, ‘Great!’ And I was hired. I’ve been with the band for almost 10 years. Isn’t that nuts!”
Tap seems a bit like a lost art. Is it?
“Tap dancing is alive and well,” Remick said. “This is the misinterpretation. There’s just not a lot of work for tap dancers. That’s more the problem. There are so, so many talented tap dancers. Scott made this role for the tap dancers to thrive. He’s employed so many over the last 10 years, and it’s been really special.”
Remick is amazingly athletic. If you get a chance, look up her YouTube video called “Ocarina of Tap.” Tap is obviously a very physical art form, and it’s visual and percussively musical. Does she also consider herself a musician collaborating with other musicians when she taps with PMJ?
“Oh yeah. I’m a tap dancer, so I’m a music mover. So you’re doing both. I’m improvising a lot of my tap solos so I can stay attentive and live with the other band members, and they hear when I change something in my solo and then they’ll change something. I think it makes it a more special live experience.”
What does she like about working with Bradlee and his rotating ensemble?
“I’ve met so many musicians [with whom] I’ve also collaborated outside of PMJ because of the rotating roster. We do have our core people that we consistently see, which is nice, because they’re like our family and we know how each other plays onstage, but I love the way it’s set up because I get to meet so many musicians across the whole country and world.
“I think the specialness of working with Scott, which I think everyone can attest to, is he really allows the individual to shine through,” Remick continued. “I think that’s why PMJ is so electric. It’s a bunch of individuals expressing themselves in a group format, and he really doesn’t put restraints on people.”
Numbskull and Good Medicine
Get into the holiday spirit when Big Bad Voodoo Daddy brings their Wild and Swingin’ Holiday Party to SLO’s Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, Nov. 27 (7 p.m.; all ages; $50.50 to $70.50 at pacslo.org). Together for 30 years, the band has helped revitalize swing and jazz music for a new audience, and with two full-length holiday albums, they have a lot of materials to draw from. Expect fun jazz and swing arrangements of classics such as “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “We Three Kings,” and many more.
The Siren
Toronto-based instrumental quartet The Surfrajettes play on Thursday, Nov. 21 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.30 at tixr.com). Expect a “mix of psychedelic rock and reverb-drenched surf music, sky-high beehives, go-go boots, and eyeliner as thick as their guitar strings,” according to press materials. 3LH opens.
Jimi Hendrix tribute act Liquid Sky plays on Friday, Nov. 22 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18.48 at tixr.com). The Bay Area band plays hits such as “Fire,” “Red House,” “Voo Doo Child,” and “Purple Haze,” as well as deeper cuts.
Hot jazz
Basin Street Regulars Hot Jazz Club presents Three Martini Lunch at the Oceano Elks Lodge on Sunday, Nov. 24 (11 a.m. jam, concert from 12:30 to 4 p.m.; all ages; $15 general admission at my805tix.com). The classic jazz trio plays music that’s “hip, cool, and swinging,” according to their bio, dipping into the Great American Songbook and standards by Frank, Dean, Tony, and Sammy, as well as newer artists such as Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, and Tony DeSare. The Amigos Jazz and Swing Band opens the show. Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Holiday Guide 2024.