Forget 2021: Let's move on with a wiggle and a shake 

Here we are. It's the end of 2021, and I, for one, am not interested in glancing over my shoulder at anything behind me. It's a mess! But I can put on my dancing shoes and maybe a hula skirt to start the year off right in Morro Bay at The Siren for a one- or two-night tropical vacation.

I see island vibes, killer tiki cocktails, hula dancers, and a rocking Hawaiian band in my future! Plus, a whole smoked pig to go with a Hawaiian barbecue dinner. OK. I'm drooling and getting a little ahead of myself. Let's start with the music!

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• Photo Courtesy Of The Hula Girls
• SHAKE IT The Hula Girls ring in the New Year, island style, on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 at The Siren in Morro Bay.

Morro Bay's The Siren hosts a Hawaiian New Year's Celebration featuring The Hula Girls and The Bonneville Phantoms for two nights: Friday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 1 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $50 to $65 at thesirenmorrobay.com). NYE ticket price includes the concert, barbecue dinner, and a midnight champagne toast.

The Hula Girls have been playing their self-described "hulabilly" music all over Southern California since 2008 with Spike Marble on lead guitar and vocals, Shorty Poole on upright and electric basses, Gary Brandin on steel guitar, and Doug Sanborn on drums. Hula-a-go-go dancers Miss Haylee Holiday, Miss Ginger Watson, and Miss Veronica Velvet accompany them wherever they go!

Tickets to the Planet Funk New Year's Eve party at SLO Brew are already gone-gone, but just so you know what you're missing: Diggin' Dirt and Dante Marsh & The Vibe Setters are on deck. Not to worry, though, Dante Marsh & The Vibe Setters will be at Broken Earth Winery in Paso on Sunday, Jan. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Liquid Gravity Brewing Company in SLO is bringing the Ron McCarley Quartet in for its Roaring Twenties soiree on New Year's Eve, Friday, Dec. 31 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20; liquidgravitybrewing.com). The cover charge includes a seltzer toast at midnight. Bear City Social will be slingin' food and everyone is encouraged to don their choicest '20s threads to join in on the fun.

Ron McCarley, the director of jazz studies at Cuesta College, "is an incredibly accomplished and talented jazz musician. He is widely regarded as one of the absolute best on the Central Coast," according to Liquid Gravity. McCarley will be on saxophone, Adam Levine on guitar, Ken Hustad on bass, and Darrell Voss on drums.

Opera San Luis Obispo presents a New Year's Eve Super Gala on Friday, Dec. 31, at Harold Miossi Hall in the Performing Arts Center (7:30 p.m.; ages 7 and older; $25 to $90 at pacslo.org). The OperaSLO Grand Orchestra and maestro Brian Asher Alhadeff present a line-up of award-winning artists and ensembles for an epic evening of pops, opera, musical theater, and dance, including vocalists Alba Franco-Cancél, Shira Renee Thomas, Karen Dunn, Eliana Nunely, Gregory Gorrindo, Dylan F. Thomas, and Zach Apel.

More music ...

Last week, Glen Starkey plugged a very fine Numbskull and Good Medicine show lined up for Thursday, Dec. 30, when The Coffis Brothers & The Mountain Men play The Siren (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $13 plus fees presale at eventbrite.com or $15 at the door), with Morro Bay folk duo The Turkey Buzzards opening.

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• Photo Courtesy Of The Purple Ones
• TRIBUTE The Purple Ones take their seriously funky tribute to Prince into The Siren on Jan. 6.

Also at The Siren, see The Purple Ones (An Insatiable Tribute to Prince) on Thursday, Jan. 6 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 presale plus fees at thesirenmorrobay.com or $25 at the door).

This tribute band from Oakland puts 12 pieces on stage—including a full horn section—and delivers their own spin on Prince. You won't catch any impersonators or look-a-likes in this band, which is all about the music and bringing audiences to their feet with energy, rhythm, creativity, and a serious dose of unadulterated funk.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Steve Key
• NEW YEAR, NEW SONGS Steve Key and the Songwriters at Play are playing the freshest tunes only on Jan. 1 at Sculpterra Winery.

Songwriters at Play presents New Songs for the New Year on Saturday, Jan. 1, at Sculpterra Winery (12:30 to 3:30 p.m.; all ages; free). With the exception of rainy days and Christmas, Steve Key hosts Songwriters at Play every Saturday afternoon year-round at Sculpterra Winery in Paso Robles. The three-hour show sometimes features full bands, touring duos, or solo singer-songwriters showcasing their original music.

On New Year's Day, Key will be joined by eight other writers who have accepted the challenge of performing newly-created compositions to welcome in 2022. The New Songs for the New Year lineup includes Lauren Hatcher, John Sandoval, Dan Daniel, Douglas Romayne, Craig Louis Dingman, Rob Kimball, Dennis Mikel, and Jeff Seals. Δ

Editor Camillia Lanham is attempting to fill in for Glen Starkey while he's out of town. Send complaints directly to [email protected].