Singer-songwriter Don Lampson used to perform in public regularly, but these days his live shows are few and far between. The last time he played before an audience was earlier this year on Feb. 11, when he joined Nashville singer-songwriters Jade Jackson and Josh Wolfe in an intimate singer-in-the-round evening at The Range in Santa Margarita.
This Saturday, Aug. 16, Lampson will perform a “solo musicale,” as he calls it, at the Porch Cafe & Bar “in the heart of Santa Margarita” (5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; all ages; free). Expect “songs of hard work, brave deeds, heartbreak, and a few featuring both romance and revenge,” he said.
The raconteur claims it’s his first solo gig in a dozen years.
“Performing gets tougher as I advance in age,” he explained. “My voice isn’t as strong, nor my arthritic fingers as nimble as they were just a few brief decades ago. I still learn new yet obscure covers and dabble in writing.”
Lampson is a real character. The Vietnam vet studied journalism at Cal Poly, worked as a prison guard, has an affinity for reptiles, and can weave some amazing stories. What a life! He’s been married to local artist Peg Grady since 1981, and they live on a little ranchette outside of Santa Margarita. He’s been known to trim trees on his property with a shotgun.
Don’s gritty voice sounds like a roll of rusty chain-link fencing bouncing around the back of an old Ford pickup rambling down a gravel road. In other words, he’s rumbling and irascible and authentic as heck.
“With over 50 years of performing, I’ve assembled a huge number of songs to pull from,” he boasted. “I may not sing or play as well as I did in my feckless youth, but I can emote the song’s stories better than ever!”
Witness the legend in person this Saturday!
Swinging for the fences
Good Vibez and the Fremont Theater have stacked the week with six big shows starting with flipturn on Friday, Aug. 15 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $50.96 at prekindle.com), with Sun Room opening.
Indie rock act flipturn started playing college house parties in their home state of Florida and have now blossomed into playing festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits. They’ve also appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. They’re currently touring in support of their sophomore album, Burnout Days, released earlier this year.
“Caught halfway between 21st century indie rock, New Wave-inspired nostalgia, and rhythmic alt-pop, Burnout Days finds the beauty that exists between five friends, even in times of burnout,” according to their bio.
Relive your disco daze when Bee Gees Fever comes to the Fremont on Saturday, Aug. 16 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $33.96 at prekindle.com). The seven-piece live band delivers a Las Vegas-style show complete with “costumes and a catalog with three decades of The Brothers Gibb,” according to organizers.
Portland-based indie rock, synth pop, and neo psychedelia act STRFKR plays on Monday, Aug. 18 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $37.05 at prekindle.com) with Mamalarky opening. Pronounced starfucker, the band’s newest is 2024’s Parallel Rooms, their seventh album.
The Buena Vista Social Orchestra performs on Tuesday, Aug. 19 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $50.96 to $99.36 at prekindle.com). Made up of musicians pulled from the original Buena Vista Social Club performances, the collective presents the finest in Cuban music.
If you need a dose of old-school punk, Black Flag plays on Thursday, Aug. 21 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $44.26 at prekindle.com). Formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach by guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member Greg Ginn, his group is currently recording new material for a future studio release and will be touring all year.
Tropical psychedelia + indigenous indie rock + reggae
Numbskull and Good Medicine have a super cool three-act show coming up when Coyote Island headlines The Siren on Thursday, Aug. 21 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.41 at goodmedicinepresents.com), with Cherokee Social and Joe Samba opening.
Coyote Island is Mike O’Hehir’s brainchild. Mike considers himself an old soul, and “the music he’s crafted with his band and growing collection of diverse collaborators is as fresh as anything going today,” his bio said. Expect breezy Caribbean beats and contemporary pop sounds.
Alex Creighton of Cherokee Social describes his duo’s sound as “indigenous indie pop.”
“We mix traditional Indigenous percussion with modern pop arrangements, creating a sound that’s rhythmic, bright, and culturally grounded,” he explained.
Samba creates soulful reggae-rock with a punk edge.
Freebies at The Siren
Smile, cheapskate. The Siren has you covered this week with three free shows. See Americana/country/bluegrass act Hazard Canyon on Friday, Aug. 15 (8 to 10:30 p.m.; 21-and-older). This local group is packed with multi-instrumental talent on vocal harmonies, fretless bass, drums, harmonica, and electric and acoustic guitars.
“Our diverse set list spans multiple generations, inviting folks of all ages to engage and join in dance,” the band said.
More free shows happen on Saturday, Aug. 16, starting with Bridges Band (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older), a local quintet that’s “wildly passionate about playing and performing great music, blues, R&B. jazz, and rock,” according to their bio.
Later that same day, see Kettle of Hawks (8 to 10:30 p.m.; 21-and-older) a band from Carpinteria and Los Angeles that makes “ethereal folk gaze noise in fits and starts … in garages and airstreams, tiny homes, on beaches and mesas, in lot yards and studios, around campfires, under ancient pines and gardens,” their bio explains.
Strange, Trop, Mad
SLO Brew Live presents Strange Days—A Tribute to The Doors at Rod & Hammer Rock on Sunday, Aug. 17 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $27.21 at ticketweb.com). They bill themselves as “a worldwide touring Doors concert experience,” according to press materials. “Formed and based in Los Angeles, Strange Days captures the magic and the mystery of The Doors in their prime. By combining vintage instruments with the latest technology, Strange Days offers both an authentic onstage look and an unmistakable studio album sound.”
Rod & Hammer has an impressive tripleheader on Wednesday, Aug. 20, when Tropidelic headlines with Shwayze and Jarv opening (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $33.39 at ticketweb.com). Tropidelic blends funk, reggae, and hip-hop and will be joined by West Coast hitmaker Shwayze for a “night of grooves, good times, and summer energy,” the club announced.
Finally, Solvang’s ska punk juggernauts The Mad Caddies play on Thursday, Aug. 21 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $31.39 at ticketweb.com). Formed in 1995, the Caddies have seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. They’re influenced from diverse genres including third wave ska, punk, reggae, Dixieland, Latin, polka, cowpunk, and sea shanties.
Voix triomphante
The human voice is a remarkable instrument capable of conveying a wide range of emotions. This week, two concerts will demonstrate the power and beauty of the human voice in full.
On Friday, Aug. 15, experience Voices Unite! in Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa featuring the Cuesta Concord Chorus with guests Coro Nacional de Puerto Rico and Trinity Choir of Denver (8 p.m.; all ages; free). The show starts immediately following Concerts in the Plaza.
On Saturday, Aug. 16, the Cuesta Concord Chorus presents Carmina Burana in Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center (7:30 p.m.; all ages; get your free ticket at pacslo.org).
Composer Carl Orff’s masterpiece cantata will be conducted by Cassandra Tarantino and “will be performed with a full orchestra, soloists, and a grand chorus that includes the Cuesta Concord Chorus and our Festival Guest choirs,” according to organizers. “We will be joined by the SLO Symphony, Master Chorale, Opera SLO, Central Coast Gilbert & Sullivan, Vocal Arts Ensemble, Resonance, Central Coast Youth Chorus, and other local artists in a grand community celebration.”
Pre-bebop jazz
Jazz Vespers Concerts returns to SLO’s First Presbyterian Church with the Dawn Lambeth Quartet featuring trumpet player Marc Caparone this Sunday, Aug. 17 (4 p.m.; all ages; free, though donations are gratefully accepted). Lambeth’s a fantastic vocalist and pianist, and Caparone specializes in trumpet styles of the 1920s and 1930s. Ryan Garcia (guitar) and Dylan Johnson (bass) also join the fun. Δ
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Aug 14-24, 2025.