Allen Stone is truly self-made. His 2010 debut, Last to Speak, was self-released and sold mostly via the internet. He road-dogged it hard, crisscrossing the country playing everywhere he could. His career really took off when he was signed to ATO and released his self-titled 2012 album. Today, he continues to tour relentlessly. Over that grueling schedule, he’s managed to record five full-length records, get married, and have a couple of kids.
On Thursday, May 22, Stone will play the Fremont Theater (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $58.68 at prekindle.com), touring in support of his new EP, Mystery.
“First of all, I’ve never released an EP. It’s always been full length for me,” Stone explained during a Zoom call. “Usually, I start with 50 songs and whittle it down to the 10 to 12 that sort of raise their hand, and then the rest of them just sort of die a lonely death on a hard drive in my studio.
“The songs for the Mystery EP were tunes that I really loved but didn’t seem to connect, or work or playlist very well with the other tunes that were kind of raising their hands,” Stone continued. “They sort of lived off in this little island that was very R&B. There was some funk in there, and the other stuff that I was writing was maybe a little bit more of that Nashville soul kind of vibe.
“So we put them all together and it was like, yeah, it feels kind of like a mystery how these tunes came to be and where they’re gonna live, but we got them out into the world, and it seems like people are really enjoying them, which is always a wonderful, wonderful thing.”
Like a lot of R&B and soul singers, Stone grew up singing in the church—his father was a preacher. He started college at the Moody Bible Institute, but he ultimately decided the church was not The Truth. Still, people really see spirituality in his music.
In “Sweet Little Rainbows” off the Mystery EP, he sings, “Bubbly clouds/ Come and float down/ Rest your essence/ On this sacred ground/ Beautiful water/ Flowing for free/ I’m at your altar/ Come baptize me// What a joy it is to fall into your presence/ Lift my voice so I can call and give you blessing.”
The religious language—sacred ground, your altar, baptize me, give you a blessing—is undeniable.
“It’s a song about exalting Mother Nature,” Stone explained. “That’s why I wrote it. It’s a song that’s giving thanks and sending exaltation to earth and the natural world around us. And so, you know, in in a sense, it’s a divine song, a little bit, you know, praise.”
Stone thinks people who grew up singing in the church—whether they’ve remained religious or not—continue to search for that elation of singing upward.
“You know, it doesn’t need to be God,” he said. “It’s just like a unified voice toward a positive deity, or divinity, let’s call it. You could find that at a Slayer show, like everybody’s there, unified upward, you know, toward a positive experience.”
When he plays the Fremont Theater, you can expect to hear songs from the new EP as well as material from his catalog. He says he’s excited about his opening act, Nashville singer-songwriter Jade Jackson, who grew up in Santa Margarita.
“Man, we got a killer opener,” he said. “I don’t know how we got her to open for us. She could sell out that venue by herself.”
To me, Stone has a Michael Franti vibe‚ super positive, socially conscious, and very inclusive. His music uplifts.
“The show is super fun—a wonderful experience for audiences because it’s very welcoming,” he said. “If you look out into the audience, there’s not one type of person. It’s not the same age or ethnicity. It’s across the board, young, old, Black, white, green, yellow. It’s such a diverse community of people who connect with the music. I think one of the coolest things I’ve experienced with my career is connecting with such a wide variety of human beings.”
Sort of like “Sweet little rainbows/ Sweet little rain/ Fly through my window/ Bring your colors to frame.”
Also this week at the Fremont, check out trip-hop electronica duo Thievery Corporation on Wednesday, May 21 (doors at 7 with the show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $71.04 at prekindle.com). Since 1995, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have been crafting chillout lounge sounds.
“We always wondered: with so much incredible music in the world, why would anyone limit themselves to one genre? Well, we found out—it’s far easier to stay in one lane than to genre hop!” Hilton laughed in press materials.
“When we started,” Garza added, “we were influenced by music from all over the world, flipping through bins in secondhand record stores for LPs from Brazil, India, Iran, Jamaica, jazz records … we wanted to make music where you didn’t know whether it was recorded today or a decade ago.”
Here comes “Trouble”
Burley Thistles, one of singer-songwriter Easton Everett’s three working bands, just released a killer new single, and to celebrate they have a show at The Siren on Friday, May 16 (8 to 10:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free).
“Though not intended, the song plays to the societal unease that surrounds us these days,” Everett explained.
It’s an upbeat burner with elements of ska, pop, and new wave.
“I don’t know world today, got no faith in what the leaders say. Feather in the corn’s getting hard to find through a garden gate in the tides of time. Leaders got to lead something, anyone who’ll listen probably climb your tree. Reached out now got turned away a misunderstanding all around the world. Trouble everywhere, trouble everywhere, trouble everywhere well there’s trouble,” Everett sings.
His other bands are also playing this month. See Flavor Packet on Saturday, May 17, in SLO’s Krobar Craft Distillery (6 to 9 p.m.); and his solo gig as Easton Everett in Paso’s Central Coast Wine Country Resort on Friday, May 23 (5 to 7 p.m.) and Midnight Cellars on Saturday, May 24 (1 to 3 p.m.).
Also at The Siren, reggae icons Israel Vibrations plays on Sunday, May 18 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $32.24 at tixr.com). The band was founded by Cecil “Skelly” Spence, Lacelle “Wiss” Bulgin, and Albert “Apple Gabriel” Craig (he passed in 2020), who were all victims of the polio epidemic that spread through Jamaica in the 1950s. Duane Stephenson, Rastan, and ROOTS Radics open the show.
NorCal indie-rock, dream pop band Rainbow City Park plays on Monday, May 19 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18.48 at tixr.com), with Big Sierra, Topeka Clementine, and Caty Armstrong opening.
Multi-instrumentalist and rising country sensation Maggie Baugh plays on Wednesday, May 21 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.30 at tixr.com). The classically trained musician made the switch to country when she played the fiddle on “Devil Went Down To Georgia” for a Charlie Daniels performance. Her TikTok series, “Finish the Lick,” garnered more than 30 million views. Steven Cade opens.
Vina rising
Vina Robles Amphitheatre kicks off its concert season with Chris Isaak on Friday, May 23 (doors at 6:30 with the show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $229.50 at ticketmaster.com). This platinum-selling and Grammy-nominated singer and actor is now 68 but still swoon-worthy.
He’s known for his slick outfits, witty stage banter, and smoky crooning voice. With 13 albums to his credit and appearances in films such as The Silence of the Lambs and That Thing That You Do!, not to mention his TV series The Chris Isaak Show, he’s been an entertainment fixture since he released his debut album, Silvertone, in 1985.
His music was pivotal in the soundtracks for films like Eyes Wide Shut, True Romance, Wild at Heart, and Blue Velvet. He was also recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance by the Americana Honors. The dude’s legendary!
Hit the track
Numbskull and Good Medicine bring underground hip-hop king Murs on his The Last Run Tour to The Siren on Tuesday, May 20, in the Siren (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20.29 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Born Nicholas Neil Carter, his stage name, sometimes written in all-caps, stands for “Making the Universe Recognize and Submit” or “Making Underground Raw Shit” depending on when you ask him.
He’s a former member of the rap group Living Legends who on Oct. 13, 2016, set a Guiness World Record for rapping nonstop for 24 hours on a Twitch livestream.
Good Medicine also has teen country sensation Ty Myers on Thursday, May 22, at BarrelHouse, but it’s sold out.
Half a Map
SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock presents Sam Blasucci on Friday, May 16 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.21 at ticketweb.com). Blasucci is one half of SoCal roots rock duo Mapache, known for their intricate guitar duos.
“When Blasucci was writing the songs that would become his debut solo record, Off My Stars, he found himself less focused on the guitar and more gravitated toward a different instrument: piano,” according to his bio.
Jazz hands
The Basin Street Regulars Hot Jazz Club presents The Charlie Shoemake Quartet in the Grover City Grange Hall (370 S. 13th St., Grover Beach) on Sunday, May 18 (11 a.m. jam session, with the concert beginning at 12:30 p.m.; all ages; $15 general at my805tix.com). Shoemake’s quartet includes Rich Severson on guitar, Dylan Johnson on bass, and Darrell Voss on drums.
Shoemaker is an internationally known jazz vibraphonist who during his six-decade career has played with the likes of George Shearing, Quincy Jones, and Lalo Schifrin. His wife, Sandi, a marvelous vocalist, will join in. Cuesta’s Voce Jazz Vocal Ensemble opens the show.
Juicy!
Grover Beach is preparing for all things strawberry related on Saturday, May 17, when Strawberries Through Grover Beach returns to a new venue this year, 16th St. Park, to celebrate community building with local vendors, bands, kids’ activities, and strawberries. The free event brings in around 2,500 people throughout the day, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and this year live music will be provided by B and the Hive, Big Sierra, Bomb Cyclone Unit, Soul Fyah in the Mix, and Ras Danny’s Reggae All-Stars. The event benefits the Grover Beach Community Foundation. Δ
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in May 15-25, 2025.