On Father’s Day, June 14, 2023, Stephen Marley premiered the new video for his song “Old Soul,” a sweet tribute to his famous father’s influence as well as the influences of others who came before him.
On it, he sings, “It was 1972, my mom and papa brought me through. Back then I was the favorite, so they say. Even though he was way before his time, I knew every Nesta Marley line. You know that Peter Tosh was fly in diamond socks and corduroy. Fast forward to 1981, my dad moved on and so did I. Inside I kept his songs alive, so they say. I’m an old soul living in the body of a 9-year-old, guess I’ve been here before. I’m an old soul, tribute to the ones who made it all possible. Inside me your legacy lives on.”
Nostalgic and poignant, the song has a breezy feel-good vibe and pop song sensibility. Co-written with Jamaican pop star Omi, the song moves through Stephen’s history—born in 1972, losing his father in 1981, and so on.
“I had to change up the years to place my life in it,” Stephen said in press materials, “but really, Omi gave me the first inspiration.”
The retrospective video features never-before-seen old family photos, vintage vinyl album covers, and a collage of Jamaican music history, and it’s available on Stephen Marley’s official YouTube channel. Watch it and you’ll absolutely want to see Stephen Marley live when he plays Vina Robles Amphitheatre as part of his Babylon by Bus tour on Sunday, June 25 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $40.50 to $50.50 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com).
“We come to free the people’s minds,” multi-Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer Stephen Marley added. “Only way you can free your soul is to free your mind. My father said, ‘No chains on my feet, but I’m not free,’ and then he come to say, ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.’ Anywhere the music calls us, we are going to be there to spread the message of love and unity.”
Fortunate Youth opens the show.
Mississippi calling
If there are musical artists cooler than Paul Thorn, I don’t know about ’em. Thorn just comes across as this down-to-earth poet and songwriter with a knack for revealing the deep truths of human nature with a friendly Southern drawl. His music is bluesy, rockin’, and Southern Americana through and through, and his band is tighter than Fort Knox.
Thorn was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, just like Elvis Presley. As his bio notes, he “ambled down back roads and jumped out of airplanes, worked for years in a furniture factory, battled four-time world champion boxer Roberto Duran on national television, performed on stages with Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, Sting, and John Prine among many others, and made some of the most emotionally restless yet fully accessible music of our time.”
It seems like every album is a revelation, and his most recent, 2021’s Never Too Late To Call—his 12th studio album—continues that tradition. Seven years in the making, it features all original material recorded at Sam Phillips Studio in Memphis and produced and engineered by Grammy-winning wunderkind Matt Ross-Spang.
Numbskull and Good Medicine present Paul Thorn at The Siren on Tuesday, June 27 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $32 at goodmedicinepresents.com), which is good news for me because I’ll be back from the Live Oak Music Fest by then!
Also at The Siren …
Morro Bay’s little nightclub that could, The Siren, continues to bring in great music every week, and this week is no different. Skynyrd Rising, a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd, kicks off their week on Friday, June 23 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at tixr.com). Expect material from the entire catalogue including “Simple Man,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” and “Tuesday’s gone,” as well as deeper cuts like “The Needle and the Spoon” and “Poison Whiskey.”
On Saturday, June 24, get a dose of New Orleans style boogie blues when The Cliffnotes play for free (2:30 p.m.; 21-and-older). Later that night, check out Johnny Nasty Boots (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; free), an LA power trio that conjures up ghosts of the ’70s, when blues, rock, and jazz collided. They’re favorites in Mexico’s underground rock scene, and their last single “Deadline,” became the No. 1 song of 2018 on Reactor 105.7 FM.
Hip-hop night features Pep Love of Hieroglyphics on Wednesday, June 28 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at tixr.com). Also known as Pep Lava, the Oakland rapper hails from Jackson, Mississippi, and got his break appearing on the B-side of a Del the Funky Homosapien single.
Finally, The Stinkfoot Orchestra, a 14-piece Frank Zappa tribute band from the Bay Area, plays next Thursday, June 29 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18 at tixr.com). Expect two sets of Zappa’s one-of-a-kind hyper-creative and compellingly weird compositions.
Aloha spirit
SLO Brew Rock hosts Hawaiian-born musician Mike Love & The Full Circle this Thursday, June 22 (7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $30 at ticketweb.com). According to his bio, “Love developed a unique style and sound rooted in the spirituality and message-based music of reggae and Rastafari, while also fusing progressive and classic rock, soul, blues, flamenco, jazz, classical, and more. At the core of Mike’s music is healing—he is an active social, animal, and environmental rights advocate, using his music as a tool to educate and unite.”
He used to play as a one-man band using looping technology and various instruments, but these days he has a full group behind him. Another Hawaiian artist, Keilana, will open the show.
More music …
Just for the record, there are still tickets left for this year’s Live Oak Music Festival at El Chorro Regional Park, from Friday, June 23 through Sunday, June 25. Visit liveoakfest.org for details.
Aside from the Live Oak Fest, you also know it’s officially summer because Concerts in the Plaza starts this Friday, June 23, with opener Natalie Haskins (5 p.m.), a terrific singer-songwriter, followed by feel-good rockers Ghost/Monster (6 to 8 p.m.), whose name is inspired by frontwoman Nataly Lola’s obsession with the paranormal and the macabre mixed with lead guitarist Jaxon Camaero’s vigilant interest in mythological and cryptozoological creatures. This amazing community event always brings a crowd to Mission Plaza, where food and drink is available for purchase. Outside food is allowed; outside booze isn’t.
Point San Luis Lighthouse presents Upside Ska on Saturday, June 24 (2 p.m.; all ages; concert and shuttle is $40, concert and “paddle your own ass out there” is $25 at my805tix.com). This is an awesome octet playing roots Jamaican ska music with a hot-as-Hades horn section.
The next Basin Street Regulars’ “Hot Swingin’ Jazz” concert is taking a deviation from the norm. Instead of being in the Pismo Vets Hall, this Sunday, June 25, the show will be in Harry’s Night Club and Beach Bar. As usual, there’s an 11 a.m. jam for those who want to bring their instruments and play, followed by husband-and-wife duo Elias & Madeline at 1 p.m., presenting boleros, jazz, and bossa nova classics in both Spanish and English. The headliner is Ventura’s The Barrelhouse Wailers, who “serve up their own take on Prohibition era hot jazz and blues music of the 1920s and 1930s.” The concert series returns to the vets hall next month.
The Jazz Vespers concert series returns to the historic sanctuary at SLO’s First Presbyterian Church this Sunday, June 25 (4 p.m.; all ages; free but donations are welcome), with the Rich Severson Quartet, led by a full-time professional guitarist and educator for more than 35 years. Expect some amazing jazz guitar.
Singer-songwriter Matthias Clark hosts the SLO Songwriters Circle at Morro Bay’s The Mosaic Theater this Tuesday, June 27 (7 to 9 p.m.; call (805) 215-4433 for tickets and this week’s lineup). Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jun 22 – Jul 2, 2023.