You can bank on a party atmosphere when The Mother Corn Shuckers play their patented brand of beergrass music. The high-energy quartet mixes bluegrass, country, and rock into a danceable jam-band sound that gets people on their feet.
They recently released Sunset Gold, a new seven-track record produced by The Mother Hips frontman Tim Bluhm, and they’re having an album release party for it at The Siren on Thursday, April 16 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $9.24 presale at tixr.com). Miss Leo’s Country Band opens.
My favorite track on this hooky and all-too-brief album is “Silhouette” with its super catchy chorus and romantic imagery: “She’s got a way of dancing in the sunlight. She’s got a way to make it alright, alright. She’s got a way of dancing in the sunlight. Shining silhouette and a beam of light.”
I asked frontman and chief songwriter Che Miller if it was about his wife, band bassist Colleen Gnos, who’s also a well-known fine artist and muralist.
“Yes, well, everything’s about her, right?” he laughed, explaining that the song came out of a songwriting group exercise to use the word “silhouette.” Miller connected with Bluhm during a songwriter retreat the producer led at Joshua Tree.
The Shuckers, which has over its 16-year-tenure swelled to as many as eight members, is currently a tight quartet that also includes Mark Travis (mandolin) and Barry Johnson (percussion, vocals). Between their cohesive playing, Miller’s amazing melodies and lyrics, and Bluhm’s ear for production, Sunset Gold is sonic gold. Every track is a keeper.
‘I’m telling stories, and they’re all little love stories, or there’s a story about drought, stories about following your dreams. Every step you take, you reach out, you keep trying, and you get a little closer.’
—Che Miller, The Mother Corn Shuckers
Though it sounds upbeat like the rest of Sunset Gold’s songs, the album opens with a lyrically dark track called “Just Waiting” that describes a barren landscape.
“I was driving down Highway 49 between Auburn and Oakhurst, doing the goldminer route, and I was just driving along, and the creeks were low, the lakes were low, the rivers were low,” Miller explained. “So that was about our drought. There’s a little bit in there about how the water companies are monopolizing control of all the water, bottling it.”
Of course, Miller finds some hope though it all. The chorus goes, “I’m just waiting on a rainbow, I’m just waiting on the rain.”
One good piece of advice he got from Bluhm was to tighten up his songs and make them radio-friendly, three-to-four-minutes long. Sunset Gold is already getting play on local NPR affiliate KCBX as well as KBCZ in Boulder Creek. They sound to me like they’d fit perfectly on KPIG too.
I’m also really digging Miller’s aspirational and life-affirming songs like “Dream,” the title track “Sunset Gold,” and “Keep on Keeping On.” This is a terrific new record brimming with positivity.
“I’m telling stories, and they’re all little love stories, or there’s a story about drought, stories about following your dreams,” Miller added. “Every step you take, you reach out, you keep trying, and you get a little closer.”
Also this week at The Siren …
Ready for some artist formerly known as Prince? The Purple One? When Doves Cry, A Tribute to Prince plays on Friday, April 10 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $31.18 at tixr.com). This has become an annual tradition at The Siren, and this show marks the 10th anniversary of Prince’s passing. The club announced it’s giving away seven prizes at the show, and all ticketholders are eligible with the drawing happening at 8 p.m. sharp. The octet performs Purple Rain in its entirety as well as other greatest hits and deep cuts.
Rock and blues act Lead Foot plays a free matinee show on Saturday, April 11 (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older). Sing along or dance to covers from the ’60s and beyond.
Later on Saturday, April 11, cry a nostalgia river to EMO Kids, a live band re-creating hits by the likes of My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, The All American Rejects, Blink 182, and more (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $23.77 at tixr.com).
Finally, The Highwayman Show presents its tribute to vintage country music on Wednesday, April 15 (7 to 9:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15.30 at tixr.com). Hear music by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. They also play Paso’s The Pour House on Thursday, April 16.
Americana and nouveau-folk
Good Medicine and Numbskull have two cool shows coming at you this week starting when Marty O’Reilly returns to Club Car Bar on Friday, April 10 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $16.17 at goodmedicinepresents.com). His raw and soulful voice delivers the urgency needed for Americana to really penetrate. According to press materials, he draws “inspiration from folk icons like Woody Guthrie, blues legends like Howlin’ Wolf, gospel pioneers like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and storytellers like Tom Waits.” Jacob Ryan Gustafson opens.
The Blasting Company plays Castoro Cellars on Wednesday, April 15 (7 p.m.; all ages; $30.59 at goodmedicinepresents.com), and this act that started as a Nashville street band is super cool and totally retro with a great horn section and accordion and resonator guitar and more that combine to capture rustic American folk traditions with Eastern European influences.
Founded by composers and multi-instrumentalists Joshua Kaufman and Justin Rubenstein, they may be best known for their score to the Emmy Award-winning animated series Over the Garden Wall, a cult favorite with more than 220 million streams globally.
Stacked to the max
SLO Brew at Rod & Hammer Rock has a ton of shows queued up this week starting when Numbskull presents emo act Saturdays at Your Place on Friday, April 10 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $31.83 at ticketweb.com). Emo and pop punk acts Retirement Party and Kerosene Heights open.
The Sauce Pot presents Metal Fest & Art Market on Saturday, April 11. The free all-ages market featuring local vendors selling comic books, original art, handcrafted goods, and records starts at 2 p.m. Doors for music is at 4 p.m. (18-and-older; $20.79 at ticketweb.com). Performers include Bears, Punk Rock Time Machine, Theosis, Stabbable Offense, Pentacaustic, Catacombs, Toxic Wizard, and Corporal Psyche.
SLO Brew and (((folkYEAH!))) present LA-based psyche pop and indie rock act Drugdealer on Sunday, April 12 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $33.39 at ticketweb.com). Fronted by Michael Collins, the project is built around his smooth keyboards and reverberating soft rock melodies.
Dime Industries presents Aurorawave on Thursday, April 16 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.21 at ticketweb.com). The boundary-pushing rock group calls their distinct sound reggaecore—“a fusion of heavy guitar-driven intensity and rhythmic influences drawn from reggae.” Brace Yourself opens.
Almost Pink
The Clark Center presents Shine On—The Live Pink Floyd Experience on Saturday, April 11 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $45 to $69 at clarkcenter.org). The tribute band bills its show as the High Hopes Greatest Hits Tour, so expect to hear the very best Pink Floyd classics like “High Hopes” from The Division Bell, “Dogs” from Animals, and more.
“This immersive performance re-creates the depth and drama of Floyd’s most iconic tours, blending vintage soundscapes with cutting-edge visuals,” organizers announced. “With 11 musicians onstage, each track is brought to life with emotional nuance and technical mastery.”
Hear tracks from Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, and anthems like “Comfortably Numb,” “Time,” and “Another Brick in the Wall.”
Credit: COURTESY PHOTO BY BARRY GOYETTE
Hometown heroes
Two of SLO County’s finest—singer-songwriter Jill Knight and folk duo Bob & Wendy—will play Cambria’s Sonic Milk Recording Studio on Saturday, April 11 (3 p.m.; all ages; $20 via venmo.com or visit sonicmilkrecording.com and use the QR code).
“We’re doing a follow-up to the recent sold-out Bunker show, moving up the coast to Jill’s backyard of Cambria,” Bob Liepman explained. “Sonic Milk Recording Studio—formerly Painted Sky Studios—has twice the Bunker’s capacity, so we hope everyone can get in and enjoy the performance.”
Both these acts have deep Central Coast roots. Knight was already well-established when Bob & Wendy moved here in the late ’80s. Bob has played cello on some of Knight’s recordings. Knight produced Bob & Wendy’s Your Beautiful Life, which won New Times Music Awards’ Album of the Year in 2012. They will perform individually and together with support from Paul Griffith (drums) and Eric Williams (bass).
Punk and pizza
High-energy punk band Bunker Club plays Benny’s Pizza Palace and Social Club on Saturday, April 11 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; free). The band’s motto is, “Powered by cheap beer and Advil. Keepin’ it goin’ ’til the wheels fall off!” They’re a revved-up blast, and they’re adding a rockabilly set complete with a standup bass. The band features New York transplant Pete Truent, formerly of Honor Bound Heroes.
Prince of Cool
“Our next event will be a tribute to the music of the hall of fame trumpeter Chet Baker,” vibraphonist Charlie Shoemake announced. “Baker’s haunting sound and style placed him in a special category in the jazz world, and our concert will highlight some of his memorable work.”
On Sunday, April 12, Shoemake will be joined by his vocalist wife, Sandi, trumpeter David Johns, pianist Madison Scott, bassist Dylan Johnson, and drummer Tom Brown in Cambria’s Woodlands Concert Hall (715 Main St.; 5 to 7 p.m.; $35 tickets by emailing charlie@talsanmusic.com or calling (805) 935-9007).
The Fremont is open for business
Edit note: This section of Strictly Starkey was updated to include the latest information about the Fremont Theater, which had been closed since its marquee was damaged during late February storms. According to a city announcement made after New Times went to press on April 8, an engineer evaluated the marquee and the building’s structure and the city reinstated the Fremont’s occupancy certificate.
Good news, Fremont Theater fans and ticket holders, the iconic downtown SLO theater is once again able to host the music, comedians, and more you’ve been waiting for. On Thursday, April 9, join the fun for Heated Rivalry Night (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $42.20 at prekindle.com). This show was rescheduled from an earlier date, and all previously purchased tickets will be honored. “Dance all night to HR edits, pop throwbacks, queer anthems, and nonstop high-energy hits,” organizers announced. “Photobooth, giveaways, and more.”
British synth pop veteran Gary Numan plays on Saturday, April 11 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $46.32 at prekindle.com). Tremours opens.
Classic rockers Emerson, Lake & Palmer play next Thursday, April 16 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $50.96 to $81.86 at prekindle.com). Visit fremontslo.com for more info. ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in April 9-16, 2026.