Like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, the SLO Blues Society is climbing out of the COVID-19 mess to fly again. The all-volunteer organization that began in 1980 hasn’t mounted a show since 2020, but they say three are on the horizon for the 2023-24 fall/winter season, starting with Alligator Records recording artists The Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling this Friday, Nov. 10, in the SLO Vets Hall (doors at 6:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $32 presale at my805tix.com or $40 day of show).
Blues society regulars take note. Instead of Saturday night shows, they’re now on Fridays, and ticket prices have—like everything else—gone up a bit. But you’ll get an electrifying dose of award-winning Chicago-style blues as Moss and company tours in support of their ripping new album, Get Your Back Into It! This record is perfect for tearing up the dance floor and deeply respectful to the Chicago tradition.
As Moss noted in press materials, “We are a rare breed as far as how authentic we like to keep the music.”
And Gruenling’s harmonic playing is phat as heck. Throw in Rodrigo Mantovani on bass, Taylor Streiff on keyboards, and Pierce Downer on drums, and this is a spellbinding blues quintet.
“When we get together, the music takes over,” Moss added. “We can’t hold back, and the energy just comes pouring out. We get carried away and the audience gets carried away with us.”
As a treat and to reopen the SLO Blues Society season, a special opening act has been assembled called the SLO Blues All-Star Band and featuring “Burning” James Scoolis on guitar and vocals (Burning James Band), Dorian Michael on guitar (the Cinders), Carl Sonny Leyland on piano, Wes Starr on drums (Delbert McClinton, Asleep at the Wheel, Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blow Out), Billy Baxmeyer on bass (Burning, Bad & Cool), and Irene Cathaway as a guest vocalist.
Monsters one and all.
Numbskull and Good Medicine
Emily Nenni may have been born in the Bay Area, but she’s a Nashville gal now. The on-the-rise country singer plays The Siren on Thursday, Nov. 9 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at goodmedicinepresents.com), bringing songs that turn the tables on a lot of country tropes.
“I wrote a song about female barrel racers that’s not demeaning,” she explained in press materials. “It was a good way to start my first record [Hell of a Woman, 2018], because it has feminist themes.”
On her new album, On the Ranch (2022), there’s “In the Mornin'”: “When the sun comes up, I’m hitting the road.”
“You can stay at my house, but in the morning, you’ve got to get out of here,” she elaborated. “I wrote it from a female perspective where it’s a woman saying this instead of the man. When you listen to me, I hope you relate. I hope you laugh, cry, and want to hear more. I’m a honky-tonk girl who’s just getting started.”
Gifted, funny singer-songwriter John Craigie returns to the Cuesta PAC on Friday, Nov. 10 (7 p.m.; all ages; $29 at goodmedicinepresents.com), with Bella White opening. Craigie’s got a new one coming down the pipe in 2024, Pagan Church.
“The music is always evolving and devolving with each new record,” he explained in press materials. “With my last album Mermaid Salt, I really wanted to explore the sound of isolation and solitude as everyone was heading inside. With this record, I wanted to record the sound of everyone coming back out.”
Bella White, a 22-year-old Canadian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter opens.
Country singer Kolby Cooper says on his Instagram page, he loves “God, playing guitar, singing, baseball, football.” See him at BarrelHouse on Friday, Nov. 10 (6 p.m.; all ages; $22 at goodmedicinepresents.com).
Monophonics bring their “heavy soul and warm textures of psychedelic rock … taking you back to the stylings of the late ’60s and early ’70s” at The Siren on Friday, Nov. 10 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; goodmedicinepresents.com), with The Sextones opening.
Moonshiner Collective plays the Club Car Bar on Friday, Nov. 10 (7 p.m.; all ages; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com). The ensemble features multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Dan Curcio, eight-string guitarist Gary Wooten, and drummer/percussionist Ryan House.
Shady-as-heck rapper Riff Raff plays The Siren on Tuesday, Nov. 14 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25 at goodmedicinepresents.com). The big pimpin’ rapper (aka Horst Christian Simco) is touring in support of his fifth album, 2020’s Vanilla Gorilla.
And finally from Numbskull and Good Medicine, modern folk duo Viv & Riley plays Bristol’s Cider House on Thursday, Nov. 16 (7 p.m.; all ages; $15 goodmedicinepresents.com). They’re touring in support of their existential indie roots album Imaginary People.
The Siren
Highway Starr—The Ultimate Tribute to Modern Country Music plays on Saturday, Nov. 11 (8:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at tixr.com). Expect covers by the likes of Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown, Keith Urban, and more.
French Cassettes with Juniper Honey plays on Thursday, Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at tixr.com). French Cassettes, a harmony-driven power-pop quartet, is touring in support of Rolodex, their sophomore LP on the Tender Loving Empire label. According to frontman Scott Huerta, the album nearly did him in.
“I adopted the mentality, which was probably unhealthy, that every song I wrote needed to be my favorite song,” he remembered in press materials. “I lost my mind so many times in the middle of the night.”
Fremont Theater
Woo-eee, Fremont’s going all out this week starting with (((folkYEAH!))) presenting St. Paul and The Broken Bones on Friday, Nov. 10 (8 p.m.; all ages; $37 at seetickets.us), with Maggie Rose opening. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2011, St. Paul delivers super cool old-school soul, funk, and disco. Their forthcoming album, Angels In Science Fiction, builds on the experimental R&B of 2022’s The Alien Coast. Singer-songwriter Maggie Rose recently released the first single and music video for “Underestimate Me” from her forthcoming album. Well, damn! She’s bringing the heat. Check it out.
The always amazing Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox plays on Tuesday, Nov. 14 (8 p.m.; all ages; $51 to $182 at eventbrite.com). Their motto, “Life in the Past Lane,” aligns perfectly with their penchant for mixing today’s pop hits with yesterday’s sounds: Miley Cyrus became The Platters. Bruno Mars became Frank Sinatra. The Spice Girls became The Andrews Sisters. Guns ‘n’ Roses became Bessie Smith. They’re endlessly creative and catchy as can be.
Rising Appalachia plays on Wednesday, Nov. 15 (8 p.m.; all ages; $30 at prekindle.com). The internationally touring Americana and world folk ensemble is “steeped in the soul of the South, the brainchild of Atlanta-raised sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith, rooted in the traditional folk music of their family, storytelling, song catching, grassroots activism, lyrical prowess, and a multi-instrumental tapestry of their melodic ensemble,” according to their bio. Derek Richard Thomas opens.
SLO Brew Rock
Folk power duo Mapache plays this Thursday, Nov. 9 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18 and older; $20 ticketweb.com). They’re touring in support of Swinging Stars, their new album recorded at Panoramic House, an artist retreat overlooking Stinson Beach. It’s the same place acts such as My Morning Jacket, the War on Drugs, and Cate Le Bon used.
More music …
The Marcus Shelby Quintet featuring Bella Basco plays a SLO Jazz Federation show this Saturday, Nov. 11 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $30 general admission and $10 for students at my805tix.com), at SLO’s Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church. Award winning bassist and composer Marcus Shelby and his quintet will perform “Homecoming: Blues and the Pursuit of Freedom,” which will include original compositions and arrangements, music by Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk, and Charles Mingus, poetry, movement, and oratory.
Susan Ritchie will have a listening party for her new album, Life is For the Living, this Saturday, Nov. 11, in Puffers of Pismo. “We’ll listen to the album from 7 to 8 p.m. and then I’ll do a live duo performance from 8 to 10,” Ritchie explained. She’s an incredibly gifted bluesy singer-songwriter.
The SLO County Trumpet Alliance presents Salute! A Trumpet Tribute to Veterans Day on Sunday, Nov. 12, at Saint Timothy’s Catholic Church in Morro Bay (3 p.m.; all ages; free though donations to Knights of Columbus Charities will be accepted at the door). Enjoy an afternoon of trumpet ensemble chamber music.
ABBA tribute band Abbafab plays the Clark Center on Sunday, Nov. 12 (7 p.m.; all ages; $45 to $65 at clarkcenter.org). You’ll hear the hits such as “Waterloo,” “Fernando,” “Honey Honey,” “Dancing Queen,” and more. Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 9-19, 2023.