’Tis the season for podcaster and media personality Adam Montiel’s annual Up+Adam’s Breaking and Entering Christmas and Jingle Jam. It’s pure holiday magic when Montiel quietly makes Christmas happen for one anonymous family in need.
“Breaking and Entering Christmas is my favorite kind of local story,” Montiel explained. “The family stays anonymous, the impact stays here at home, and for one night a year this community quietly turns heartbreak into holiday.”
Montiel’s listeners nominate families, then he and his crew rally the community and deliver everything: decorations, gifts, groceries, and even cash ornaments on the tree.
Last year’s family was a 76-year-old grandmother raising her two grandkids after they lost both parents. Part of their gift was a newer, more reliable car.
In addition to donations from the community, Montiel raises funds with a concert, and this year’s Jingle Jam is on Thursday, Dec. 11, at Libertine Brewing Company in downtown SLO (doors at 6:30 p.m., show from 7 to 11; $10 to $30 at my805tix.com).
“Jingle Jam is like the Avengers of SLOCal musicians teaming up for good,” Montiel said. “Every ticket, every riff, every raffle item helps us build a full Christmas for a family that has had an impossible year.”
The lineup is epic this year with singer-songwriter Kenny Taylor, Brianna Lee and Josh Barrett from indie pop band B & The Hive, Michael Venia of alt rock act Carbon City Lights, genre-jumping singer-songwriter Jon Milsap of The Vibe Setters, award-winning singer-songwriter Josh Rosenblum, soulful singer-songwriter Dan Curcio of Moonshiner Collective, KB of soul and R&B act IMVA, and headliner the Damon Castillo Band.
“After more than 20 years on the air here, I have never seen anything pull this community together for the holidays like Breaking and Entering Christmas,” Montiel said. “It proves what I love about SLOCal: We show up for each other, and we do it with heart, music, and a whole lot of holiday magic.”
Donations are still needed, so if you can help, visit adammontiel.com/breaking-and-entering-christmas. Montiel also works in partnership with Dimes Media: Wild 106, The Grade Country, KPIG, KNEWS 98.5, and 95.3 The Beach.
Fun at the Fremont
Three shows and eight acts are teed up at the historic Fremont Theater this week starting with alt-rockers The Frights on their Ready When You Are Tour on Friday, Dec. 5 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $33.96 at prekindle.com). The San Diego band, now signed to Epitaph, sort of just fell together.
“A couple of months after graduating from high school, Mikey Carnevale (vocals/guitar) and Richard Dotson (bass) got together as The Frights to play a one-off 30-minute set as sort of a joke,” their bio explained. “The feeling they got from the crowd in their hometown of San Diego inspired them to become a ‘real’ band almost in spite of themselves.”
Liily and Buddha Trixie open.
Comedian Hannibal Buress plays the theater on Saturday, Dec. 6 (doors at 7, show at 8 p.m.; all ages; $39.11 to $81.86 at prekindle.com). The Chicago funnyman started performing comedy while attending Southern Illinois University. He’s appeared in films such as Neighbors, Baywatch, Daddy’s Home, Spiderman: Homecoming, Spiderman: Far From Home, and Tag.
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF GOOD VIBEZ
If you’re in the mood for something decidedly heavy, check out Texas metalcore and nu metal act Memphis May Fire on Tuesday, Dec. 9 (doors at 6, show at 7 p.m.; all ages; $46.32 general, $106.06 to $168.38 VIP at prekindle.com). Anthems like “Miles Away,” “No Ordinary Love,” “Beneath the Skin,” “Vices,” “Stay the Course,” and “Carry On” have amassed close to 100 million views on YouTube.
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SURFACE WALKERS
Rain City Drive, Nevertel, and If Not For Me open.
Get weird then go rural
Good Medicine presents The Surface Walkers at Club Car Bar on Friday, Dec. 5 (8 p.m.; all ages; free). Influenced by sci-fi, fantasy, psychedelia, and technology, the group blends psychedelic rock, drum and bass, funk, orchestral film scores, EDM, metal, and progressive textures. They say they’re in development as a feature film and are available for licensing as a rock musical.
Good Medicine and Numbskull present Two Runner at The Siren on Sunday, Dec. 7 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $21.32 at goodmedicinepresents.com).
Two Runner is songwriter Paige Anderson and fiddler Emilie Rose, a “folk duo [that] emits a ray of unprocessed realness through their well-crafted songs and instrumental skills,” their bio explains. “Together, the duo has been touring for over two years solidly, forging their sound and path through festivals and venues, winding highways and friendship. It’s undeniable that Two Runner brings a rich mix to the folk music world, with their harmonies, banjo pickin’, and dirt kickin’ duo.”
Local soulgrass artist Miss Leo opens.
Also at The Siren
Definitely Dead (A Celebration of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead) comes to Morro Bay on Friday, Dec. 5 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18.48 at tixr.com). Catch the songs and the vibes.
“We try to stay true to the original arrangements somewhat and the improvisational nature of the songs,” guitarist Marshall Kipp explained in press materials. “But at the same time, we also allow space for the music to happen and listen for the abundant unknown possibilities that exist with new opportunities for collective improvisational sounds. It has been an extremely satisfying experiment that brings joy to the band that we are determined to share with the fans.”
Cover band Jane’s Gang plays a free matinee show on Saturday, Dec. 6 (20 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older). Hear songs by Fleetwood Mac, The Pretenders, Pat Benatar, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Miranda Lambert, Johnny Cash, and more.
Later that Saturday, Dec. 6, see Damage Inc. (The Ultimate Metallica Tribute) (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.30 at tixr.com). This band seems to know the entire Metallica catalog!
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN NÉMETH
Finally, John Németh brings his Memphis-style psychedelic soul and blues on Wednesday, Dec. 10 (6:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18.48 at tixr.com).
“As a teenager in the early ’90s growing up in the muddy potato fields of Idaho, John Németh was drawn to the hard-edged hip-hop sounds and rock bands of the day, until a friend, Tom Moore, introduced him to the Junior Wells and Buddy Guy classic ‘Hoodoo Man Blues,’” his bio explained.
Meanwhile at Rod & Hammer …
SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock only has one show this week, but for Dead fans, it’s must-see. Grateful Shred plays on Friday, Dec. 5 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $39.05 at ticketweb.com). It’s basically a supergroup of LA’s coolest musicians: Dan Horne, Austin McCutchen, Adam MacDougall, John Lee Shannon, and vocalist Mikaela Davis.
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF DEFINITELY DEAD
I told this story before, but the band become instantly legendary when they were playing the Shakedown Street vendor area prior to Dead and Company show and attracted such a big crowd the police shut them down … all captured on video.
“We’ve been dealt some pretty good cards,” McCutchen said in press materials. “It’s been cool to roll with it and push forward and continually make stuff happen. Things have gone our way. Even that video happened magically. It was put together at the last minute, and boom!”
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF CAL POLY ARTS
Cal Poly Arts presents
Cal Poly Arts presents Tis the Season with Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter Ben Folds at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Dec. 6 (7:30 p.m.; $46 to $103 at calpolyarts.org). Organizers say to expect “a delightful mix of reimagined holiday classics and introspective originals that capture the spirit of the season.”
Cal Poly Arts also presents The Christian Sands Trio at the Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 11 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $47 at calpolyarts.org). A pianist and composer, Sands “enchants audiences with his dynamic sensitivity and imaginative touch,” Cal Poly Arts announced. “A multi-Grammy nominee and Steinway artist, Sands and his trio have become renowned for their engaging and responsive approach to jazz.”
Expect original compositions and holiday classics.
New cover, year’s last show
Local duo, Forever Green (twin sisters Cara and Christi Brown), just released a new cover song—Cat Stevens’ (now Yusuf Islam) “The First Cut is the Deepest.”
“It was a hit for artists like Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow,” the Browns explained in an email. “Our rendition is a deliberately stripped-down version, using only acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies. The focus is on highlighting the song’s poignant lyrics and showcasing the creative synergy of our twin sister duo offering a fresh take on a familiar classic.”
The Browns’ vocal harmonies are remarkable. Can anyone blend their voices together like twin sisters? Hear for yourself when they play their last show of the year at The Merrimaker on Friday, Dec. 5 (8 to 10 p.m.; 21-and-older; free).
Tribute
Songwriters at Play is at it again with a tribute to Laura Nyro and The 5th Dimension at the Cambria Center for the Arts Theatre on Sunday, Dec. 7 (2 p.m.; $25 presale at my805tix.com).
Nyro wrote a lot of hits for other performers such as “Eli’s Coming” (Three Dog Night), “And When I Die” (Blood Sweat & Tears), “Stoney End” (Barbra Streisand). The 5th Dimension also recorded many of Nyro’s songs, including “Wedding Bell Blues.”
Performers at the concert include Cambria’s own Jack Roberts; Central Coast singer-songwriters Donna Phillips and Steve Key; Bay Area balladeer Zoe Fitzgerald Carter; and SoCal singers Jason Luckett, Jeanne Newhall, Naomi Nektare, Toots Prichards, and Pi Jacobs.
Also expect to hear 5th Dimension pop standards such as “Workin’ on a Groovy Thing,” “Up, Up and Away,” “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” and more from Nyro’s catalog.
Christmas kickoff
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I had the chance to see Akusaa Powell for the first time. Born in Dallas, the singer-songwriter and guitarist is the daughter of Argentinian immigrants, so she grew up around a rich fusion of Latin and American music. She plays a mix of her originals as well as R&B, soft rock, and Latin jazz covers, and she frequently performs with her husband, Warfus “Moon” Powell, keyboardist for smooth jazz ensemble Urban 805.
She’s a stylish entertainer who wouldn’t be out of place on a Vegas side stage or lounge. See Club Akusaa at Los Osos’ Costa Gallery (2087 10th St.) on Sunday, Dec. 7 (1 to 3 p.m.; all ages; free), during the gallery’s Christmas Kick-Off opening. They’re also holding a toy and canned goods drive for SLO Foster Care, so if you have a new unwrapped toy or some food you’d like to donate, it would be welcome. Happy Holidays! ∆
Contact Arts Editor Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 4-14, 2025.