THURSDAY 8/20
INDIE
RUTH GARBUS A veteran of psych-folk collective Feathers and indie-pop trio Happy Birthday, Garbus found her footing as a solo artist. With two decades of writing, performing, and recording music under her belt, her records radiate a quiet confidence. Her voice is delicate with a warmth that rounds out the edges in her lyrics. Her latest album, Profound, lands between indie folk and free jazz, with two Gabriel Fauré compositions settled among her original songs. Incorporating wild improvisatory freedom into complex, soothing compositions, she makes gliding between folk, jazz, and R&B look easy. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 8pm, Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.
FRIDAY 8/21
BLUEGRASS
BEAN CREEK When you’re voted the Best Band by the Northern California Bluegrass Society, multiple times, that’s something to crow about. Santa Cruz’ Bean Creek is at the front of the pack leading the California traditional vibe into the 21st Century. They often find underrepresented songs and bring them to life with tight pickin’, furious rhythm guitar, plucking banjo and soaring harmonies. Billy Pitrone, Sarah Eblen, Rob Horgan and Henry & Ella Warde bring craftsmanship and love to their selections. The Ugly Mug is crushing the creative bookings, allowing fans and bands to share musical intimacy. Leave your moonshine at home. DNA
INFO: 7pm, Ugly Mug, 4640 Soquel Drive, Soquel. $30-$35. 499 9441.
POP
FRANKIE MORENO TRIO Pianist Frankie Moreno leads a skilled trio featuring family: bassist and brother Tony Moreno plus Frankie’s son Giovanni on drums. Named Headliner of the Year in Las Vegas six years running, Moreno has found success in the era of streams and downloads, with more than 100 number-ones on the iTunes chart. The Santa Cruz native was honored earlier this year with May 29 proclaimed as Frankie Moreno Day in his hometown. Returning home amid a national tour, Moreno is making this date an album release party for the Trio’s latest, One Shot of Whiskey. BILL KOPP
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $47. 427-2227.
SATURDAY 8/22
PSYCH ROCK
EARTHLESS For a quarter of this new century, San Diego stoner/hesher/trippy/shamen Earthless have been percolating the underground. Earthless is more than just a wall of sound, their tidal wave of ripping guitar solos and pounding backbeat and rhythms have made them a true below the radar sensation. This time around, drummer Mario Rubalcaba, frontman and guitarist Isaiah Mitchell and bassist Mike Eginton earthed up an 800-year-old Japanese legend. The Hyakki Yagyō, or the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, tells of a parade of demons who, if you have the misfortune to see, erase you from this world. You can listen safely at Moe’s and a big up to FolkYeah. DNA
INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Drive, Santa Cruz, $37. 479-1854.
THEATER
SECRETS Despite the play’s title, it’s no secret that families are a mixed bag of joy and sorrow. Even those with the best families face the trials and tribulations that life throws at everyone. Sometimes it brings them closer together. Other times it shatters those bonds like glass on the highway. This Saturday Patti Gassaway performs a one-person comedy (with music by Emily Bond) that takes the audience through the ups, downs, laughter and tears of what it means to be a family. Keeping with the theme of the night, it’s also a fundraiser for The Landing theater family of thespians so they can continue entertaining all who enter. MAT WEIR
INFO: 7pm, The Landing, 251B Kings Village Rd, Scotts Valley. $20-$25. 706-6962
SUNDAY 8/23
AMERICANA
DALLAS BURROW Coming out of Texas, Americana singer-songwriter Dallas Burrow debuted on record with 2019’s Southern Wind. The album established Burrow as a commercial success, climbing to the No. 4 spot on the Alt-country chart in the U.S. It connected overseas as well, reaching No. 25 on the UK’s Americana chart. Those achievements led to heavy touring for Burrow. His 2021 self-titled sophomore release brought him back to his Texas roots and highlights some hard-won maturity and self-reflection. But he balances that down-home focus with a return to a schedule packed with live dates. Opening the show is J.A.M., featuring Jeffrey A. Meyer, a fine local songwriter, reminiscent of Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, whose roots are in North Dakota.BK
INFO: 5pm, El Vaquero Winery, 2901 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville. $20-$30. 607-8118.
TUESDAY 8/25
INDIE ROCK
LA LUZ With over a decade of carving out a sound that belongs entirely to them, La Luz’s blend of surf noir, garage rock, and haunted psychedelia wraps listeners in layered harmonies somewhere between doo-wop and folk. Guitarist and songwriter Shana Cleveland, the band’s founding member, is one of indie rock’s most original voices. Through metaphysical poetry, she takes listeners to rural Californian landscapes and science fiction dimensions. La Luz’s most recent
album, News of the Universe, is ambitious, brutal, and blissful. They bring an electric energy to the stage with Soul Train-inspired dance contests and swaggering riffs that spin the room into action. SN
INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. $36. 704-7113.
LITERARY
WINTER IN AMERICA (STILL To celebrate the release of Winter in America (Still, the Bookshop Santa Cruz will be gathering local poets. This release is a sequel anthology and features various voices responding to this moment in history. It is not meant to be reactionary. It aims to bring forward the “quieter reverberations” of how all the events swirling around affect the daily lives of Americans. It aims to bring people together, putting compassion forward. It dives deep into the actual impact and consequences of the 2024 election. Through these reflections, the anthology may help shed light on the direction we are going and what we will become. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 7pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.
WEDNESDAY 8/26
ROCK
BUILT TO SPILL After 34 years, Built to Spill is one band that needs no introduction. Since 1992, this powerhouse of an act has had a rotating door of musicians that carried the band through a plethora of genres. While many would call them “indie rock,” it’s kind of a vague catch-all like “Americana.” Their audiences consist of hipsters and hippies, jam band aficionados and punks. Not to mention they were signed to major label Warner Brothers for two decades, which kind of deflates the whole “indie” part. Regardless, it’s amazing that this band has not only lasted the test of time but continues to keep old fans coming out while earning new ones every tour and album. MW
INFO: 8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $40. 423
