THURSDAY 6/12
FOLK
THE HARMED BROTHERS
Storytellers Ray Vietti and Alex Salcido have been weaving together tales from the heart in their Americana group The Harmed Brothers for over a decade. City mouse Salcido, from Los Angeles, and country mouse Vietti, from Missouri, found a soulful kinship and have created a sound that spans across American highways and byways. Weathered harmonies, yearning strings, and warm, organic finger-plucking fill the air as they sing of heartbreak, redemption, and the journey down this road we call life. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 8pm, Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.
FRIDAY 6/13
HIP HOP
SUGA FREE
For the last thirty years, Suga Free has been killing it, from rocking house parties and clubs to earning guest spots with A-listers Xzibit and Snoop Dogg, as well as working with Bay Area legends E-40, Mac Dre, and the one-and-only Too Short. In addition to his impressive list of guest spots, the hard-working rapper has also managed to crank out seven studio albums of his own, cracking the Hot 100 with 2004’s The New Testament (The Truth). His style is laid-back while simultaneously rapid-fire, tongue-in-cheek, and all his own. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
INFO: 9pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $32. 713-5492.
COMEDY
DEFLATING FASCISM
There is a new crisis every day. It’s important to laugh during these uncertain times. To push back against the current administration, Bay Area sketch comedy troupe Dangerous Neighbors returns to Santa Cruz with a new satire called Deflating Fascism. The show combines absurdist humor, political satire, and live music into a single night of entertainment. See what happens when DOGE social security cuts hit the local chess club or when “real Americans” do jobs previously done by immigrants. All the proceeds go to Indivisible Santa Cruz, which is actively defending democracy. There are performances on June 13, 14, 20, and 21. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 8pm, SC Actors’ Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. $20. 431-8666.
SATURDAY 6/14
INDIE
TUNE-YARDS
There is a certain wizardry to Tune-Yards, not just in the duo’s technical choices, but in the eclectic, otherworldly sound they’ve created by incorporating synth, ukulele, syncopated inflection, and diverse, infectious rhythms. Their newest record, Better Dreaming, invites the listener to leave everything on the dance floor, with raw energy and lyrics that call for collective action and to dare to dream of an anti-fascist future. Tune-Yard’s focus on collective joy and dance floor liberation delivers an undeniably powerful live experience. SN
INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton, $38, 704-7113.
EXPERIMENTAL
BILLY GOMBERG
After opening the Several Paths Together photo exhibit earlier this month for First Friday, Indexical is proud to present the artist in a different light. Bill Gomberg, the San Francisco artist behind the photography, is also a renowned musician, whose experimental range is as diverse as one would expect. From synthesizers to acoustic location recordings to digital beats, Gomberg embraces it all and delivers his music with as much soul and intention as his photography. This particular set will most likely embrace the beauty and aura of Several Paths Together, which showcases 10 photographs of the same locations around the Bay Area during different times of the day and seasons. MAT WEIR
INFO: 8:30pm, Indexical, 1050 River St. Studio #119, Santa Cruz. $16. (509) 627-9491.
SUNDAY 6/15
COUNTRY ROCK
ALBERT LEE BAND
When it comes to country artists, Americans like to keep things homegrown. After all, who knows more about country music than someone from the country? The one exception might be British-born Albert Lee. Growing up in Blackheath, London, Lee learned how to play the piano from his musical family. When he was a young teenager, he was enamored by the rock ‘n roll sounds of Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis, which sparked a lifelong love for rock and country music. Throughout the decades, Lee has been a “musician’s musician” playing with the likes of Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris, Deep Purple, Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, and Nick Lowe. MW
INFO: 5pm, El Vaquero Winery, 2901 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville. $40-$50. 607-8118.
MONDAY 6/16
COUNTRY
SILVERADA
Starting as Mike and the Moonpies, this Austin-based country band built a local and regional following based on epic, marathon shows. The group’s 2019 album Cheap Silver And Solid Country Gold was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and featured the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, the group appeared for the first time at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. In 2024, the band changed its name to Silverada, releasing a self-titled album that finds them moving beyond traditional country sounds and experimenting with flavors of rock and psychedelia. BILL KOPP
INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $25. 479-1854.
JAZZ
TYREEK MCDOLE
Tyreek McDole is a Haitian-American vocalist and a rising star in the jazz community. The St. Cloud, Florida native started on percussion and trumpet before deciding to apply his rich baritone voice to his music. An Oberlin Conservatory of Music graduate, McDole studied under LaTanya Hall, Gary Bartz, and Billy Hart. In 2018, he won Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Outstanding Vocalist Award at that year’s Essentially Ellington competition. In 2022, McDole won the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition, the first male vocalist to do so in more than a decade. His fantastic debut album, Open Up Your Senses, was released on June 6. BK
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $42. 427-2227.
TUESDAY 6/17
AUTHOR TALK
CHRISTOPHER MOORE
Christopher Moore’s latest book, Anima Rising, set in 1911 Vienna, promises a mad scientist, painter Gustav Klimt, and an undead woman on a journey of self-discovery. The New York Times best seller isn’t afraid to go off the deep end and take historical figures as well as his readers with him. Hear the author read parts of this madcap tale himself when Bookshop Santa Cruz brings him to the London Nelson Community Center this week for a Q&A and book signing. KLJ
INFO: 7pm, London Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz. $37. 423-0900.
