THURSDAY 7/31
ALT COUNTRY
RAYLAND BAXTER
It doesn’t get more country than Rayland Baxter singing to a bartender to serve him a drink to ease his trembling hand. Hailing from Nashville, Baxter is part of the newer wave of alt-country artists to emerge out of the mid-aughts with a dusty swagger. His fourth album, 2022’s If I Were a Butterfly, captures the artist emerging from his chrysalis stage, transforming his sound with a tinge of psychedelia. Last month, he dropped a fuzzy country-esque jam called “Albatross,” and possibly a tease for fans that new music is around the bend. Joining him at Moe’s is beloved outlaw country artist Langhorne Slim for a night about damning The Man and speaking up for the little guy. MAT WEIR
INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $37. 423-8209.
THEATRE
PERICLES
Shakespeare’s Pericles may be an epic romance, but it begins in a trial by storm. Prince Pericles navigates multiple kingdoms before narrowly escaping a shipwreck, leaving him separated from his beloved daughter Marina. Fourteen years later, Marina must face her own trials. From assassination attempts and pirate abduction to escapes from brothel violence, Marina navigates each new challenge with tact and virtue. In yet another miracle, father and daughter are reunited, a moment considered to be one of the most beautiful scenes Shakespeare ever wrote. The Santa Cruz Shakespeare Theatre Company brings this mystical story to life in a production running through Aug. 30. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 8pm, Audrey Stanley Grove, 501 Upper Park Rd., Santa Cruz. $46-$86. 460-6399.
FRIDAY 8/1
INDIE ROCK
SURF TRASH
Hanging on the other side of the equator, Australia’s seasons are opposite the US, and so it makes perfect sense that June bugs are known as the Christmas Beetle, and the ultimate Aussie summer band would choose these months to visit the US. It is even more perfectly appropriate to see them taking the stage in Santa Cruz, the beachiest of American beach towns. Their music is a melodic pop-rock style with power chords, driving rhythms, and even a touch of harmonizing. San Diego indie rockers The Happy Return open the show. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
INFO: 7:30pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $25. 713-5492.
AMERICANA
CAS HALEY
Texas-born singer-songwriter Cas Haley seamlessly blends blues, roots rock, reggae, soul and folk into a distinctive signature sound. Coming to prominence in 2007 as a finalist on the second season of America’s Got Talent, his reggae-flavored take on the Police’s “Walking on the Moon” introduced him to a national audience. His 2008 self-titled debut album climbed to the Top Ten on Billboard’s reggae chart; 2010’s Connection soared to the second spot. In subsequent releases, Haley expanded his style to incorporate other musical textures. His latest release, 2021’s All the Right People, won praise from American Songwriter, noting the record’s positive vibes. BILL KOPP
INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9, Felton. $18. 705-7113.
SATURDAY 8/2
FESTIVAL
SCM BREWGRASS FESTIVAL
Bluegrass tunes and local brews share center stage at the Santa Cruz Mountains’ 5th annual Brewgrass Festival. Backdropped by lofty redwoods, the festival features homegrown bluegrass artists, including the Brothers Comatose, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Wolf Jett, Sweet Sally and Bad Maps, as well as Tennessee’s own Antsy McClain. A variety of local breweries will serve up brews to sip, and a VIP tasting train offers unique redwood views, a live performance from Wild Iris and exclusive craft beer tastings. This beloved annual gathering celebrates Santa Cruz’s brewing community, traditional bluegrass sound and the natural beauty of the coastal mountains. SN
INFO: Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Rd., Felton. $65/adv, $75/door. 335-4484.
SUNDAY 8/3
AUTHOR EVENT
WHERE’S WALDO GRAND FINALE PARTY
Where’s Waldo? It’s the question everyone’s asking. Waldo is hiding in twenty-seven businesses in downtown Santa Cruz (hint: one is in Bookshop Santa Cruz) throughout July. To celebrate the closing days of this fun adventure, a Grand Finale Party will commence, including a costume contest, games, raffles and even a visit from the Waldo. To enter the raffle, participants must give a passport showing that they found Waldo in at least twenty different businesses. There are still a few days left to fill up those passports for a raffle entry. Three winners and runners-up will win special prizes. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 2pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.
MONDAY 8/4
JAZZ
KARRIN ALLYSON
Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist, pianist and composer Karrin Allyson is known for her expressive phrasing, multilingual fluency and wide-ranging repertoire. Allyson studied classical piano and began her career in Kansas City, releasing her recorded debut, I Didn’t Know About You, in 1992. She’s released more than a dozen albums, exploring everything from jazz standards to bossa nova, French chanson and vocalese, as well as original material. Allyson has tackled the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein and others, including a tribute to Coltrane (2001’s Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane). Her latest release, A Kiss for Brazil, was released in 2024. BK
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $41. 427-2227.
TUESDAY 8/5
PSYCH ROCK
DERYA YILDIRIM & GRUP Şimşek
Music transcends all borders, languages, and boundaries of time and space, touching something deeper, something more primal within humans (at least for those who still have souls). It’s something the people behind Moe’s Alley and (((folk yeah!))) understand considerably because that’s precisely what the music of Derya Yildirim & Grup Şimşek does. Hungarian-born Yildirim sings in Turkish, while the band, Grup Şimşek, plays a blend of traditional Anatolian folk mixed with a fuzzed-out psychedelic sound that can open the third eye and transport the listener to far-off lands—if only they pause and listen. MW
INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.
WEDNESDAY 8/6
INDIE
SAUVAGEONESS
The indie rock, lo-fi, alt folk, industrial-tinged shoegaze and all-around genre-defying Sauvageoness are touring in support of their latest album, What the fucked do we all do now? | Lights, which came out on Broken Clover Records last month. It’s a fitting soundtrack for the apocalypse already in progress, the crashing sound of things struggling to maintain form and function as everything falls apart. Local art/alt-folk band Hod and the Helpers open the show. (PS: not being able to pronounce the band’s name won’t prevent access.) KLJ
INFO: 8pm, Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-6994.
