Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
MIHALI
with DOS BROS
For Mihali, music behaves much like a living being. It grows, it matures, and it changes with a sentient consciousness and with whims of its own. And just like music, the Vermont-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of rock outfit Twiddle continues to evolve, using his gift as one of the strongest modern-day songwriters, guitarists and performers to bring healing vibes and unforgettable songs to the world.
His latest record, Effection [2022, Ineffable Records], is a ten-track body of work that intertwines reggae spirit, fluid soundscape architecture, and invigorating mantras meant to be chanted aloud in a packed venue. With support from reggae and roots rock mainstays like Iration, Chadwick Stokes (of Dispatch), The Movement, The Elovaters, Jacob Hemphill (of SOJA), and Iya Terra, Effection effectively brought Mihali into the reggae spotlight, landing him on tour with SOJA and G. Love & Special Sauce in 2024.
Now he continues to grow and transform with his music, continuously rolling out new songs while mapping out his 3rd solo album, and relentlessly touring the country to spread love and reggae spirit to all those who need it.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
YAIMA
with SHANNON LEE HAYDEN
Featuring Multi-Instrumentalist & Producer Masaru Higasa from Okinawa, Japan and Vocalist Pepper Proud from Seattle, WA. Yaima has often been described as timeless and unmistakable, offering a balanced synergy of both the masculine and feminine expression.
Their melodious soundscapes showcase instruments from all over the world.
Inspired by the Majesty of Nature their musings encompass the listener with driving and revitalizing organic rhythms, transcendent electronic production, warm soothing female vocals and heartened lyricism.
Their intention is to create a bridge between Nature and Humankind, an expansive experience that encourages growth and graceful passage for the hearts and minds of their listeners.
The name YAIMA emerges from two sources one from the Mapudungun language meaning "that which water runs through” and the other from the culturally preserved Yaeyama District of Okinawa Japan-Over the last 5 years YAIMAs music has been reaching the ears and hearts of listeners from all around the world.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
SAXSQUATCH
with TEP NO
Show 8pm
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
OLD 97'S
with GREY DELISLE
Old 97's is an American alternative country band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1992, they have since released twelve studio albums, two full extended plays, shared split duty on another, and have one live album. Their most recent release is Twelfth.
They were pioneers of the alt-country movement during the mid-to-late 1990s, but lead vocalist and primary songwriter Rhett Miller has described the band's style as "loud folk". The band's name is in reference to the Wreck of the Old 97.
Initially a popular Dallas bar band, Old 97's toured the country after releasing their first album, 1994's Hitchhike to Rhome and 1995's split EP release Stoned / Garage Sale with fellow Dallas band Funland on Idol Records. In Chicago, they caught the attention of Bloodshot Records and were signed to record their next album. 1995's Wreck Your Life brought them to the attention of Elektra Records, who hoped that alt-country could be a new post-grunge trend. Lead singer Rhett Miller, born in Austin, later lived in New York City and Los Angeles. Many of the band's songs include local Texas references, with references to New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago appearing as well.
In 2005, Blender magazine ranked the band's then most successful single, 1999's "Murder (Or a Heart Attack)", as the 176th greatest song "since you were born."
Their music has been featured in a number of films and TV series, including The Break-Up ("Salome", "Melt Show", "Timebomb"), Clay Pigeons ("Timebomb"), Slither ("The New Kid"), Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide ("Big Brown Eyes"), Ed ("Question", "King of All the World"), Scrubs ("Question"), Veronica Mars ("Adelaide", "Four-Leaf Clover", "The New Kid") and Scorpion ("Question"). With respect to The Break-Up, a key scene toward the end of the film takes place at an Old 97's concert.
Rhett Miller has recorded seven solo studio albums and one live album, with 2002's The Instigator. Murry Hammond's solo album, I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm on My Way, was released April 21, 2008.
Old 97's have been heralded as a great live band, although they claim never to rehearse their act. They included five live songs as a bonus disc on Satellite Rides, and released a live double CD set recorded at historic Gruene Hall in 2005, Alive & Wired.
Rhino Entertainment released Hit by a Train: The Best of Old 97's, an eighteen-track compilation of songs from the band's beginnings through 2001, featuring liner notes and an essay by rock critic Robert Christgau.
Their next studio project, The Grand Theatre, was released in two volumes. The first, The Grand Theatre, Volume One, was released on October 12, 2010. The second, The Grand Theatre, Volume Two, was released on July 5, 2011.
In 2013 the band released an EP containing two tracks with vocals by country music legend Waylon Jennings entitled Old 97's & Waylon Jennings. Rhett Miller called the previously unreleased tunes with Jennings "the band's 'holy grail.'"
The band's tenth studio album, Most Messed Up, was released April 29, 2014, by ATO Records and was their best-selling album to date, reaching #30 on the Billboard 200.
Their next two releases on ATO Records were Graveyard Whistling, their 11th studio album, released February 24, 2017, and Love the Holidays, an album of mostly original Christmas songs, released November 16, 2018.
ATO Records released the band's next studio album, aptly named Twelfth, on August 21, 2020. The twelve tracks were produced by Vance Powell, who produced Graveyard Whistling. Old 97's noted that the recording sessions in Nashville started on the night of a deadly tornado outbreak and right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
FLEETWOOD MACRAMÉ
Fleetwood Macramé has become one of the Bay Area's most exciting tribute bands. What began as a simple exercise in fun has turned into an awe inspiring live experience complete with show stopping renditions of Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits. Audience participation is encouraged, and Bay Area crowds are coming in droves to sing along with Fleetwood Macramé. What's more, they sound so much like Fleetwood Mac, if you closed your eyes, you would think it was the real thing. Only it's better, because you are in the front row!
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
SKELETON KREWE
Featuring Barry Sless, Rob Barraco, Stephen Inglis, Pete Sears, and Jay Lane
The worlds of Hawaiian slack key guitar, psychedelic pedal steel, masterful keyboard, bass & drum work converge as five virtuosos of the jam ban scene announce the formation of Skeleton Krewe. Born from a serendipitous collaboration in early 2024, this unique musical collective features Rob Barraco (Dark Star Orchestra, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Dead), Barry Sless (Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros, David Nelson Band, Phil Lesh and Friends), Grammy-nominated Hawaiian slack key guitarist Stephen Inglis (Billy Kreutzmann), Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna, Phil Lesh & Friends, David Nelson Band) & Jay Lane (Dead & Company, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros, Ratdog).
The group's formation traces back to January 2024, when Sless and Inglis first joined forces for what was meant to be a one-off performance. Th chemistry was immediate and undeniable. The duo's successful California shows caught the attention of keyboard virtuoso Rob Barraco, who joined forces with Inglis during a Dark Star Orchestra show at the Hawaii Theatre in April 2024. The natural musical connection between all three players led to the formation of Skeleton Krewe Trio which in turn led to adding Barry’s longtime musical partners Pete Sears & Jay Lane on bass & drums.
This collaboration brings together many musical traditions: Inglis's mastery of Hawaiian slack key guitar (he's a recipient of the prestigious Ki Hōʻal Legacy Award), Sless's pioneering pedal steel work that has graced stages with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, Barraco's sophisticated keyboard artistry that earned him a place in The Dead's lineup (an experience that preceded nearly two decades holding the keyboardist chameleon role within Dark Star Orchestra), the dynamic improvisational work of Pete Sears on bass, and the solid improvisational drumming of Jay Lane.
Each performance, Skeleton Krewe promises to offer high level artistry hosting an intimate evening of original compositions (many of which were written by Robert Hunter in collaboration with Barraco), Grateful Dead interpretations, and dynamic improvisations that span genres from traditional Hawaiian to psychedelic Americana.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
LAURA JANE GRACE & THE MISSISSIPPI MEDICALS
with ALEX LAHEY and RODEO BOYS
Laura Jane Grace is a major figure in today’s rock scene as both a solo artist and the front person of Against Me!, which she founded in Naples, FL in the late 1990s. As a working artist, she has released six solo offerings and seven albums with Against Me!, and in 2012 went public with her gender transition in the pages of Rolling Stone. In her music, she continues to detail her journey all while staying true to her earlier themes of outspoken political critique – environmentalism along with personal and social liberation – with a base in American music including country and folk-rock, with a penchant for noise and anarchy. Laura Jane will be joined by her band "The Mississippi Medicals" featuring Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers (bass), Mikey Erg of The Ergs (drums) and Paris Campbell Grace (vocals, percussion).
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
LSD AND THE SEARCH FOR GOD
with KRAUS
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
MELT
with KATIE LYNNE SHARBAUGH
Pulsing with the energy of their hometown New York City, ‘If There’s a Heaven’ (2024) is the debut album from indie band Melt. Melt is simultaneously at their most airtight and freewheeling–evoking the raw, communal spirit of Fleetwood Mac as much as the modern, danceable hooks of MUNA. Recorded live to tape with producer Sam Evian
(Big Thief), the eleven tracks span feel-good, existential pop (“Plant the Garden”), classic love ballads (“Your Name”) and lush, soulful rockers (“Heaven”). Melt’s debut is a joyous, timeless soundtrack for growing up and finding community.
Melt formed in 2017 and saw early success with their first single “Sour Candy.” Quickly spreading out across the Northeast for college, the band reunited to tour over weekends and cut their teeth playing everywhere they could, from packed basements to sold-out theaters across the country. Called “one groovy super-organism” by NPR, the band’s intuitive connection as players and unique combination of sounds has found them supporting a wide array of artists such as Grouplove, Lawrence, and Greensky Bluegrass.
More than seven years since their first show, Melt has refined their ecstatic live set and cemented their status as a band to watch. Catch them on tour this Spring across North America.
Show 8pm / Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
FORTUNATE YOUTH
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
COLBY ACUFF
Sometimes it seems like country has forgotten its wild roots – or least outgrown them, changing as it has to reflect an ever-evolving world. Then there’s a guy like Colby Acuff.
A fourth generation Idaho native with a rugged spirit true to his mountain home, honest-to-a-fault lyrics and a sound as raw as the remote wilderness, Acuff’s untamed brand of country stands proudly apart in today’s format, pure and untouched by modern gimmicks.
Self-taught and largely self-contained, he’s already used it to find success on his own terms – and with new major-label backing from Sony Music Nashville, plans to do the same nationwide. … Just don’t expect him to follow the pack.
“If you wanna do something right, you’ve gotta do it yourself,” Acuff says, speaking with the hardscrabble charm of an old-soul troubadour.
Hailing from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a Rocky Mountain oasis near the very top of the continental U.S., that proudly-independent attitude forms the heart of Acuff’s outgoing personality – and a creative drive stretching all the way back.
Growing up, Acuff was always busy with three things – fishing, duck hunting and making music – and it was music that captured his imagination. He learned piano at 5, drums at 9 and guitar at 11, took the stage for the first time at 12 and was even writing songs by 15 – and even those early efforts were unique, inspired by bold artistic outliers.
Favorites included bluegrass trailblazers like Flatt & Scruggs, who broke away from the great Bill Monroe to go their own way, plus country “outlaws” like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson – some of the first to successfully buck the Nashville system. Even modern-day mavericks like Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers have his admiration, although Acuff has always followed his own winding path. So winding, in fact, he eventually wondered what else he could do … and with typical go-your-own-way flair, went and found out.
Studying economics in college, Acuff excelled in finance, sold real estate for rent money and was even offered a job as a junior stockbroker – a cushy opportunity for any recent graduate. But he turned it down cold. He could have worked 15 years and been handed a successful business, Acuff explains. But that wasn’t him. As much as he bristled at the thought of office life, even worse would be following a course he didn’t chart himself.
Instead, Acuff became a fly-fishing guide, spending days on the river and selling out bars each night. The hometown hero traveled the Northwest releasing three independent albums from 2020 through 2022, including the “life changing” If I Were the Devil. A mix of plainspoken vocals, piercing lyrics and country heart as sturdy as Rocky Mountain granite, he dug deep into his soul and the wild country around him, with themes so vivid and distinct they were somehow universal.
From two-stepping honky tonk anthems with a frontier philosopher's eye, to serene campfire confessions, full of spiritual scar tissue and road-weary wisdom, each one was written solo and pulled straight from the life he actually lived – and because of that, none were your “typical” country song.
“I’ve never written for radio, I’ve never written for anything other than me and my fans – and I don’t write love songs,” Acuff says with a laugh. “My girlfriend hates that about me.”
Dark, stormy and desolate, “If I Were the Devil” was a fitting example and has now been streamed more than 27 million times. Meanwhile, Acuff’s career total has surpassed 42 million, and a new frontier lays ahead.
Working with acclaimed producer/engineer Eddie Spear (Zach Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Cody Jinks), Acuff’s first major label project is in motion, recorded with a new team of top-flight talent at Nashville’s Sound Emporium. Another batch of gritty, solo-written songs – plus the first ever co writes of a promising career – it will help introduce a country talent as wild and free as the Idaho mountains themselves. But despite his new chapter, he’s got no plans of taming down.
“You’ve got two options: you can make music for you and the people who are gonna hear it, or you can make music for the people who are gonna pay for it,” Acuff says. “And I always lean toward making music for you and your fans.”
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
TSUNAMI BAND & LOCOMOTIVE BREATH
Tsunami band-
Tsunami is an “out-the-gate, on-your-feet”, rock-n-roll dance band! Comprised of 5 veteran musicians, they play high energy Classic Rock and R&B Dance Music. With many surprises! They won Best Local Band in the 2021 Santa Cruz Good Times poll.
Tsunami cuts a new edge performing the great songs everyone remembers and loves. The vocal mix features three dynamic lead singers. Each member has made their mark on the music scene with such bands as Bananarama, The White Album Ensemble.
They are renowned for its extraordinary guitar, dynamic rhythm section and powerful vocals featuring 3 lead singers, and great harmonies.
Tsunami is a fun, interactive band that is sure to get folks up on the dance floor. Whether at a festival, club, or private show, it is always a great night of high energy dancing and music!
Check out our website for live and recorded songs and videos.
Locomotive Breath-
A tribute to a generation, 1967-1977, LOCOMOTIVE BREATH is a classic rock band covering 7 of the greatest iconic rock bands of this era — Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors and Cream.
Doors 7pm // Show 8pm // 21+ // $22 General Admission Advance / $26 General Admission Day of Show
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
PHUTUREPRIMITIVE & DAVID STARFIRE
Phutureprimitive is the moniker of Bay Area producer and songwriter Rain. Early childhood photos reveal Rain sitting at the piano plinking keys, grinning from ear to ear... a true sign of things to come.
The Phutureprimitive sound is mind melting sonic bliss. Lush melodies drift across intricate rhythms, groove heavy beats and warm, fuzzy bass lines. Often exploring a dark and dense palette, his music also manages to convey a sense of tranquility and beauty. Shimmering with cinematic qualities, his music ultimately speaks to the body, mind and soul. It's often said that Phutureprimitive is his own genre.
The sound of Phutureprimitive has spread far and wide with performances From North and Central America, Western and Eastern Europe and Australia.
Rain is also the owner of The Phuture Producer Method. An online portal for courses for learning EDM production and Song Builder Kits.
"Music is medicine. Let's go on a journey together"
Show 8pm
***This is a fully seated general admission show. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
GRAILS
with EXPENSIVE SHIT
Grails is a band most easily described as “restless”. They’ve stubbornly pushed against the staid cliches of instrumental music and towards new sonic frontiers, creating heavily textured albums, stacked deep with epic song hooks and exotic instrumentation.
Released in late 2023, “Anches En Maat” is the first new album from Grails in over a half-decade – following the masterful Chalice Hymnal in 2017 – and their first album recorded with all members in the studio together since Doomsdayer’s Holiday in 2008.
The core group of founding members Alex Hall and Emil Amos (Om, Holy Sons) joined Jesse Bates, Ilyas Ahmed, and AE Paterra (Zombi, Majeure) in Atlanta, GA to record “Anches En Maat” together – a novel event for a band who had become so accustomed to recording separately and then laboring in post-production for months or years on end.
An improbable blend of melted 1980s softcore and daytime soap opera soundtracks, cosmic minimalism, aching Westerns, melancholy electronic pulses, and massive soul-disco strings, “Anches En Maat” is one of Grails’ most ambitious albums of their 20+ year career.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
NOELINE HOFMANN
with KADE HOFFMAN
Noeline Hofmann, a 21-year-old country artist hailing from the rugged Badlands of Southern Alberta, Canada, is making a name for herself in the world of independent country music. From bittersweet ballad to gritty barn burner, Hofmann brings the glowing expanse of the Plains to the stage, drawing deep inspiration from her experiences working in honky tonks and as a ranch hand across the prairies. Praised for her “mature and haunting voice, and an innate knack for storytelling” (Whiskey Riff), she has been named one of Holler Country’s “New Country & Americana Artists for 2024" and released her debut EP, Purple Gas, on October 18. The EP includes recent singles "Rodeo Junkies," "August," "Lightning in July (Prairie Fire)" and “Purple Gas,” which originally gained notable attention after being featured on Zach Bryan's Belting Bronco YouTube series and was recorded as a duet for his album, The Great American Bar Scene. "Purple Gas" has reached over 100M+ global streams and Noeline has reached over 1.1M monthly listeners on Spotify. As such, she was chosen as Spotify's EQUAL artist of the month in Dec 2024 and was included on RADAR Canada's Best of 2024 List. She was chosen as Amazon Music's Artist To Watch 2025 and Apple’s Up Next Artist. Noeline made her Grand Ole Opry debut in September 2024 and has toured alongside artists such as Turnpike Troubadours, Charley Crockett, Colter Wall, Wyatt Flores, Zach Top and Shane Smith & The Saints.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
DAVID NELSON BAND
The David Nelson Band has been recording and performing around the country since 1994. Their broad musical palette spans the Almost Acoustic style that Nelson played with Jerry Garcia, through roots rock n! roll, and psychedelic country-rock. The DNB perform David's compositions (many co-written with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter), select covers, and several Grateful Dead classics upon which Nelson appeared on the original album releases. These stylistic elements, combined with plenty of spontaneous free form improvisation, create a sound that is uniquely David Nelson Band. Though the original songs are mostly written by Nelson, the development of all the material is a fully collaborative effort.
These days the DNB only tour select areas a few times a year, as the individual band members are in high demand with other successful touring acts. Their loyal and enthusiastic fans relish these special times to reunite at Nelson family gatherings. DNB shows are a joyous reunion for all - a communal gathering where regulars and newcomers all feel part of an extended family. Each show, being unique and exploratory in nature, is a magical adventure for band and audience alike.
David Nelson - guitar/ vocals - is a founding member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage and long time musical partner of Jerry Garcia!s dating back to 1962 in the pre-Grateful Dead bluegrass band, The Wildwood Boys. Nelson was also a member of the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (and appears on their 1988 album release “Almost Acoustic” and 2010’s “Ragged But Right”) and performed on three Grateful Dead albums - “Aoxomoxoa”, “Workingman!s Dead” & “American Beauty” - playing the iconic electric guitar solo on Box of Rain. Nelson has also performed as a member of Phil Lesh and Friends.
Barry Sless - lead guitar/ pedal steel - currently tours with Bobby Weir and Wolf Bros and Moonalice. He was a frequent member of Phil Lesh and Friends touring and local lineups since 2004. He’s toured with Chris Robinson!s Green Leaf Rustlers (and appears on their 2020 album release, From Within Marin), Kingfish, Cowboy Jazz, the Rowan Brothers, and Great American Taxi. Barry!s pedal steel can be heard on selected tracks from Chris Robinson Brotherhood albums “Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel”, “If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home By Now", and #Barefoot In The Head”. Barry is a founding member of DNB.
Mookie Siegel - keyboards/ accordion/ vocals - has toured with Bob Weir!s Ratdog, Phil Lesh and Friends, Kingfish and Donna Jean and the Tricksters. Mookie is an original member of DNB.
Pete Sears - bass/ vocals - was the bassist and keyboard player for the original Jefferson Starship from 1974-1987, keyboardist for Hot Tuna from 1992 to 2001 and currently performs with Moonalice and Zero. He’s a member of Chris Robinson’s Green Leaf Rustlers, has played with Phil Lesh and Friends and appears on their 1999 release, Love Will See You Thru. Pete began his career in England in 1964 and has performed with many artists including Jerry Garcia, John Cipollina, and appears on Rod Stewart!s classic early British albums. Pete joined DNB in 2005.
Wally Ingram - drums and percussion - has recorded, toured and played with countless acts including Bob Weir & Phil Lesh, Anders Osborne, Leftover Salmon, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, Eric Burdon and The Animals, Timbuk3, and multi-instrumentalist string wizard David Lindley to name but a few. Wally began playing with DNB in 2013.
Show 8pm
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
NEAL FRANCIS
with COLOR GREEN
The latest album from Neal Francis, Return To Zero, emerged from the kind of visionary fever dream that only the most masterful and inventive artists are capable of bringing to life. Amid a grueling tour schedule that found him playing nearly 400 shows from 2021 to 2024, the Chicago-based singer/songwriter/pianist immersed himself in creating a beautifully strange entangling of timeless rock & roll and ’70s-era dance music, merging supremely heavy guitar riffs with lush and pulsating grooves—all constructed sans digital programming, in keeping with his devotion to all things analog. Worlds away from the glitzy fantasia of archetypal disco, Return To Zero inhabits a far moodier atmosphere and ultimately makes for the most thrilling manifestation of Francis’ peerless musicality yet.
Equal parts heady and hedonistic, pensive and euphoric, Francis’ third studio LP echoes both his deep-rooted psych-rock sensibilities and a lifelong affinity for classic funk. “I’ve always been intrigued by music that toes the line between funk and rock,” notes Francis. “In the past I’ve asked myself things like, ‘What would it sound like if Thin Lizzy cut a disco record?’ It’s something I’ve been fascinated with for a very long time, so I finally decided to really go for it.”
The follow-up to his 2023 double live album and concert film Francis Comes Alive, Return To Zero marks Francis’ first full-length studio effort since In Plain Sight—a 2021 release acclaimed by the likes of leading rock critic Steven Hyden, who praised its “throwback big-band sound that recalls the highs of 1970s funk and swamp rock.” With his past work also including his 2019 debut album Changes (hailed as “the reincarnation of Allen Toussaint” by BBC Radio 6), Francis began playing piano at the young age of four and became an in-demand sideman while still a teenager, touring with revered blues artists and beloved instrumental band The Heard before embarking on his solo career. Over the years, he’s sold out headline shows all across the globe, supported the likes of Wilco, Black Pumas, and My Morning Jacket, appeared at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, and Lollapalooza, and even performed at historic venues like Carnegie Hall.
Like all of his studio work so far (including his 2022 EP Sentimental Garbage), Return To Zero finds Francis co-producing alongside his frequent collaborator Sergio Rios and recording live with members of his touring band (drummer Collin O’Brien, bassist Mike Starr, guitarist Kellen Boersma), elegantly showcasing his prodigious talent and dazzling originality as a keyboard player. Mainly created at Rios’ L.A. studio, the album’s grandiose yet warmly inviting sound also took shape from his close collaboration with composer/conductor Dom Frigo (who aided Francis by transcribing the LP’s symphonic string sections), Say She She (a Brooklyn-based psychedelic-soul trio who adorn a number of songs with their beguiling backing vocals), and a stacked lineup of co-writers that includes Queens of the Stone Age bassist Michael Shuman and Wild Belle co-founder Elliot Bergman.
In the making of his most ambitious work to date, Francis faced countless moments of creative frustration—a factor that eventually gave the album its title. “I was cutting a lot of the vocals at home, using a hybrid process where I’d bounce the tracks from my computer to a tape machine and then record the vocals to tape,” he explains. “I’d be in my vocal booth in the closet with all our winter coats, and every time I needed to start over I’d press this button that says ‘RTZ,’ which stands for ‘Return To Zero.’ I was doing take after take and pressing that button over and over—it was a huge pain, but it also linked up with what I’ve learned in my meditation practice: no matter how frustrated you get, just remain calm and take inventory, and then begin again.”
Although executing Return To Zero’s highly elaborate arrangements often involved a very time-intensive trial-and-error approach, the album-opening “Need You Again” surfaced from an immediate burst of inspiration after Francis attended a DJ set by Derrick Carter (a Chicago house legend who created a 12-inch remix of “BNYLV” from In Plain Sight). “My girlfriend and I went out to a queer dance party called Queen! and stayed till about four in the morning, and Derrick played a track that was a big rock riff over a funk beat,” he recalls. “The next day I went into the studio on very little sleep and started working on the demo for ‘Need You Again,’ and after I finished I couldn’t stop listening to it.” Featuring a guest spot from Grammy-winning guitarist Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce), the result is a glorious entry point into the album’s groove-heavy soundscape, unfolding in sinewy riffs and larger-than-life rhythms as Francis narrates a tale of ruinous infatuation. “It’s a song about a love affair, and the experience of projecting magical qualities onto another person and feeling almost addicted or beholden to them,” he reveals.
Another charmed moment in the album’s creation, “Broken Glass” was sparked from a session featuring Francis on bass and Shuman on drums, with the two soon conjuring the hypnotically potent riff that propels the track forward. With its viscerally charged depiction of lust and self-denial, the darkly majestic epic reaches a stratospheric crescendo at the bridge, when pounding drums meet with Say She She’s near-operatic harmonies. “Once we had that riff I started filling in some freeform poetry from my notebook, which had to do with the idea of taking direction in an intimate liaison,” says Francis. “It all came together so naturally because of how Michael was playing drums, bringing that Queens of the Stone Age heavy-rock thing I love so much.”
One of the most dance-ready tracks on Return To Zero, “Back It Up” glides along on glossy synth lines and a playfully swaggering riff, imbuing a carefree spirit into Francis’ deliberately over-the-top confession of romantic desperation. “That song went through a few different phases before we got to the final iteration,” he says. “It took me a while to accept that it’s okay to have fun with the lyrics, instead of making everything so serious all the time.” Meanwhile, on “What’s Left Of Me,” Francis presents a gorgeously sprawling power-pop anthem built on his resplendent piano work. Co-written with Nashville-based songwriter Chris Gelbuda, the track arose from a piano-and-vocal demo captured at Chicago’s Fine Arts Building, soon evolving into a piercingly candid reflection on life on the road. “Chris and I are good friends and we got to talking about the challenges of being in a committed relationship while you’re on tour,” says Francis. “A lot of these songs were influenced by Electric Light Orchestra and the way Jeff Lynne synthesizes classical music and pop songwriting, and ‘What’s Left Of Me’ was definitely one where I was going for an ELO vibe.”
Partly inspired by the funk and dance records he typically spins during his sets as an all-vinyl DJ, Return To Zero also encompasses everything from the spaced-out drama of “Dance Through Life” to the string-laced reverie of “Can’t Get Enough” (a collaboration with Durand Jones & The Indications’ Blake Rhein that is a sublimely mellowed-out homage to acid-jazz pioneer Roy Ayers). In creating such a complex body of work, Francis found his sense of perseverance repeatedly tested. “Most of these songs were pretty hard-won,” he says. “There was a feeling of pulling out all the stops to achieve what I was going for, and in the middle of that I was dealing with some depression and exhaustion. I ended up learning a lot about myself, and now I feel like I’m in a completely different place in terms of my priorities with mental health.” Despite its more daunting aspects, the writing and recording of Return To Zero also brought plenty of moments of pleasure, including composing with strings for the very first time and tracking songs with his longtime bandmates. “All those guys are like my brothers, and there was a feeling of us working together with an almost athletic desire to get better every time we did a new take,” Francis says. “Those were really long days at the studio, but they were also so much fun.”
Looking back on the making of Return To Zero, Francis points to certain crucial lessons absorbed while creating his most extravagantly realized work so far. “One of the main things I’ve learned is that every album is going to be its own journey; I can’t really take the arsenal of things I’ve learned in the past and expect them to save me from any kind of frustration with whatever I make next,” he says. “Creating art is always going to be a challenge, which maybe goes back to why AI-created music is never going to be all that compelling—it’s just too fucking easy. The best I can do is use what’s at my disposal and try not to freak out or despair when it gets difficult, and hopefully end up making something that gives people joy.”
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
THE PURPLE ONES - INSATIABLE TRIBUTE TO PRINCE
with DJ DEPOPE OF FUNK
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
ZIGGY ALBERTS
Ziggy Alberts is no stranger to success, having built a dedicated global following through a combination of steadfast touring, captivating songwriting, and an independent ethos that has seen him thrive without the backing of a major label. An artist who has mastered the acoustic charm of busking and intimate venues to the electrifying energy of sold-out world stages - all as a solo act - Alberts is now entering a new phase of his artistic journey with his seventh studio album, ‘New Love’, set for release in February 2025.
From his early days busking on the streets of Byron Bay, Alberts has understood the power of direct connection with his audience. His rise has been driven not only by his emotionally resonant folk songs but by his determination to bring his music directly to fans. Now a decade into his career, he’s grown his fanbase the old-fashioned way: by playing show after show, year after year, turning small rooms into sold-out venues across the globe.
In 2024, as part of his New Love World Tour, he has delivered standout performances, including headline sets at Bluesfest Byron Bay and co-headlining Australia’s SummerSalt tour with Matt Corby and James Bay. His tour has taken him across Europe, the UK, North America, Indonesia, and even into new territories like Mexico and Japan. This momentum follows his 2023 Rewind World Tour, where he performed for over 110,000 people and sold out iconic venues like London’s Eventim Apollo.
Notably, Alberts has achieved all of this as an independent artist, without the support of a major label. His commitment to creative autonomy led to the founding of his own label, Commonfolk Records, through which he’s continued to release music and grow his career on his terms. This independence has allowed Alberts to stay true to his artistic vision, taking risks that have paid off. His discography has garnered over a billion streams, with hits like “Runaway” and “Love Me Now” earning millions of listens, while as of October 2024 his singles ‘Laps Around The Sun’ and “Runaway” achieved ARIA Triple Platinum status. Fan favourites like ‘Days In The Sun’ and ‘Gone’ and his EP ‘Four Feet In The Forest’ have also now received Double Platinum status; ‘Hands I Can Hold’ and ‘Together’ reaching Platinum status and another seven tracks plus his ‘Land & Sea’ album reaching Gold status (‘Don’t Get Caught Up’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Letting Go’, ‘On Hold’, ‘Start Over’, ‘Together (Instrumental)’, and ‘Worn Out’). Alberts has also won two APRA Music Awards for Most Performed Blues and Roots Work in 2022 and 2024, solidifying his impact on the Australian music scene.
Now, Alberts is on the verge of releasing his most ambitious project yet: 'New Love'. Born from extensive touring and crafted for live performance, this album underscores his commitment to delivering music that deeply resonates with his audience. Written during his Rewind World Tour and completed in Northern Rivers, NSW, the album captures spontaneity and authenticity, shaped by Alberts' habit of testing songs live during soundchecks, a practice dating back to his early busking days. Co-produced with longtime collaborator Garrett Kato, 'New Love' builds on the journey that began with Laps Around the Sun, which Ziggy describes as its "spiritual follow-up."
For Alberts, 'New Love' is a return to simplicity — reflecting themes of second chances, joy, and navigating modern life’s complexities. The album's structure, split between a warm, folk-inspired Side A and a more expansive, rock-and-country influenced Side B, mirrors the duality of life. Alberts and Kato’s organic production approach preserved the raw emotion of the songs, allowing listeners to join him on an adventure of self-discovery, both through the album and the live performances that will follow.
The release of 'New Love' and the ongoing New Love World Tour showcase Alberts at the peak of his powers as a seasoned performer. His determined touring has cultivated a loyal, global fanbase, turning his live shows into shared experiences that unite people through music. With a devoted following and an impressive catalogue, the 'New Love' era promises to make one thing clear: Ziggy Alberts isn’t just an artist you should know - he’s the one you need to know.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
TOO MANY ZOOZ
with EVAN HATFIELD
Self-described "Brass House" trio Too Many Zooz make manically kinetic instrumental music that combines avant-garde jazz, EDM, punk rock, and sundry other traditions into their own distinctive brand of high-energy dance music. A viral sensation since they first emerged as New York subway buskers in 2013, Too Many Zooz have evolved into a globally recognized phenomenon who tour often and produce YouTube videos that have garnered millions of views.
Formed in 2013 in New York City, Too Many Zooz features the talents of baritone saxophonist Leo "Leo P" Pellegrino, trumpeter Matt "Doe" Muirhead, and drummer David "King of Sludge" Parks. Pellegrino and Muirhead initially met while students at the Manhattan School of Music where they studied jazz. They eventually joined forces with percussionist Parks, whom Pellegrino had played with in a separate busking outfit. They began playing live at various New York subway stations and quickly attracted crowds with their aggressive instrumental sound and Pellegrino's ability to dance and hype the audience like a DJ while playing. In 2014, a video of the band went viral and helped set the stage for the group’s meteoric rise.
In 2016, the trio released their debut full-length album, Subway Gawdz, which featured guest spots from Kreayshawn, Armani White, members of Galactic, and Beats Antique. That same year they were featured on Beyonce’s Lemonade album, and performed with Beyonce and The Dixie Chicks at the CMA’s.
Over the course of the next several years, Too Many Zooz continued to release EP’s and singles – including ZombiEP (2019), a concept album about a fictional band playing a music festival during a zombie outbreak, plus collaborations and remixes with The Floozies, Beats Antique, Spencer Ludwig, Moon Hooch, Dot
Cromwell, Nitty Scott, Lester London, and RoRo.
All of that set the stage for the band’s 2024 sophomore album Retail Therapy – a 13-song chronicle of auditory subway cinema that features appearances from Moon Hooch, Thumpasaurus, Lucky Chops, and Too Many T’s.
Show 8pm
***This is a fully seated general admission show. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
THE MUSIC OF PAUL SIMON WITH JENNER FOX BAND
JENNER FOX BAND brings new life to Paul Simon’s beloved catalog. The idea for the tribute project came to the band backstage on the eve of the 2020 election when someone started playing “American Tune,” and they discovered their mutual reverence for Simon’s music. The project, they call “National Guitar,” sold out its first show at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland and has continued to delight audiences up and down the west coast with a range of Simon’s music from Garfunkle to Graceland and everywhere in between. Come prepared to sing along, groove, and celebrate some of the finest music from a true American original.
The five piece band features piano, organ, electric guitar, bass, dobro, acoustic guitar, and layered vocal harmony. The night with a set of original material.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
SIERRA HULL
with STEPHANIE LAMBRING
Sierra Hull is widely regarded to be a as a master of her instrument; A two-time Grammy Nominated artist and songwriter, recognized for both her most recent projects, 25 Trips (2020) and Weighted Mind (2016), she is also the 4x recipient of IBMA’s Mandolin Player of the Year, the first woman to ever receive this distinction. A pioneer for acoustic music throughout her already impressive multi-decade career, she has graced the country's most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House. Her virtuosic abilities have garnered respect from genre-defining trailblazers, friends, and collaborators such as Alison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, and Brandi Carlile. Originally hailing from Byrdstown, Tennessee, her unique sound is rooted in bluegrass, and she is widely considered one of acoustic music’s most inventive artists.
Show 7pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
SHADOWNLANDS (feat. S. Carey (of Bon Iver) and John Raymond)
John Raymond and S. Carey have been playing music together for close to twenty years since their time studying music at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. While they both received training in jazz and classical music, their careers would soon head in very different directions. Carey would become the right-hand man to Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver); collaborate as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Low, and Bruce Hornsby among others; and release four albums of his own to critical acclaim from Pitchfork, NPR, and more. Raymond, on the other hand, would become a Grammy-nominated trumpeter and composer “steering jazz in the right direction” (Downbeat); release eight albums garnering praise from the New York Times, Stereogum, and others; and teach on faculty at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, one of the most prestigious music conservatories in the world.
In 2019, the two reunited and began experimenting on what their artistic voices would sound like together. Raymond brought in a host of musical ideas, while Carey contributed lyrics and helped shape the ideas into songs. Producer Sun Chung (formerly with ECM Records) came on board shortly after, and together they enlisted a cast of A-list musicians to help flesh out the music including pianist Aaron Parks (Terri Lyne Carrington, Terence Blanchard), bassist Chris Morrissey (Norah Jones, Mark Guiliana), and guitarist Dave Devine (Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band).
The result is their new album, Shadowlands (Libellule Editions), a stunning, genre-bending collection of songs that combines the warmth and beauty of Carey’s aesthetic with the improvisational, spontaneous nature of Raymond’s. The music ranges from intimate and meditative to soaring and anthemic, with electric moments of musical interplay throughout. It’s the kind of collaboration that feels as if it were years in the making.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
THE SUN KINGS - A Beatles Tribute as Nature Intended
The Sun Kings A Beatles Tribute band unlike any other…
Celebrating their 25th year and considered one of the premier Beatles Tribute acts in the country, The Sun Kings play the hits and great album cuts from the entire Beatles catalogue with an uncanny attention to musical detail, vocal harmonies, and onstage energy.
Experience The Sun Kings in concert and you will hear the concert The Beatles never gave!
“The Sun Kings are superb! ...as close to the Beatles live and in studio as possible! -Ben Fong-Torres | Former Editor Rolling Stone Magazine
“The Sun Kings are the best Beatles band I’ve ever heard, and that includes the original Beatlemania cast, circa 1977.”
-Scott Lettieri | KGO Radio San Francisco
“The only band that could come that close to doing Beatles music would be The Beatles!”
-Richard Freedman | Vacaville Media News
“...with their sets loaded with peak moments, their dazzling harmonies leading each ascent, the Sun Kings only flaw is that they eventually have to stop the celebration...” -Tom Stack | Lafayette Town Hall Theatre Board VP
“Unbelievable!”
-Dean Goss | KFRC Radio – San Francisco
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
DUSTED ANDGEL & DECREPIT BIRTH
Show 8pm // $15 General Admission
***This is a fully seated general admission show. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
AMOGO THE DEVIL (SOLO)
with TELE NOVELLA and DAVID TALLEY
In the vast realm of modern folk and alternative rock, Amigo The Devil is an artist who channels a voice of unsettling beauty and raw truth. Nestled within the corners of his haunting melodies and daring experimentation is a tale as profound as the dirges he sings. Despite his growing notoriety, Amigo the Devil remains enigmatic. He isn't one to bask in the limelight, choosing once again to let the music speak for itself.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
THE HEAVY HEAVY
With the arrival of their debut EP Life and Life Only, The Heavy Heavy immediately filled a longtime void in the musical landscape, delivering a soulful breed of rock & roll untouched by modern artifice. As audiences across the globe grew enchanted with their era-bending sound, the UK-based band began selling out headline shows in major cities like New York and Chicago, opening for the likes of Black Pumas and Band of Horses, and earning critical comparisons to Jefferson Airplane, The Band, The Mamas & The Papas, and more—all with only a handful of songs to their name, including the AAA radio top five singles “Miles and Miles” and “Go Down River.” After spending the past two years on the road and in the studio, The Heavy Heavy now draw listeners even deeper into their dreamworld with their long-awaited debut album One Of A Kind.
Written entirely by co-founders Georgie Fuller and William Turner and mostly recorded at Turner’s studio in Brighton, One Of A Kind maintains the self-contained approach of Life and Life Only—a seven-song project acclaimed by outlets like NME (who named them an essential emerging artist for 2023) and The Guardian (who noted that The Heavy Heavy “write and play music with that lick of madness that makes early Fleetwood Mac and peak Stones so thrilling”). To that end, Turner produced, engineered, and mixed every track and handled most of the LP’s lavish instrumentation (including guitar, bass, piano, organ, Mellotron, and more), with The Heavy Heavy’s live band lending their explosive energy to the album. But in a departure from the EP, One Of A Kind leans away from Laurel Canyon-esque folk-rock and fully embraces their British roots, finding a particularly crucial inspiration in the gritty and groove-heavy hedonism of the Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup. “A lot of our EP was very bright and pretty, so we wanted to smash the door down like we do in the live show,” says Turner. “Because we were creating an entire album, there was so much more space to explore and expand,” Fuller adds. “It’s still undoubtedly that Heavy Heavy sound, but now we have all these other rooms to play around in.”
For One Of A Kind’s lead single, The Heavy Heavy chose a sun-drenched and sing-along-ready number that serves as an auspicious bridge to the band’s new era. The last song written for the album, “Happiness” bends toward the lush psych-pop of Life and Life Only while introducing a new level of visceral intensity. “We felt we needed a song that had that summery, flowery feel of the EP, and somehow at the last minute we were able to pull magic out of thin air,” Fuller recalls. A fast fan favorite at their live shows, “Happiness” channels a bold determination to break free from loneliness and stagnation, ultimately providing an automatic mood lift thanks to The Heavy Heavy’s resplendent melodies and signature multi-part harmonies.
Kicking off with a majestic bang, One Of A Kind opens on the rolling drumbeats and walloping riffs of its title track—a feverishly chanted anthem whose lyrics transform the listener into the protagonist of their own impossibly glamorous movie (e.g., “You’re getting down/You’re keeping on/You look the best/You’re all night howling”). Graced with a breathtaking vocal performance from Fuller (a classically trained singer), “One Of A Kind” quickly set the tone for the album’s larger-than-life vitality. “Something about the primal nature of that song inspired us to keep making songs that feel quite big and powerful,” says Turner. Later, on “Because You’re Mine,” The Heavy Heavy sustain that feel-good spirit and share a carefree love song lit up in slinky grooves and hallucinatory lyrics depicting what Fuller refers to as “the psychedelic daydream of a wandering nomad type—someone who goes wherever the wind takes them.”
As One Of A Kind floats along, The Heavy Heavy endlessly push into previously uncharted sonic terrain, tapping into such unexpected influences as mid-’90s big beat on the bass-driven and gorgeously hazy “Miracle Sun.” “It’s a song with a lot of attitude to it—sort of our way of telling the world, ‘We’re living the way we want to live, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand,’” says Turner. Meanwhile, on “Feel,” the band merges the mesmerizing grooves of Madchester-era Britpop with a bit of idiosyncratic poetry (“I am a freeloader love junkie/A real heavy cannonball and I’m hungry…I stand between the sun, between the stone/I feel it in my fingers, feel it in my bones”). And on “Wild Emotion,” One Of A Kind offers up a country-infused serenade laced with galloping rhythms and twangy guitar tones partly inspired by the work of Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler. “That’s probably the most emotional song on the album,” Turner points out. “It’s meant to have a reassuring message, but at its center is the story of a woman who’s gone through a heartbreak and can’t find her way out of feeling hopeless and distraught.”
After journeying through a whirlwind of sounds and textures—the hypnotic Mellotron of “Lemonade,” the frenetic psych-rock organ and skyscraping vocals of “Dirt,” the earthy acoustic guitar and sweetly playful harmonies of “Lovestruck”—One Of A Kind lands at the reverb-soaked splendor of its closing track, “Salina.” Named for a sparsely populated volcanic island off the coast of Sicily (an otherworldly spot Fuller and Turner visited on vacation), the slow-building epic unfolds in so many exquisitely strange sonic details: moody cello lines, thundering percussion, a spellbinding pedal-steel part simultaneously played by two separate guest musicians. “‘Salina’ was one of those moments where we let ourselves get experimental with the production and create a whole ocean of sound,” says Fuller. “We knew we had to put it at the end and let the reverb ring out in those final seconds—almost as if we’re leaving the album hanging in the air.”
Formed in 2019, The Heavy Heavy emerged from a potent alchemy of their eclectic sensibilities. Hailing from the small town of Malvern (a stretch of the English countryside he describes as “a beautiful place full of hippies and longhaired people”), Turner took up guitar in his early teens and later played in a series of psychedelic/surf-rock bands, while Fuller’s extensive background includes performing at Montreux Jazz Festival as a teenager and acting in the London theater. As they moved forward with a mission of “making music that sounds like our favorite records ever” (including everything from Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac to folk-blues act Delaney & Bonnie to Fleet Foxes), the duo dreamed up a batch of songs in a London flat and self-released an early version of Life and Life Only in late 2020, eventually catching the attention of ATO Records and signing with the U.S.-based label in 2022. Fueled in part by the breakout success of “Miles and Miles” (their ATO debut single), The Heavy Heavy’s five-piece live band soon began playing bigger and bigger venues and taking the stage at leading festivals like Bonnaroo, Boston Calling, and Newport Folk Festival, in addition to performing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” and “CBS Saturday Morning” and scoring major syncs with the likes of Nissan and Netflix’s “Outer Banks.”
Because of the rapturous response to their debut EP, The Heavy Heavy found themselves in an unfamiliar headspace when it came to the creation of One Of A Kind. “With the EP we were making songs as a way to soundtrack our own lives, but now it’s a different beast—it’s no longer theoretical, which gives everything more weight,” says Turner. But in the end, the band discovered an essential touchstone in the connection they’ve forged with their fans over the last two years. “Not too long ago, a woman came up to us at a show and told us she was getting a tattoo of one of our lyrics to remind herself to keep pushing on and keep chasing her dreams,” Fuller says. “Moments like that always remind us that as long as we keep making what feels good, chances are it’s going to make other people feel good too. I hope this album feels like a great big party to everyone, and I hope it inspires them to live their lives however they want.”
Show 8pm
***This is a fully seated general admission show. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
David Cook (and yes, the same David Cook who launched into stardom following his American Idol Season Seven win – breaking several Billboard chart records when 14 of his songs debuted on the Hot Digital Songs chart and 11 of his songs debuted on the Hot 100) certainly knows his way around a good song. His first album, Analog Heart, came out pre-Idol, and his last album, Digital Vein, nicely book-ended that chapter of Cook’s career, a chapter during which he sold more than 2 million albums (including his platinum-certified eponymous album) and, collectively, more than 5 million tracks (including two platinum-certified singles) worldwide.
David continues to find success, not only for himself, but also as a writer for other artists and touring throughout the world. 2018 brought an exciting new EP from Cook – Chromance. “I was a ‘rock’ guy, but the further away I’ve gotten from that, the more I’ve opened up and found inspiration in the peripherals. I wouldn’t have had the courage earlier in my career, but now I have the confidence to go after the sound I want.” A fan of both Massive Attack and Nine Inch Nails, Cook always admired how they pushed the envelope and brought pop elements into rock music. “I used them as a bedrock for Chromance and how I wanted the record to feel.”
If putting out his 2018 EP wasn’t enough to keep Cook busy, that same year, he headed to the Great White Way for his Broadway debut as Charlie Price in KINKY BOOTS. “I’ve had conversations about finding creative outlets outside of being a musician, but the timing was never right.” While Cook was excited about his first starring role, he was also aware the message behind KINKY BOOTS was timely and relevant. “I was honored to be part of the show and get to work with so many amazing people. I love the collaborative aspect of theatre too, the idea of being part of a creative team and working it out in front of an audience each night.”
Another passion of Cook’s is his work in behalf of organizations such as the National Brain Tumor Society, a Washington DC-based nonprofit that drives cutting-edge research and treatments for brain cancer and brain tumors. “I’ve been very involved with this cause and am very grateful that my career has allowed me to do that. I lost my brother Adam to a brain tumor in 2009; every year, I am part of the Race for Hope-DC and, together with my fans, have raised over $1.5 million for brain cancer and brain tumor research through this and other fundraising projects. Far and away, that is the proudest of all my achievements.”
Cook is well aware of and grateful for the breaks American Idol has brought his way and for the opportunities he continues to have. He has no plans to slow it down. “I love creative endeavors. I like starting with nothing and then finishing with something that didn’t exist before. That’s my favorite thing about creating new music. I love being able to put something artistic out in the world for people to enjoy.”
In 2020, David released two new singles. The first, Reds Turn Blue, is a nod to the manic highs (reds) and lows (blues) of anxiety, something David has struggled to overcome since his season seven win on American Idol. As David told People.com: “This song became a therapeutic process for me, as a way to personify my anxiety and make it something other than me — which, in an odd way, has helped me navigate my relationship with it.” To capture that struggle, David worked with artist Justin A. Nixon to create a visual that was “sci-fi and sinister” but left open-ended to represent “that constant battle between anxiety and myself.” And the second, Strange World, is “my homage to this year,” said David. “Staring out of windows at the world outside, feeling disconnected from it, and trying to find those moments that would normally exist outside, inside.” Both singles, along with the driving Fire, are from his EP The Looking Glass, released in April 2021.
In April 2022, David released his latest single, TABOS (This’ll All Be Over Soon). The single’s release coincided with his return to the American Idol® stage to perform for their special 20th-anniversary reunion show.
In 2024, David released two singles. The first, Dead Weight, was co-written with long-time collaborator, Andy Skib. The second, This Time Tomorrow 16, was a charity single and the sixteenth rendition of the song that inspired the This Time Tomorrow Foundation (every year the foundation releases a new version of the title song by a new artist, with all the funds raised going towards their Random Acts of Kindness program, where they surprise people fighting all types of cancer. David Cook worked with Andrew Skib to produce the track.
Show 8pm / Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
THE ENGLISH BEAT
The English Beat is a band with an energetic mix of musical styles and a sound like no other. The band's unique sound has allowed it to endure for nearly four decades and appeal to fans, young and old, all over the world.
When The English Beat (known as The Beat in their native England) rushed on to the music scene in 1979, it was a time of massive social and political unrest and economic and musical upheaval. This set the stage for a period of unbridled musical creativity, and thanks in large part to the Punk movement and it's DIY approach to making music, artists like The Beat were able to speak out and speak their mind on the news of the day, as in “Stand Down Margaret”, things that mattered to them and the youth culture, as in “Get A Job”, and universal matters of the heart and soul, as in their classic hits “I Confess” and “Save It For Later”.
The Beat first came to prominence as founding members of the British Two Tone Ska movement, with their classic first album “Just Can't Stop It” fitting squarely in that genre. Along with their contemporaries The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, the band became an overnight sensation and one of the most popular and influential bands of that movement.
However, band leader Dave Wakeling never felt constrained by the movement. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm. The band's sound continued to evolve over their three studio albums, through the General Public era (a band formed by Dave with The Beat’s toaster, Ranking Roger), and it has continued its evolution with the forthcoming English Beat album “Here We Go Love”, a PledgeMusic crowd-funded album set for a 2016 release, the band's first new album since 1982's “Special Beat Service”.
Consummate showman that he is, Dave Wakeling continues to keep The Beat alive and strong, touring the world as The English Beat with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing all the hits of The Beat, General Public, and songs from his new album “Here We Go Love”.
You just can’t stop The English Beat!
Louis “sirlou” Kahn
Show 8pm / Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
THE ENGLISH BEAT
The English Beat is a band with an energetic mix of musical styles and a sound like no other. The band's unique sound has allowed it to endure for nearly four decades and appeal to fans, young and old, all over the world.
When The English Beat (known as The Beat in their native England) rushed on to the music scene in 1979, it was a time of massive social and political unrest and economic and musical upheaval. This set the stage for a period of unbridled musical creativity, and thanks in large part to the Punk movement and it's DIY approach to making music, artists like The Beat were able to speak out and speak their mind on the news of the day, as in “Stand Down Margaret”, things that mattered to them and the youth culture, as in “Get A Job”, and universal matters of the heart and soul, as in their classic hits “I Confess” and “Save It For Later”.
The Beat first came to prominence as founding members of the British Two Tone Ska movement, with their classic first album “Just Can't Stop It” fitting squarely in that genre. Along with their contemporaries The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, the band became an overnight sensation and one of the most popular and influential bands of that movement.
However, band leader Dave Wakeling never felt constrained by the movement. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm. The band's sound continued to evolve over their three studio albums, through the General Public era (a band formed by Dave with The Beat’s toaster, Ranking Roger), and it has continued its evolution with the forthcoming English Beat album “Here We Go Love”, a PledgeMusic crowd-funded album set for a 2016 release, the band's first new album since 1982's “Special Beat Service”.
Consummate showman that he is, Dave Wakeling continues to keep The Beat alive and strong, touring the world as The English Beat with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing all the hits of The Beat, General Public, and songs from his new album “Here We Go Love”.
You just can’t stop The English Beat!
Louis “sirlou” Kahn
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
FRUITION
Three songwriters. Five bandmates. More than 15 years together, building a grassroots audience with a combination of stacked vocal harmonies and collaborative, song-driven Americana. Fruition is proof that there's strength in numbers.
How To Make Mistakes, the band's first studio album in four years, showcases a reinvigorated group at the peak of its powers. This is American roots music at its broadest and boldest — a melting pot of rock, soul, folk, and pop. What began as a busking string band has evolved into something more eclectic, rooted not only in the unique delivery of three different singers, but also the cohesion of five friends who prefer their music to be homegrown and honest… mistakes and all.
"This is the first studio album that we've recorded entirely live," says Jay Cobb Anderson, who shares frontperson duties with fellow multi-instrumentalists Mimi Naja and Kellen Asebroek. "We recorded 17 songs in 7 days, with everybody playing together in real time, and we didn't overdub anything. The songs sound honest and real. They sound like us."
Co-produced by the bandmates themselves, How To Make Mistakes restores the momentum that Fruition nearly lost in 2020, back when Covid-19 forced them off the road and into quarantine. At the time, they'd been playing some of the biggest shows of their lives, crisscrossing the country in support of their most recent release, Broken At The Break Of Day. The album's lead single, "Dawn," had even become a hit on Americana radio. Years of relentless work had taken a toll on Fruition's mental health, though, and cracks were starting to show in the band's foundation. "We were so deep into the tour hustle that a lot of our cohesive vision might've gotten lost," Naja admits. "Like anybody in any work force, we'd all learned to put our heads down and keep moving forward, even if that wasn't the best thing for us."
When they reunited one year later for a long-overdue band practice, they took stock of everything that had changed during those 12 months apart. Some members had started families. Others had gotten sober. All of them had made the conscious decision to return to music. Fruition funneled that growth and maturity back into their new songs, which doubled as rallying cries for a band eager to chase down success once again. "We all had the time to ask ourselves some big questions like 'Do we want to keep doing this?'" Naja adds. "The fact that we reunited in such a reinforced way after all that time apart… I think it says a lot about who this band truly is."
And who, exactly, is Fruition? On songs like "Lonely Work," they're a folk-rock band powered by pedal steel and lovely, loping tempos. On "Scars," they're a group caught halfway between the earthy textures of Americana and the spacey sweep of something far more ethereal. On "Get Lost," they're a group of adventure seekers looking to leave the big city behind, stacking their electric guitars into harmonized solos along the way. Fruition's acoustic roots are evident throughout How To Make Mistakes, too, from "Can You Tell Me" — a rough 'n' rowdy folk song laced with resonator guitar, mandolin, and upright bass — to the campfire ballad "Never Change." How To Make Mistakes embraces the full spread of the band's past and present, mixing unplugged instruments with electrified arrangements, creating a sound suitable for arenas one minute and front-porch picking parties the next. It's the widest net Fruition has ever cast, and it's also the truest representation of the band's wide, all-encompassing sound.
"When I think about this record, the word that comes to mind is 'trust,'" says Asebroek. "We trust each other. We trust the strength of our songs. We've come to really know ourselves as individuals and as partners, and instead of trying to prove something to the outside world, we're trying to show the world that we are who we are, and we love ourselves."
When Fruition formed in Portland in 2008, the band's three songwriters earned their first fans by busking together on Oregon's street corners. Those informal gigs were raw and real, filled with all the honest imperfections of a live performance. Hundreds of shows later, How To Make Mistakes revisits that flaws-and-all approach, using it as the foundation for the most definitive album of the band's career. Tracked live at eTown Hall's recording studio in Colorado and engineered/mixed by the band's own drummer, Tyler Thompson, it's an album that embraces not only the in-the-moment immediacy of a live band, but also the love, longing, loss, and sheer life lived during the band's 15+ years together.
"If you listen closely," Anderson points out, "you can hear tempos fluctuate. Maybe you'll have somebody finger-picking slightly out of time. But that's part of the whole idea of learning to embrace your true identity. We're a band that would rather lean into a mistake than use studio tricks to erase it. With How To Make Mistakes, we wanted to say, 'This is us, with all of our flaws and all of our strengths.'"
All of their strengths, indeed. Collaborative, consistent, and musically cohesive, How To Make Mistakes is the sound of a band rededicating itself to the long haul.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
TUNE-YARDS
Formed by Merrill Garbus in 2006, Tune-Yards has become a name synonymous with creativity and forward motion. Known for explosive performances, surprising song structures, and danceable rhythms, their music also highlights connections between song and social consciousness. The New York Times praised their debut album, BiRd-BrAiNs, as “a confident do-it-yourselfer’s opening salvo,” and relentless touring established Garbus as a commanding live performer.
Garbus stepped into the producer role with 2011’s w h o k i l l, a bold and sonically inventive album that earned critical acclaim, including the #1 spot on The Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop poll. By 2021’s sketchy., Garbus and bassist Nate Brenner had solidified their partnership, creating a fully collaborative work. The duo has announced their sixth studio record, Better Dreaming, to be released on May 14, 2025 on 4AD.
Tune-Yards has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 per ticket goes to supporting Street Spirit and their work as an independent newspaper dedicated to covering homelessness and poverty from the perspective of those most impacted. The paper is sold on the streets of Berkeley and Oakland by unhoused people, who keep 100% of the donations they receive.
Show 8pm // 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
UNCLE LUCIUS
In September of 2024 Uncle Lucius released Live from Ear Studio. Recorded live to tape at Ear Studio in Austin, TX the record features select singles from their latest LP Like It’s The Last One Left plus three covers: “Bertha” by the Grateful Dead; “Shadow People”, a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers staple and “Just To Satisfy You” made popular by Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson.
Uncle Lucius has long been known for their unique blend of roots rock & roll and country soul. Since adding heavyweights Doug Strahan (guitar) and Drew Scherger (bass) to the fold, the band has expanded its palette, exploring new musical landscapes and reveling in the power that comes from following sonic avenues, without prejudice, wherever they lead. The results onstage speak for themselves.
During the years following the band’s farewell tour in 2018, their audience continued to organically grow, highlighted by the placement of their song “Keep the Wolves Away” in an episode of Yellowstone and its subsequent RIAA gold and platinum certifications. After a few years on hiatus – with a fresh outlook and a deep well of new ideas – the band members began to shake off their collective rust and blueprint songs that mirrored their career and current status, hitting on themes of resolve and resilience. The band released their first album in 8 years Like It’s The Last One Left last December via Thirty Tigers / Boo Clap Records. Since their comeback the band has toured consistently around the world and recently the 2nd single from Like It’s The Last One Left, “All The Angelenos”, hit #5 on the Texas Radio Charts.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
MASON JENNINGS
Minneapolis songwriter Mason Jennings shares his new video for the single, “Only Lovers Welcome” from his brand new album, Underneath The Roses out now via Loosegroove Records. Underneath The Roses is available on limited-edition colored vinyl and is available here. Watch and share the video for “Only Lovers Welcome” here.
Jennings writes that the songs from Underneath The Roses were, “Written in an unprecedented burst,” following the birth of his son, Western, in March 2022. Jennings explains, “I hadn’t written any songs in about a year. I had been dealing with the psychological after effects of the pandemic as well as the loss of my dad. So, when Western was born I didn’t expect to be writing much. But immediately he was responding to music in a very intense way. For this album, between May and November 2022, I wrote 48 songs! They certainly uplifted me and connected me with the creative spirit, and spirit in general, again. They cover all kinds of ground but, when I listen back, I think the central theme is overcoming fear with love.”
Jennings also released a video for, “No Ordinary Friend,” which he explains, “Depicts two of the most important decisions a person can make. One, whether or not they believe in a loving higher power and two, who they decide to choose as a life long romantic partner. This song is referring to both of those and the choices I’ve made.”
"Stone Gossard and Regan Hagar from Loosegroove Records helped me edit the 48 down to 11. I then enlisted the help of my Painted Shield bandmates to record the songs.”
Jennings and Gossard are ongoing collaborators in the band Painted Shield, who released their 2021 debut album on Loosegroove, the influential indie label that Gossard founded back in 1994 issued records from acts such as Critters Buggin, Malfunkshun, Weapon of Choice and Devilhead, and was the launching point for Queens of the Stone Age’s debut album in 1998.
Jenning’s previous album ‘Real Heart’ came out in January 2022 and received Triple/Non-comm radio across KCMP Minneapolis, WFPK Louisville, WPYA Birmingham, KRCL Salt Lake City, WMMM Madison, WQKL Ann Arbor, KCSN LA, KRVB Boise, WCLZ Portland, WDSE Duluth, WRLT Nashville, WXPN Philly, WXRV Boston, & WZEW Mobile.
Press highlights include: American Songwriter, Relix, No Depression, Grateful Web, Take Effect 9/10 review, & Jam Bands
Jennings adds “I called it Underneath The Roses because I feel like these songs are musical roses and when I look below them there are many thorns and so much dirt and soil. All of it was needed for them to come into existence and bloom. It’s been a long hard road of self-discovery and discernment for me the last few years and the roses wouldn’t be here without what lies underneath. Hope you enjoy the music!”
Show 8:00pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS
Los Angeles psych-punk shapeshifters Frankie and the Witch Fingers have spent the last decade mutating their sound into bold, electrifying new forms. Their latest release, Trash Classic (via Greenway Records and The Reverberation Appreciation Society), plunges into a sewer-slick fusion of proto-punk venom, fractured new wave, and industrial grime. Brimming with wiry synths, angular melodies, and grooves that squirm and bite, it’s all delivered with a sly, playful wink. Fueled by relentless global touring and a fierce DIY ethos, the band has shared stages with OFF!, Ty Segall, Oh Sees, Cheap Trick, and ZZ Top, cementing their place as one of the most unforgettable live acts around. Frankie and the Witch Fingers continue to morph, dragging listeners into whatever warped direction their experimental journey takes next.
Show 8pm // Ages 21+
***This is a standing room general admissions show. There will be a limited number of chairs located in the back of the concert hall. Seating will be first come first served. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Felton Music Hall Presents:
MOUNTAIN GRASS UNIT
Mountain Grass Unit, from Birmingham, Alabama, is a young quartet redefining bluegrass with a fresh narrative. Comprised of Drury Anderson (mandolin, vocals), Luke Black (guitar, vocals), Josiah Nelson (fiddle, vocals), and Sam Wilson (bass, vocals), they blend tradition with bold exploration. Their journey began with a shared musical passion, forming a sound that merges bluegrass with country, jazz, funk, rock, and metal influences. Their debut EP, "Runnin’ From Trouble," released in 2024, showcases their original music and inventive covers, inspired by legends like Tony Rice and Billy Strings.
Recorded at Nashville’s Hartland Studios, and produced by Mike Harris (Old Crow Medicine Show), the EP captures their live energy. The leading single, “Hey Mama,” explores life's transitions with inquisitive lyrics, while “Cicada Song” and “Smugglin’” highlight their funk and traditional sides.
2024 marked a turning point with performances at Renewal, DelFest and WinterWondergrass, broadening their audience and deepening their musical exploration. With plans for extensive touring, festival sets, and new music, Mountain Grass Unit is ready to share their luminous sound with the world, each performance a new chapter in their unfolding story.
Show 8pm
***This is a fully seated general admission show. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
When it comes to songwriting, less is more, and simplicity is strength. Just ask Paul Thorn, who’s spent three decades turning soulful grooves and small syllables into songs that pack a big wallop. Maybe he learned the power of minimalism from his years as a pro boxer; maybe it just comes naturally. But whether he’s targeting heads, hearts, hips or the occasional funny bone, he somehow manages to condense large nuggets of wisdom into tight little mantras, the kind embroiderers stitched onto pillows before internet memes existed.
Thorn’s new album, Life is Just A Vapor, contains some beauties: “Life is a vapor, let’s live it while we can”; “tough times don’t last, but tough people do” (from “Tough Times Don’t Last”); “any mountain up ahead is just a hill” (from “Old Melodies”). They’re words of advice, comfort, support, encouragement, often meant to uplift, especially in times of struggle.
“I like for people to be touched by music and get something from it, something that they can take with them throughout the day,” Thorn says. “Every song on this album, there's a message in it of some sort about how to live life.”
American Blues Scene writer Don Wilcock calls Thorn “an everyman (who) addresses things we all think about, but few can articulate with the kind of candor, humor and folksy truth that immediately endear him to almost everyone lucky enough to hear his music.”
Whether he’s expressing love in “I Knew,” warning an ex’s new conquest about the dangers ahead in “She Will,” extolling the value of holding off on sex in “Wait” or listing the ingredients for making a marriage work in “Courage My Love” (“a half-acre on your daddy’s land / and a little luck / a load of white gravel in our driveway / so we don’t get stuck in a rut /a 3-horsepower lawnmower and courage my love”), Thorn delivers his messages with consummate skill — and pinpoint precision. One minute, he’ll unwind an outrageous tale full of wild characters (often accompanied by his own cartoonish illustrations); the next, he’ll tug at heartstrings with confessions of love, loss or failed dreams, balancing wit and pathos with an ease only the best storytellers can pull off. One of Thorn’s favorites was his friend and mentor John Prine, who inspired the title tune.
We’ll discuss that one in a bit, but first, we should mention that in “Wait,” a commentary about dating in the Tinder era, the fella who buys his dates dinner with a two-for-$20 coupon is someone Thorn actually knows. “Geraldine and Ricky” is based on real people, too — well, a real person and her hickory-headed dummy. Whether written solo, with longtime manager/collaborator/album producer Billy Maddox or with Chuck Cannon, Scotty Brassfield or Denny Carr, nearly all of these songs are inspired by or reference actual events or people; Geraldine was a traveling evangelist who couldn’t connect with children until she tried ventriloquism. When she spread the lord’s word through Ricky, kids were mesmerized — including 5-year-old Thorn, who requested, and got, a ventriloquist doll for Christmas.
“I would get up and tell jokes at church, and I'd take it to school and tell jokes at school,” he says, with that Tupelo, Miss.-formed accent and instantly charming, matter-of-fact delivery he
has. “I had my mind up that when I grew up, I was going to be a ventriloquist.” (His singing career actually began at 3 — in church, of course; Thorn’s dad was a Pentecostal minister.)
Over a snaky rhythm enhanced by guest guitarist Luther Dickinson, Thorn fictitiously paints Geraldine as “a toxic opportunist looking for anything that will better her situation.” When she lands a dying old sugar daddy, she dumps Ricky. But karma catches up to Geraldine, while Ricky, thankfully, gets rescued.
But Life is Just a Vapor is not all homilies and humor. “I’m Just Waiting,” a catchy, funky tune featuring blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, deftly examines relationship insecurity. In “Chicken Wing,” over a cool melody on which guitarists Michael Graham and Bill Hinds (on slide) merge T. Rex with Southern rock, a former pimp and scam artist admits: “I’m in the winter of my life / I love my dog, I like my wife / I wash the dishes, I sweep the floor / I keep a 12-gauge behind the door.”
For the record, the song is not about the uncle Thorn introduced on Pimps and Preachers, one of a dozen albums he’s released on his own Perpetual Obscurity Records since founding the label in 2000. (Thorn made his recording debut on A&M Records in 1997, after ex-Police manager Miles
Copeland III heard him and had him open for then-client Sting, one of A&M’s top talents.) And just to be clear, Thorn’s definition of pimp includes “anybody that manipulates people and doesn't give them nothing in return.”
“I'm around pimps every day, especially in the music business,” he adds. “A pimp is a larger word than just somebody on the corner with a gold chain. ‘Chicken Wing’ is an overview of a bunch of pimps that I have known in my life and I melded their stories together. … all that song is about is different seasons of life.”
Speaking of seasons of life, two of the album’s most poignant songs contemplate the passage of time. “Old Melodies,” the kind of song a retro-country-loving couple might dance to after renewing their wedding vows, suggests challenges are easier to face with a partner by your side.
“It's about being together through life, and that's where I'm at,” Thorn says. “I'm 60 years old, and the stuff I'm writing about and singing about is for people that get what being 60 years old is.” Then he reveals the song’s sobering origin, which adds a different perspective.
“We had a family problem a long time ago, a relative that ran off the tracks with drugs and everything,” he explains. “When my dad was dealing with the pain of the heartache that somebody he loved was in a dark hole, he was just standing there, crying. And he said, “Man, ‘Amazing Grace’ used to be my favorite song, but now it’s ‘We Shall Overcome.’ Boy, that just hit me right between the eyes. They're both great songs, but ‘Amazing Grace’ is more like a praise song. ‘We Shall Overcome’ is, ‘We got something we gotta deal with, and we're gonna deal with it, and we're gonna get past it.’ I thought that was a beautiful thing he said.”
Thorn, a brilliant gospel stylist, could sing the heck out of either of those songs. If you haven’t heard his version of the O’Jays’ hit, “Love Train,” from Don’t Let the Devil Ride, his 2018 album of gospel covers, you haven’t experienced the song the way it truly should be heard.
On this album, he’s backed occasionally by Tupelo gospel group New Testament, or Muscle Shoals session singers Cindy Richardson and Marie Lewey (aka the Shoal Sisters) — who sing on “Life is Just a Vapor,” a phrase adapted from scripture.
It's safe to say no one but Thorn would start a song with the lines, “Me and John Prine was eating ice cream / at the Double Tree Inn Suite 1019.” And no one but Thorn would follow them with, “Don’t tell Fiona she won’t understand / Life is a vapor. Let’s live it while we can.”
Of his late friend, Thorn says, “He’s one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and one of the nicest people, too. I can't even count the times I've opened up for him, which was a great opportunity for me.”
As he will do for countless audiences, Thorn narrates the story behind those lyrics: “One night after I opened up for him,” he recounts, “John invited me and a few other friends to come to his hotel room and have some ice cream after the show. So I went, and it was a big thrill. Then the next morning I went on Facebook and I wrote about my encounter, and I said to the world what a moment it was for me to get to hang with John and have this ice cream and everything.
“Right when I posted it, his manager called my manager and said, ‘Take that post down immediately. John is a severe diabetic, and his wife Fiona is going to kill him for eating ice cream.’”
In total straight-man mode, Thorn nonchalantly adds, “Yeah, I got him in trouble for eating ice cream.”
And that’s how the finest troubadours do it: Set ‘em up with humor, then hit ’em in the feels with lines like, “Every day’s a gift, breathe in and hold it. / Every day’s a gift, it’s gone before you know it.”
Gorgeous, moving words. Simple, straight-forward and, if you’ve lost a loved one, or a hero like Prine, very likely tear-inducing.
“I'm just trying to put out a good body of work that will be remembered like John's music,” Thorn admits. “I'm trying to carry on his tradition, to keep it alive.”
Prine, the heavyweight champ at spinning humor and heartbreak into gold, would have loved this song, and this album. Maybe the lyrics he inspired will motivate someone to grab some thread and start stitching.
“Shoulda, woulda, coulda, I’ll do it someday, / Turns into time just slippin’ away. / The hour glass is runnin’ out of sand, / Life is a vapor. Let’s live it while we can.”
Show 8pm
***This is a fully seated general admission show. The restaurant will be open for dinner starting at 4pm.
Born and raised in Southern California, Karla Bonoff was a songwriter by the age of fifteen. She and her sister Lisa were writing songs and playing as a duo titled "The Daughters of Chester P" named after their father, Dr. Chester Paul Bonoff. She had already fallen in love with the guitar and studied with Frank Hamilton of the famous folk group, The Weavers. By 16, Karla and her sister Lisa auditioned for Elektra Records. An 11-song demo [recorded by Doors' engineer Bruce Botnick] was recorded but no deal came of this first effort.
Karla's sister became a teacher of history and religion, but Karla's passion was always music. She became friends with other singer-songwriters and musicians [in the '60s] who were creating their own unique sound. She talks about lining up at the legendary Troubadour at noon on Mondays to get a slot in the famous Monday night Troubadour "hoot," which was a breaking ground for many artists who went on to great success. She says, "It was an amazing time. Jackson Browne, James Taylor and Elton John were around the Troubadour in those days." There were some other writer-singers who became friends of Karla's, and eventually, they decided to put a band together. They were Kenny Edwards, (who had started the Stone Poneys with Linda Ronstadt and Bobby Kimmel), Wendy Waldman, and Andrew Gold. Something powerful in their combined sound drew them together. Thus the band Bryndle was born - one of the early songwriter groups, even before the Eagles. The band made an album for A&M, but it was never released. They were, unfortunately, a bit ahead of their time.
Speaking of the A&M project, Karla says, "They didn't release it. I think they didn't really know quite what to make of it. This was right before Crosby, Stills and Nash, and before Fleetwood Mac. We were these two girls and two guys... the closest thing they could compare us to was the Mamas and the Papas. They actually had Lou Adler [producer for the Mamas and Papas] produce a single to try to make us like that. In the next few years, had we stayed together, I think we could have done well." A single, with Karla singing lead, was released from those sessions, but failed to forward the band's career. "It was a hit in Santa Maria [California]," Karla remembers. Bryndle broke up, but it launched four very illustrious careers. Kenny and Andrew joined Linda Ronstadt's band, and through that connection, Ronstadt was to hear a demo of hers. Karla recalled playing a tape of "Lose Again" for her. "Hey, you know that's real good," Bonoff remembers Ronstadt saying, "What else have you got?" On Linda's "Hasten Down the Wind" album [released in 1976], there were three Bonoff songs: "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me," "If He's Ever Near" and "Lose Again."
As Ronstadt was scoring hits with Karla Bonoff songs, Karla herself was signed as a solo artist to Columbia Records in 1977. There, she not only recorded the three songs Linda had done, but also the hit single "I Can't Hold On" and the tune "Home," which later wound up on one of Bonnie Raitt's albums. The producer of this great first album [and the next two] was Karla's old friend and partner, Kenny Edwards. Bonoff then embarked on a solo tour to promote her album, and by the time she reached Seattle, "I Can't Hold On" was Number 1 in the Pacific Northwest. "I was headlining and I barely had enough songs to play," Karla recalls, still amazed at the memory. "So I just kept playing them longer!" She went from there to coveted spots on major tours, opening for James Taylor and Jackson Browne and earning a rave review in Time magazine. Two subsequent albums, "Restless Nights" [released in 1979] and "Wild Heart of the Young" [released in 1982], established Karla as one of LA's major artists and songwriters. Musicians such as Russ Kunkel, Joe Walsh, Waddy Wachtel, Danny Kortchmar, Don Henley, Timothy Schmit, Peter Frampton, Bill Payne, J.D. Souther, and her old partners from Bryndle, Wendy Waldman, Andrew Gold and Kenny Edwards all participated in the making of these wonderful records. Bonoff had a big hit with "Personally," from her album "Wild Heart of the Young" - a song Karla did not write. "I'm sure there're people out there who only know me from this song, but I really enjoyed singing and recording it."
Her fourth album, New World [first released in 1988], was originally released on Gold Castle, and is now available on the Valley Entertainment label. Karla began to tour in Japan, where audiences fell in love with her, and where she became a very successful artist - and continues to be to this day. There's been work in film - she and J.D. Souther wrote songs for the motion picture "About Last Night." She is also the voice on the Tom Snow/ Dean Pitchford song from "Footloose" called "Somebody's Eyes." In 1994, Karla had a top-ten AC hit single with a song from the film "8 Seconds," called "Standing Right Next to Me." This track was produced by the legendary Keith Thomas (a longtime fan of Karla's) and written with her old partner, Wendy Waldman. Throughout the years, Karla has continued to do what she does best. She's toured with Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, J.D. Souther and others, building up a passionate audience, resulting in sold-out houses everywhere. In 1990, strange things began to happen in Karla's life. Her career came full circle. She wrote three songs which wound up on her old friend Linda Ronstadt's album "Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind." "All My Life," a duet with Ronstadt and Aaron Neville, won the Grammy for Best Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. People magazine ranked "All My Life" as one of the top 5 most popular wedding songs.
In 1993, Karla's song "Tell Me Why," sung by the legendary Wynonna Judd [with Karla on acoustic guitar, and Bryndle members singing backup vocals], was the title song to Wynonna's second album, and a tremendous hit. The Eight Seconds soundtrack album [released in 1994], featured the aforementioned "Standing Right Next to Me" and a duet with Vince Gill on "When Will I Be Loved," [a '70s hit for Linda Ronstadt] bringing Karla's sound to an even bigger Country music audience.
Karla and her three old partners, Kenny Edwards, Andrew Gold and Wendy Waldman, then decided it was time to put Bryndle back together again. The thought had always been there, but now with each person having experienced many successes alone, there was much more to bring to the Bryndle experience. "When we decided to put this band back together," Bonoff explains, "we realized that one of the things that was wrong with it the first time was that we all wrote separately. We thought it would be great to write together this time. It's been new and really fun to do that, the
four of us." Twelve out of the 14 songs on Bryndle's CD were written as a group. In the fall of '95, after four years of hard work, the first Bryndle CD came out, released in the United States and Japan. The band toured Japan in the summer, then began to tour the United States. Karla had some incredible showstoppers on the record and onstage. "On the Wind," "Under the Rainbow" and "Daddy's Little Girl" brought the house down every
single night no matter where Bryndle played. Bonoff fans flocked to the shows and were thrilled to see her with her old friends, having a great time. In 1996, Andrew Gold left the band but Bryndle continued on, performing into the summer of 1997.
A duet with the Dirt Band, "You Believed in Me," written with Wendy Waldman, was released in January of that year on a prestigious MCA album honoring the 1996 Olympics.
In 1999, Sony/CBS Legacy released "All My Life - The Best of Karla Bonoff," a 16-song fully remastered collection spanning Karla's entire career. An extensive article by Billboard Editor-In-Chief Timothy White and an interview with Karla were included with the CD.
Progress on Bryndle's follow-up CD [with the working title of "Bryndle 2"] stopped and started after 1997 and for a few years, it appeared there might not be another release by the band. At one point, parts of the unfinished "Bryndle 2" digital recordings were lost in a hard drive crash - a nearly fatal omen to the project. Meanwhile, Karla [accompanied by Kenny Edwards] began touring more as a solo act as Bryndle stopped performing live.
In 2001, enthusiasm for the "Bryndle 2" project built up within the band and the recording pace intensified. Regular sessions took place at Kenny's Santa Barbara studio and Wendy's San Fernando Valley "Long House Studio." Former bandmate Andrew Gold contributed to the recording as well. Finally, in the first week of 2002, "House of Silence," the second collection of songs from Bryndle, was independently released. Although there's a different feel to the recording compared with the first album, it still reflected the unique sound that these artists make when their talents merge. Autographed editions of this CD are available from the Karla Bonoff Store and it's been released in Japan through Japan/JVC. Karla often plays the song "(My Heart Is) Like A Compass" from this release when she tours.
In November of 2002, Karla, Kenny Edwards and Wendy Waldman played their first show together under the Bryndle banner in more than 4 years. The setting was an intimate house concert in the Los Angeles area. Rumors of a CD release of "The House Concerts" have begun circulating. Although there are no plans for Bryndle presently, the members remain friends and there's always the possibility of future recordings and performances.
In a 2000 magazine article, Karla described herself as "semi-retired" - content with going out on short tours a few times a month. But she's also talked of recording a new album as well - perhaps at home. "I'd like to make a record completely for myself, one that isn't governed by what other people in the business think it needs to be," she said. "I don't have to go audition. I don't need a record company to pay for it. I can put it out on the Internet and it doesn't really cost anything. If a record company picks it up, great. If they don't, it doesn't really matter."
"I always had somebody mad at me because I wasn't making records, keeping up the pace," revealed Ms. Bonoff, who writes about four songs a year. "I'm really not that prolific - I think I've spent so much time trying to fit a round peg into a square hole that I just sort of worked my way out of wanting to write anymore. And I got a bad taste in my mouth about not being able to just be myself. I think in the time I've taken off, I've watched music change to the point where I really see songwriters - and women in particular - being able to write about what they want to. So it encourages me to just go, 'You know what? I'm just going to write whatever I want, and I'm just going to make the record I want.'" When it comes, a new collection of songs from Karla Bonoff will be exactly her vision of what it should sound like, and well worth the wait.
In 2007, Karla finally released a live double CD, a project she had talked about for years. "I think many of these songs have improved with age and and I have never really documented what we do." Karla recorded all but one song of it at a small club in Santa Barbara with her long time touring band, Kenny Edwards and Nina Gerber, plus Scott Babcock on percussion.
Karla continues to perform all over America. Often after her concerts, Karla talks with fans and signs CDs and well-worn LP covers people bring to her shows. Japan has also been very supportive of Karla's music and she's toured there twice in recent years. An expanded version of her "Best Of" CD collection as well as Bryndle's "House of Silence" were released in Japan in 2002.
Sadly, during the summer of 2010, Kenny Edwards required an emergency med-flight back to his home in Southern California, and was hospitalized with rapidly advancing prostate cancer. He passed away peacefully August 18th in Santa Barbara CA among an outpouring of loving words, thoughts, generosity, and kindness from friends and fans around the world. Karla writes on her web site, “I want to thank Kenny for being my teacher, my musical partner and my best friend for the last forty-three years.”
Karla’s legacy as a writer and perseverance as a performer are spoken best in a Billboard Magazine review of Karla’s "All My Life" recording. "Long before Alanis and Jewel, there was a breed of singer/songwriters whose earthly anthems of soul-searching, heartache and joy touched souls in a way few can muster today."