Santa Cruz County live music picks for the week of July 10
WEDNESDAY 7/10
ROCKABILLY
HILLBILLY CASINO
Hailing from the country music Mecca of Nashville, Tennessee, this whiskey soaked four-piece is true rockabilly, combining the boogie-woogie of barn dances with the stylings of slick rockers. Their most recent studio album was 2017’s Red, White & Bruised. MAT WEIR
8:30 p.m. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $15/adv, $17/door. 423-1338.
THURSDAY 7/11
AMERICANA
SNAPS FOR SINNERS
Santa Rosa acoustic Americana trio Snaps For Sinners recently moved to Madison, Indiana, but they should have moved to Santa Cruz. This group, not unlike our beloved Devil Makes Three, mixes boot-stomping old country, popping upright bass, progressive values and an affinity for alternative culture. Perfect for us! Madison is lucky to have them, but at least they still come and visit Santa Cruz. AARON CARNES
9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $8. 429-6994.
FRIDAY 7/12
INDIE
E ARENAS & BARDO MARTINEZ
Chicano Batman members E Arenas (bass) and Bardo Marintez (lead vocals, keys) are working together to bring wonderfully weird music to your ears. E Arenas’ recent two-song EP, La Fila de Tommy’s, is like a Latinx version of the Earthbound soundtrack, firing off rubbery synths and goofy space sounds over hyperactive cumbia beats. Last year, Bardo Martinez issued two sun-drenched Southern California soul tracks via his Yemaya Sol label. It’s less zany than Arenas’ recent work, but no less entertaining. MIKE HUGUENOR
8 p.m. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. $16. 335-2800.
FUNK
MIDTOWN SOCIAL
Who says San Francisco has lost its soul? Definitely not anyone who’s heard the funk and soul ambassadors, Midtown Social. Although only three years deep in the scene, this six-piece experience has already taken their city by storm, making the SF Weekly declare that “an alabaster statue would have two-stepped” to their music. MW
9 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $10/adv, $15/door. 479-1854.
FRIDAY 7/12
FLAMENCO
CAMINOS FLAMENCOS WITH YAELISA & El RUBIO
The Bay Area’s flamenco scene has thrived since at least the 1950s, and in recent years, few local artists have done more to build and promote the art form than Yaelisa, who launched her non-profit organization Caminos Flamencos in 1993. A gifted choreographer and respected teacher who has collaborated with fellow nuevo flamenco artists and musicians in kindred traditions, she’s created festivals and regular flamenco showcases in venues around the region. But her most powerful statements flow from her crisp authoritative foot work, coiled pivots and sweeping arms. ANDREW GILBERT
7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $26.25/adv, $31.50/door. 427-2227.
SATURDAY 7/13
COMEDY
DAVE STONE
Dave Stone wants to give you a recipe for homemade fried cornbread in his Kitchen Survival Guide PDF. He also wants to spin some outlaw country tunes for you on his radio show The Gravy Boat. There’s also that paranormal podcast with Kyle Kinane he’s certain you’ll enjoy, and why not read an article about Stone saving money by living in a van for two years? When you’ve had your fill, it’s time to see Stone live. He’s a natural comedian and storyteller, two talents which unfailingly seem to settle on the topic of food. AMY BEE
7 & 9:30 p.m. DNA’S Comedy Lab, 155 S. River St., Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 530-592-5250.
SUNDAY 7/14
BLUES
HOWELLDEVINE
Classic blues is some of the spookiest music ever written. Imagine you are living in rural Mississippi in the early 1900s, listening to a blues musician holler like he was possessed by the devil. It would scare and excite you. The electric blues that later evolved in big cities never quite had that quality, but San Francisco trio HowellDevine harkens back to the earliest, most dangerous era of blues. AC
4 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $10/adv, $15/door. 479-1854.
INDIE
HONYOCK
After listening to El Castillo, a grand, rock-operatic album full of quirks, depths, and sunny California desert fever, it’s clear what’s absent from Honyock’s ’60s psych-rock missive: nostalgia. Nostalgia is almost a mourning of the past, and Honyock doesn’t sound like they’re looking backward. Instead, they’re firmly in the present, conveying not a wistful snapshot of a period, but a fully realized ethos independent of fame or fad. AB
9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $7. 429-6994.
TUESDAY 7/16
FOLK
MARTHA SCANLAN & JON NEUFELD
Martha Scanlan has a voice like a prairie wind: elemental, haunting, and impossible to miss as it glides over her pastoral guitar work. As a member of the Reeltime Travelers, Scanlan appeared on the Cold Mountain soundtrack. In 2007, she recorded her debut solo album at Big Pink with Levon and Amy Helm—a heartstring-tugging collection of mournful folk anthems titled The West Was Burning. Since 2010, Scanlan has collaborated with Portland guitarist Jon Neufeld, whose background in the metal and prog scenes informs his acoustic work. Together, they make a powerful duo, equal parts spare and masterful. MH
