THURSDAY
CUMBIA
SONIDO GALLO NEGRO
One of Mexico City’s top bands, Sonido Gallo Negro (Black Rooster Sound), is a nine-piece instrumental combo drawing on the mystical sound of ’60s Peruvian cumbia (a subgenre of chicha). The band also integrates styles like huayno, cumbia sonidera and boogaloo, with trippy electric guitars, Farfisa organ, theremin, flute and plenty of driving Latin percussion. Among their other influences are spaghetti Western soundtracks, psychedelia and surf music, as heard in their five albums. Their live shows also add a visual element, with real-time illustrations by Mexican designer Dr. Alderete. DAN EMERSON
INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.
FRIDAY
METAL
WEEDEATER
Weedeater is a perfectly named sludge metal outfit from Cape Fear, a North Carolina headland that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. Their vibe is stoner-dom meets punk nihilism meets acid rock meets southern Gothic doom. Fans of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Blue Cheer will find much to love here. Also of note is the fact that the band worked with the late producer Steve Albini, who surely lives on through their sound and shows. ADDIE MAHMASSANI
INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. $24/adv, $28/door. 704-7113.
COUNTRY
ERIC PASLAY
Rising star singer-songwriter Eric Paslay comes by his sagebrush twang honestly; he’s a native of dusty Abilene, Texas. A platinum-selling Grammy, CMA and ACM-nominated artist, he has released one album for EMI Nashville, which contains the hit singles “Friday Night,” “Song About a Girl” and “She Don’t Love You.” He’s also written several hit songs for other artists, including Amy Grant. Last December, he released a new six-song EP, Perfect Stranger. His local appearance is part of the resort’s Nashville Nights concert series. DE
INFO: 8pm, Chaminade Resort & Spa, 1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz. $65-$75. 475-5600.
EXHIBITION
OF LOVE AND REVELATION
Six Californian photographers (Ansel Adams, Norman Locks, Karolina Karlic, Shelby Graham, Binh Danh and Edgar Cruz) encompass Of Love and Revelation: Learning Photography from the Land, an exhibition highlighting how each artist combines various styles and methods in their landscape photography with different outcomes. Each artist brings their personal story, relationship to photography, relationship to each other and relationship to the land, confronting difficult and complex themes such as social injustice, settler colonialism, climate change and economic inequality. Their results ask the audience to consider how they relate to “California as a place and as an idea.” Runs May through September. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: Noon, Museum of Art & History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-1964.
SATURDAY
SOFT ROCK
ADVANCE BASE
Who could forget the band Casiotone for the Painfully Alone? The name was a bit of a prediction, for better or for worse, for Owen Ashworth, who has since struck out on his own with a keyboard and a dream, calling his new project Advance Base. Ashworth combines poetic, stripped-down vocals with effect pedals, drum sounds and an electronic piano. His voice carries shades of Bon Iver; his lyrics are closer to the National. If those references aren’t enough to clarify, Advance Base’s songs are full of melancholy feelings about the cost and privilege of being alive. JESSICA IRISH
INFO: 8pm, Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $12. 429-6994.
SUNDAY
INDIE
TRESTLES
Most people tend to prefer music from their teenage years—that’s why the older people get, the more they think current music, to put it bluntly, sucks. However, the kids are alright; it only takes looking at Santa Cruz’s scene to see why. Trestles has quickly grown audiences with indie music that connects classic rock ‘n’ roll with modern songwriting, earning them Band of the Year at this year’s NEXTies. Then there’s Plum Skin, an all-woman group with a Vaselines-style dream pop sound that’s so catchy even the most curmudgeonly will tap their feet. Joining them is Career Woman, an LA-based project from Melody Caudill, who’s been recording for the past seven years—since the age of 13. MAT WEIR
INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $16.50/adv, $20/door. 713-5492.
TUESDAY
AUTHOR EVENT
MADELINE PENDLETON
A quick Google search of Madeline Pendleton will lead to many pages, most notably, a TikTok profile with 1.8 million followers and the site of her employee-centered clothing business, Tunnel Vision. Pendleton’s latest venture is her book I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt, which details her life as an erstwhile unhoused, now-CEO, anti-girlboss hero. For anyone skeptical of the late-stage capitalism that seems to run the world, Madeline Pendleton offers another possibility, one that she seems to live by: her company splits profits equally among all staff. Socialism, irl? Crazier things have happened. JI
INFO: 7pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.
JAZZ
TAMMY L. HALL
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and halted all touring, venues across the country had to come up with creative ways to keep the lights on. For the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, one of those ways was to offer an online master class. This free-to-stream show gave viewers an intimate look into the minds of some of jazz’s best and brightest living musicians, directors and composers. Once society reopened, Kuumbwa’s master class continued, and this Tuesday features Grammy-winning pianist, composer, arranger and music director Tammy L. Hall. For those musicians who like to jam, this class is for you, as Hall will give her unique insight into musical improvisation. MW
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz. Free. 427-2227.
WEDNESDAY
AUTHOR EVENT
PHIL YEH
Ever since he was a kid, Yeh wanted to be a cartoonist and even convinced his dad to drive him to the very first San Diego Comic-Con (aka THE Comic-Con) in 1970, where he met Jack Kirby (X-Men, Captain America) and Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451). Seven years later, he wrote the first all-original American graphic novel, Even Cazco Gets the Blues, and hasn’t looked back since. Yeh is also the founder of Cartoonists Across America & the World, an organization promoting literacy since 1985. This Wednesday, meet the man and get one (or several!) of the over 80 books Yeh has written and illustrated, like Dinosaurs Across America and The Winged Tiger. MW
INFO: 11am, Atlantis Fantasyworld, 1020 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. Free. 426-0158.
