Upcoming Events

The Rockin’ TOWN HALL PARTY e-Broadcast is this Sunday afternoon May 31:

Host Big Sandy brings together a diverse group of musicians to celebrate the original Town Hall Party, our favorite musical series from the 50s.

Current roots artists Deke Dickerson, Eddie Clendening, Shaun Young, The Rockin' Rebels, The Surfaris, Amber Foxx, Kyle Eldridge, Dakota Collins and Abby Girl are featured, along with vintage clips from the TV series: George Jones, Merle Travis, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Wanda Jackson and more are shown and discussed.

A special tribute to The Collins Kids is also showcased.

Stellar brings it all to your living room in a Noon PDT matinee show on Sunday May 31 - where you have the best seats in the house!

There is no charge to view this online program, so form your watch-parties here:

On Facebook go to Stellar Shows and Concerts

Tune in 15 min. early for a video countdown.

Please take the time make a donation to support this show, as well as our artists who are no longer on the road. We'll make sure it gets to the right people.

Louis Prima Jr. and The Witnesses Bring The Swingin'est Rock Band In The World to Campus Jax in Newport Beach!

Born into an undeniable musical legacy, Louis Prima Jr. picks up the torch lit by his iconic father and leads his incarnation of The Witnesses headfirst into the future. Their seamless blend of hard driving big band jazz, insanely danceable swing and, at its core, real rock and roll has been wowing crowds worldwide for over a decade.

Make no mistake, this is no tribute act. Although the band most certainly Jumps, Jives, an’ Wails "Prima-style," they are their own musical beast — thoroughly modern, laying down a blueprint for the future on the foundations of the past.

Audiences will be treated to an evening of classics from the Louis Prima catalog, selections from LPJ & Co.'s two CDs (Return of the Wildest! and BLOW) and a healthy dose of sure-to-please surprises.

Equal parts bandleader and ringmaster, Prima Jr. brilliantly distills the finest elements of his father's five-decade career through a contemporary filter, adding his own indelible stamp. "This is the happiest music on Earth!" he enthuses. "My father was rock n’ roll; Mozart was rock n' roll. It’s a state of mind; I don’t think it’s a genre of music. It’s how aggressively do you play and do you play it like you mean it.” And The Witnesses mean it. From Passaic to Palermo and Seattle to Sicily, they're bringing Prima music into the 21st century with new energy and attitude to match.

It's The Wildest Show this side of the '60s!

Over the last three decades, Big Sandy has kept up a constant cycle of traveling back and forth across the lower 48, then hopping across the pond to Europe and beyond. He brings with him a brand of American music that has earned him an induction into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, several national television appearances, guest spots on The Grand Ole Opry and a slew of adoring fans.

Perhaps best known for his work with his own "Fly-Rite Boys," Big Sandy has also enjoyed a long, much-storied relationship with masked-rockers Los Straitjackets.

Beginning with 1996's joint release "La Plaga" on Spinout Records, and culminating in the critically acclaimed, Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos) produced LP "Rock En Español," Big Sandy & Los Straitjackets continue to thrill Rock & Roll audiences around the world.

This time out, the 'jackets appear with the Outtasites, a rare appearance of the legendary band led by Chris "Sugarballs" Sprague.

PCH Club in Long Beach is the perfect place to hold this great get-together.

Prepare to party!

POSTPONED to Aug. 16

Deke Dickerson has devoted his long career to keeping America’s roots music alive while interjecting new creativity into genres of music that flourished in decades previous. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 22 and proceeded to found his primary band, Deke Dickerson and the Ecco-Fonics, as well as several side projects.

Dickerson has provided rootsy music for a slew of television shows and movie projects, including scoring the music forParamount Pictures film starring Johnny Knoxville, Action Point.

Dickerson has his own signature guitar, manufactured by the Hallmark Guitar Company of Maryland.

Dickerson is currently writing the official biography of guitar legend Merle Travis. He also writes for several guitar magazines and had two books published by Voyageur Press, The Strat in the Attic and The Strat in the Attic 2. Dickerson is well known as a historian of roots music and regularly contributes liner notes to reissue projects for such labels as Capitol, RCA, Bear Family, and Sundazed.

In 2019 Dickerson won the Ameripolitan Music Award for Musician of the Year!

Two of Dickerson’s songs are featured in the newest Disneyland ride, Cars Land, at Disney’s California Adventure theme park.

Amber Foxx and the Hounds are a rockabilly / honky tonk / western swing quartet featuring Bobby Cavener on bass, Tommy Harkenrider on guitar and CHris Sprague on drums.

The Stardust Ramblers are a Los Angeles based combo that entertains and attracts audiences young and old with their unique blend of rockabilly, country and western, jump blues, and hillbilly boogie.Along with a sound that echoes traces of Johnny Horton, Skeets McDonald, Louis Prima and The Everly Brothers, their tight three-part harmonies are guaranteed to lure everybody to the dance floor. The Stardust Ramblers can also bring a tear to your beer with original heartbreaking ballads that every jukebox listener can relate and attest to.

DJ Big Sandy is the music-meister whose extensive record collection defies the imagination. He will be grinning and spinning all day during this matinee from 1:30 to 6:30.

The dance floor is open!

She's BACK!

Alice Wallace: Homecoming appears in concert at PCH Club in Long Beach with special guests Ashleigh Flynn & the Riveters.

Wallace records on the Rebelle Road label, an imprint founded by a trio of women dedicated to strengthening the California Country music community and expanding visibility for female artists in the Americana/roots genre. “They care so deeply about giving women a stronger voice in the music industry,” Wallace attests. Having spent the past six years writing songs and touring the nation – from AMERICANAFEST® to county fairs, barrooms to coffeehouses – Alice Wallace recently made the move to Nashville - and this is her first show back in the Southland where she has lived and prospered since 2008.

Ray Wylie Hubbard says she and her “stunning” songcraft have that “Steve McQueen ‘Cincinnati Kid’ cool.”

Pundits agree: she won the 2017 Female Vocalist of the Year at the California Country Awards and the previous year’s Best Country/Americana Artist at the L.A. Music Critic Awards. She was recently singled out by the Los Angeles Daily News and Pollstar for her “dead-on lovely version” of Ronstadt’s throbbing "Long Long Time” at the “Palomino Rides Again” event celebrating the legendary California honky-tonk

Her most recent album, “The Blue,” describes her own journey to “get over my fears and go for the thing I love the most.” Wallace knew that being a traveling troubadour and committing herself fully to music could be a dangerous choice. “In some ways, I wish I had done it sooner,” she says. “But I’m also glad I have the life experience to help fuel my songwriting and survive life on the road.”

Ashleigh Flynn & The Riveters

With what PopMatters describes as "tenacious swagger," critically-acclaimed solo artist Ashleigh Flynn recently dialed up the volume and debuted an all-female country rock band as a nod to the “Rosie the Riveter” archetype from WW II. Her sound hearkens back to early Stones, ‘70s psychedelic country rock, and alternately charms like a Sunday afternoon front porch session.

Flynn’s soulful vocals and compelling brand of songwriting, amped-up and virtuously enveloped by the electric guitar work of Nancy Luca and Jenny Conlee on all manner of keys. Luca honed her style and skill playing with Tom Petty and Bo Diddley. Conlee hails from the Decemberists. The rhythm section boasts two additional highly-regarded Portland musicians: Jolie Clausen on drums and Carmen Paradise on bass.

The Riveters continue honing their craft as a band of highly adept song assemblers who put on one hell of a show – holding up the reality that chicks shred just as hard as dudes.

Postponing this show until Sat. Sept. 12

Guitar-mageddon is what happens when SoCal's greatest blues guitarists unleash the force within their strings.

It's a day of reckoning which encompasses many of SoCal's top blues guitarists.

The Mike Eldred Trio is a roots “Super-Band” with Eldred (formerly with Stray Cat Lee Rocker) and Brian Fahey from The Paladins!

With a lineup that also includes Junior Watson, Brophy Dale and Chris Smith, this will be a true summit meeting of rootsy blues guitarists onstage in the PCH Club at Golden Sails Hotel.

Eldred's first CD (The Mike Eldred Trio) sent shock waves throughout the Americana/roots/blues community garnering rave reviews. The band's second CD (61 and 49) was voted of the Top Ten CD releases of 2011 by the Los Angeles Times.

The band’s current release is a multi-layered blues journey through Mississippi juke joints, prisons, churches, and the small neighborhood called Baptist Town in Greenwood where the legendary bluesman Robert Johnson was murdered in 1938. The trio invited several guests into the famed Sun Studio to lend a hand, and David Hidalgo, Robert Cray, and John Mayer help to tell a story of the dichotomy of the ongoing struggle between poverty and affluence, love and hate, and sin and salvation.

“Baptist Town” is a monumental achievement in roots and blues storytelling, and will undoubtedly grow the trio’s already large fan base that includes artists like ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, who says: “El contenta completa”...! This is it. Enjoy this one, top to bottom, bottom to top. The Mike Eldred Trio makes the rounds through a blues-wrapped offering that is certain to satisfy. Rock it!”

"What makes the album such a delight is the masterful way the guitarist, singer and songwriter paces his trek through a rainbow's worth of electric and acoustic blues workouts. It's the sign of a journeyman who has spent untold hours playing clubs and learning the old-fashioned way; what flies and what doesn't.” - Los Angeles Times

Doors open at 7 pm, music 8 pm.

Free parking. This is an all ages show.

Advanced seating reservations highly recommended.

No need to print tickets, just give name at door.

Note: parties of 3 or less may be seated with other parties of 3 or less based on availability.

Text 714-809-6146 for more info.

POSTPONED to Fri. Sept. 18

Stories Behind The Songs

Jesse Dayton is the living, breathing, drinking embodiment of a cool country soul brother. His first album 1995's Raisin' Cane included backup from Texas legends like Doug Sahm and Flaco Jimenez and was released on Willie Nelson's Justice label. His 2001 release on his own Stag Records label "Hey! Nash Vegas" also featured a stellar cast of players including Texas fiddle king Johnny Gimble,The Dixie Chicks, and Jim Lauderdale.

Dayton now has several more solo albums under his belt these days, and has also played on records by The Supersuckers, Ray Price, Waylon Jennings, Tenderloin and three albums with his rockabilly group The Road Kings. In 2005, filmmaker Rob Zombie recruited Dayton to create music under the moniker of Banjo & Sullivan for the soundtrack to horror flick The Devil's Rejects.

Dayton's talent is unmistakable & his all-american appeal is cross genre & generational, allowing him to tour with acts as diverse as George Strait, Mike Ness and Joe Strummer.

Jesse comes to Campus Jax in Newport Beach on a Friday night along with his brother from another mother, Ted Russell Kamp, two of the most sought-after musicians in the Americana/Honky Tonk world today.

The two will deliver a dynamite evening of their brand of cerebral country rock. Fun times!

Info on his most recent album: Mix Tape Volume 1

“A lot of this stuff was what I liked as a kid,” says modern-day outlaw country icon Jesse Dayton

of his new album of cover songs, Mix Tape Volume 1. “Some of it is from super-early on, before

I was even thinking about playing music. They're just songs I would hear on the radio in my

sister's old '62 Rambler she would take me to school in. I'm hearing Neil Young, Gordon

Lightfoot, stuff like that. Of course, when I got a little older, I saw The Clash in San Antonio at

the Egyptian Theater. Joe Ely opened that show. That changed my life.”

The dichotomy inherent in that Clash/Ely bill has ruled the Beaumont, TX native's career, either

with his own rockin' country music or playing guitar for everyone from Johnny Cash and

Waylon Jennings to punk standard-bearers X. He grew up, went through punk rock after that

eye-opening Clash gig and the obligatory late-'70s/early-'80s suburban American teenage heavy

metal phase. He apprenticed in zydeco bands and honky-tonk outfits, and played on a session for

zydeco legend Rockin' Dopsey produced by Texas music legend Huey Meaux. He moved from

Beaumont to Austin, to play rockabilly. He eventually realized the stuff he grew up with – the

vintage country music infusing his Beaumont childhood, from Johnny Cash, George Jones,

Waylon Jennings - had an honesty, a passion and a rawness that modern country music didn't

have, a spirit the best punk rock shared. He started relating to his roots again.

But to understand how Jesse Dayton arrived at Mix Tape Volume 1, you have to look to the five

years he spent being Thursday's entertainment at Austin honkytonk institution The Broken

Spoke. No matter how many strong LPs you've issued of your own material, when you are in that

situation, having to play five sets-per-night? You can't rely on your original output.

"I was a human jukebox,” Dayton groans now. “But it's where I learned how to pace my sets. It's

where I learned how to be a band leader. It's about watching the dancers - knowing where to play

a polka, knowing where to play a waltz. Quite a bit of work and study went into that gig. It was

packed every time. But I started having Groundhog's Day flashbacks. I wanted to kill some of

those goofy dancers, after awhile." Thankfully, X's John Doe stepped in and asked Dayton to be

his touring guitarist, showing him another way to play music. Otherwise, he might have been

recording Mix Tape in prison!

Here and there, Dayton stays faithful to the original versions of his Mix Tape entries. For

instance, Dr. Feelgood's revved-up pub rocker “She Does It Right” remains in the same

neighborhood, with little renovation. It's when Dayton indulges his imagination that things get

interesting. He retrofits The Clash's reggae homage "Bankrobber" with a Bobby Fuller Four

arrangement, the way The Clash converted "I Fought The Law" into a furious punk anthem.

AC/DCs “Whole Lotta Rosie” morphs into something akin to ZZ Top playing Slim Harpo's

“Shake Your Hips.” Speaking of ZZ Top, their “She's A Heartbreaker” wouldn't have been out of

place on a Flying Burrito Brothers record. The Cars' midtempo chug “Just What I Needed”

becomes the sorta two-step, buckle-polishing Texas honky-tonk shuffle Dayton would've

whipped out on those Broken Spoke Thursdays. Bruce Springsteen's “State Trooper” becomes a

Cramps-style punkabilly stomp.

"The world is filled with people aping Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings songs,” he says. “It's

so unoriginal. I had to make it sound like me, no matter where it came from."

But it's when he's lifting material from his older sister's '70s singer-songwriter records – Jackson

Browne's “Redneck Friend,” Neil Young's “Harvest,” Elton John's “Country Comfort” - and

making pure, achin' country music out of it that Dayton's redemptive powers really shine. It's

especially evident when he gives Gordon Lightfoot's “If You Could Read My Mind” the sort of

arrangement Waylon Jennings applied to “MacArthur Park,” or to Paul Simon's “The Boxer,” as

he did when Dayton played with him. It works.

"People think Waylon rode around in a pickup truck listening to Hank Sr. Waylon was cruising

around in a Mercedes, listening to singer-songwriters,” Dayton snorts. “He had a hit with 'Are

You Ready For The Country?' by Neil Young. George Jones had a hit with 'Bartender Blues' by

James Taylor. It might be his greatest vocal performance ever!”

"But now I look at the records my sister had - the Jackson Brownes, the Elton Johns - and I

think, 'Okay, now I get it.' There's a lot of great material there. It's all about interpretation."

And interpret, he does. Quite brilliantly, too. It was something Jesse Dayton's been needing.

“I'd done almost five years on tour,” he sighs, “doing two original records back-to-back. I played

on a lotta other people's records. I just needed to take the pressure off, just have some fun. And

that's why this is Volume 1 – what if I need to do this again?”

Jesse Dayton Quick Facts

* 11 studio albums, 2 singles, and one EP as a solo artist

* Collaborations or guest appearances with Doug Sahm, Flaco Jimenez, Johnny Gimble, The Supersuckers,

Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush, Glen Campbell, and John Doe.

* Past Tours with The Supersuckers, Social Distortion, and X.

* 3 soundtrack collaborations with Rob Zombie, for his films The Devil's Rejects, Halloween 2 (also featuring

Jesse in the role of Captain Clegg), and The Haunted World Of El Super Beasto.

* Over 50 songs licensed to film and television.

* Writer and director of the independent horror film Zombex, starring Malcolm McDowell, Sid Haig, Lew

Temple (from The Walking Dead) and John Doe.

THIS SHOW IS MOVING TO OCTOBER 9 DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE TOUGH SITUATION THIS PUTS THE MUSIC COMMUNITY IN, EVERYBODY FROM THE ARTIST TO THE FANS TO THE VENUES AND PROMOTERS ARE AFFECTED DRASTICALLY.

OUR POLICY:

ALL PRE-SOLD TICKETS WILL BE HONORED AT THE LATER DATE,

OR YOU MAY CHOOSE ANOTHER UPCOMING SHOW TO USE YOUR SEATS AT.

CONTACT CHRISTOPHER@EXPOEVENTSUSA.NET FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO CHANGE SHOWS.

BIO

Honky tonkin' Corb Lund has his exclusive Southland appearance at Original Mike's in Santa Ana, with special guest Lauren Morrow. See her bio at bottom of this page.:

Those who know and love Corb Lund are people who appreciate the hilarity of his songs.

Listen to the lyrics of "Cows Around" or "Bible On The Dashboard."

These are not simply great lyrics; they are so tongue in cheek as to be masterpieces of the genre. An award-winning artist like John Prine would be proud to put his name on some of Corb Lund's songs - he is that good.

Unlike Prine however, Corb has a rockin' great honky tonk band, the former Hurtin' Albertans backing him up on this tour.

That alone should be enough to pry you loose from a few bucks to go see this show! But bring some friends if you don't want to be describing what a great show it was over and over the next day.

More facts:

Lund is an award-winning, vintage country performer, who spent his twenties, interestingly, in an indie rock band. He embraces his rich and rustic western heritage with a style that’s unique, honest and resolute, while touching on a range of cowboy themes both past and present — from rough-and-tumble tales of lawless frontier saloons, to the sombre realities of running a modern family ranch. He sings about a life that he and his ancestors have lived themselves, paired with his quick-witted, wry observations of today’s world. As a result, his writing resonates emphatically with rural and urban audiences alike. It’s a classic sound with a twist, something of a rarity these days, but one that evokes the spirit of the American West, winning over appreciative audiences at rodeos, fairs, festivals and other events where tales of fearless explorers, determined homesteaders and committed cattle ranchers still holds a powerful sway.

Backed by his long-time honky tonk band, the Hurtin’ Albertans — Kurt Ciesla, bass; Grant Siemens, guitar; and Brady Valgardson, drums — Lund effectively amplifies those themes and fires up the crowds. It’s little wonder that the Vegas Seven noted, “Like Willie Nelson before them, they bring out the shit-kickers and hipsters in equal measure.”

“There aren’t many artists still making this kind of Western music,” Lund suggests. “Personally, I feel like I still have a real stake in it. That’s why I believe that the people that admire a vintage approach really appreciate what we do. And for us, it’s really gratifying to be able to perform it for them.” In a very real sense then, Lund has become a true musical courier as far as that authenticity is concerned, a traditional troubadour who’s determined to keep that rugged and restless spirit alive. “It seems to have developed that way,” he nods. “I didn’t necessarily plan it, but it feels really good that that’s how it’s evolved.”

The upcoming tour is a precursor to a series of new projects Lund has planned for the coming year. He promises a carefully curated EP of unexpected cover songs that will resonate with ranchers and rockers alike, and an album of original material to follow soon after. With nine studio albums under his belt, multiple CCMA, Juno, and international award nomination and wins, Lund is well recognized as a musical force to be reckoned with.

His seventh album, Cabin Fever, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Canadian Charts; he has three gold records; and his latest release, Things That Can’t Be Undone, cemented his status as one of the best contemporary country singer/songwriters working today.

The press agrees: Rolling Stone declared him one of the “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know” and NPR remarked, “The album is a high mark of a long career. ”Rolling Stone Country said of Things That Can’t Be Undone that it “finds Lund flirting in fresh sonic waters, while still keeping his sardonic mix of eerie lyrics and deceptively joyful vamps well intact.”

For its part, Popmatters proclaimed, “ 'Things That Can’t Be Undone' furthers the case for Corb Lund as one of the best contemporary country songwriters.”

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT LAUREN MORROW

"Top Ten Country Artists to Watch in 2020." - Paste Magazine

“With her self-titled solo EP, Morrow has struck out on her own, debuting four songs that showcase her tender songwriting and inward-looking artistic vision.” — Rolling Stone

“Lauren Morrow—known best as one-half of Nashville-by-way-of-Atlanta duo Whiskey Gentry—puts lyrical fire behind a classic country sound on her four-song solo debut.” — Garden & Gun

“As she starts a new era of her career, she needs something to advantageously represent herself that isn’t The Whiskey Gentry, and this is what she accomplishes with these four songs. But most importantly, these four songs are really good.” — Saving Country Music

After over a decade as the centerpiece of popular Americana band The Whiskey Gentry, Lauren Morrow packed her bags, her dogs, her cats, and husband and moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a solo artist and grow her craft as a songwriter and performer. Within months, she released her first solo EP to widespread critical acclaim and landed on many Best of 2018 year ends lists from Rolling Stone to Garden & Gun, quickly launching her already budding career and sending it into hyperdrive. Over the next year, Morrow filmed an episode for PBS’ Bluegrass Underground and toured the US playing festivals such as Pickathon and Bristol Rhythm & Roots to name a few. In November 2019, Morrow began recording her first solo, full-length album at the legendary Nashville studio, Sound Emporium. Set to release in 2020, Morrow’s new album showcases her flawless vocals and intricate songwriting, but also her willingness to take risks — an edge that makes her stand out from the Nashville norm. Whether she’s singing an alternative/indie rock banger, a classic-country cooner, or a traditional lovesick ballad, there’s a unique impression she leaves that lingers and is unlike anything you’ve heard before.

Crossing borders, jumping barriers, taking risks, betting it all: that’s the path Alejandro Escovedo has been taking in his lifelong search for the heart of rock and roll.

Alejandro’s new album, The Crossing (YepRoc Records, September 14) is about that journey: searching, but not necessarily finding, eyes and ears open all the way. It is his first for Yep Roc Records and his first ever recorded in Europe. “This says more about me than any of my records without it being a record about me,” Alejandro says.

The Crossing tells the tale of two boys, one from Mexico, one from Italy, who meet in Texas to chase their American rock and roll dreams. They discover a not-so-welcoming, very different place from the Promised Land they imagined, with cameos from the likes of Wayne Kramer of the MC5, Joe Ely and James Williamson of the Stooges to show the boys the way.

It was recorded in an Italian farmhouse near Mogdliana and features his collaborator and co-songwriter Don Antonio with his band whom will be backing and opening for Alejandro. Don Antonio has backed numerous American acts in Europe but this will be their first ever tour of the US.

Escovedo’s trailblazing career began with The Nuns, San Francisco's famed punk innovators; then the Austin-based-based alt-country rock pioneers, Rank & File; on to Texas bred darlings, True Believers; and through countless all-star collaborations and tribute album appearances, and finally a series of beloved solo albums beginning with 1992's acclaimed Gravity.

Escovedo has earned a surplus of distinctions: No Depression magazine's ‘Artist of the Decade’ Award in 1998 and the Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award for Performing in 2006, just to name two.

His last album Burn Something Beautiful was co-produced, written and recorded with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey. Alejandro worked with producing legend Tony Visconti (David Bowie/T-Rex) on Real Animal and Street Songs of Love; he has previously worked with Chuck Prophet, John Cale, Los Lobos, Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen.

Now Hepatitis C free, Alejandro serves as a spokesperson for the Prevent Cancer Foundation “Think About the Link” campaign about the link between viruses and Hep C. As an official showcasing artist, the Alejandro Escovedo Band with Don Antonio debuted The Crossing at the Americana Music Association Festival 2018 at the Americana Music Stage, hosted by WMOT Roots Radio, NPR Music and World Cafe.

"You just do your good work, and people care," Alejandro says. "I always believed, when I was a kid, that if you worked hard, you would find fulfillment. I think I got a lot of that from my father and my brothers. A working musician is all I ever wanted to be. Hard work, stay true to what you want to do, and then eventually someone would notice for that very reason."

See Alejandro live at the PCH Club in Long Beach, 6285 E. Pac Coast Hwy inside Golden Sails Hotel.

Info 714-809-6146

"The ultimate virtuoso. His skill is extraordinary, his ear is extraordinary, and he’s gifted on just about every level. When he gets into his stride, I can’t even keep up with him”. - so said Eric Clapton about Albert Lee, known to many as both “the guitar player’s guitar player” and “Mr. Telecaster.”

Albert Lee, the Grammy Award-winning British guitarist, multiple recipient of scores of “Best Guitarist” awards and celebrated by fans and musicians over the world appears at the PCH Club at the Golden Sails Hotel on Friday, April 17.

"When Saint Peter asks me to chronicle my time down here on earth, I’ll be able to say (with pride if that’s allowed) that for a while I played rhythm guitar in a band with Albert Lee.” – Emmylou Harris

“One of the finest guitar players who ever walked this earth.” Vince Gill

“If I could be born again as anyone other than myself, it would be as Albert Lee”, - Dave Edmunds

In the early 1970s, Lee achieved guitar hero status with the British country-rock group Heads Hands & Feet, playing his Fender Telecaster at breakneck tempos. Though he’s celebrated for his speed and virtuosity on the instrument, he’s also held in high regard for his melodicism. Over the years, Lee has used both Telecasters and Music Man guitars equipped with B-Benders.
Lee’s career kicked into high gear in 1974 when he moved to Los Angeles, where he performed session work on albums by Buddy Holly’s former group, the Crickets. He subsequently worked with Emmylou Harris’s Hot Band, where he replaced his hero James Burton, and in 1978 began a five-year stint performing with Clapton. In 1983, Lee reunited the Everly Brothers for a concert and served as its musical director. He went on to perform with the duo for more than 20 years.
In the late ’80s, Lee began fronting his own band, which over the years has performed with Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel and Willie Nelson, among many others. Lee has also toured with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, performed at the 2002 George Harrison tribute show Concert for George and appeared at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival.
His numerous awards include a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” from the album Earl Scruggs and Friends. He’s also notched five consecutive wins for Guitar Player’s Best Country Guitarist and in 2017 was honored at the U.K. Americana Awards with the Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award.

PLUS - the amazing RIP MASTERS opens this show with his Americana / Rockabilly originals and covers.

ROD PIAZZA and The Mighty Flyers return to the PCH Blues Club in Long Beach.

Rod Piazza has set a standard for harmonica virtuosity that has established him as one of the preeminent blues harp players around. The New York Times said, "Rod Piazza has perfected the rough drive and edgy tone that characterized the classic Chicago blues sound of Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and others in the 50's."

Piazza is also a master of West Coast jump blues, incorporating elements of Los Angeles' postwar jazz, swing and R&B combos.

He's consistently surrounded himself with players who bring out the best he has to offer, and epitomize the very best in blues: fresh, swinging, tasteful, exciting and creative. His band for the last three decades, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, constantly push the boundaries of the blues while still staying true to the spirit and soul of the music. The band's ability to keep the blues vibrant, fresh and alive has led to countless accolades, awards and nominations over the years, including four prestigious Blues Music Awards as "Blues Band of the Year.”

Renowned for their high level of musicianship and showmanship, they virtually created a new style of blues - a combination of low-down Chicago grit, suave West Coast swing and jazz, and the rhythmic drive of the best early R&B and rock & roll. As Blues Revue put it, "Rod and Honey front one of the most popular blues bands in the world. Whether they play at an intimate club, a packed rock room or a huge festival, the Mighty Flyers share with the audience their passionate love of the blues in every show.”

Piazza's harmonica technique borders on astonishing - a delicate combination of power and grace that maintains the fattest of tones while alternately evoking classic Chicago styles, interpreting R&B horn lines, or playing his own signature licks.And at this point in his career, Piazza has been recording longer than George "Harmonica" Smith did, or Sonny Boy Williamson (either of them!), or Big Walter Horton. He's been making records for more years than Little Walter was alive.

Their commanding performances showcase Rod's searing harmonica, his impassioned vocals and his bar-walking showmanship, punctuated by the two-fisted boogies of pianist Honey Piazza, a highly acclaimed musician in her own right. But any Mighty Flyers show is more than just a harp showcase; it's a group effort by tightly-knit elite musicians whose considerable talents complement one another.

Downbeat explained the Mighty Flyers’ audience appeal as follows: "Harpist Piazza has been leading one of the jazziest of blues bands for years, consistently delivering authentic-sounding blues embellished with a little uptown instrumental class. Piazza's vocal sensibilities and unusually enlightened harp work widen the music still more, creating a distinct and accessible blues approach that doesn't sound like yet another sterile reinterpretation of the tradition."\

Opening band is JESSICA KACZMAREK

The talented Jessica Kaczmarek always assembles top sidemen for her bands, and that is one reason she was selected by Rod as his opening group for this special show.

This rendition includes Johnny Bazz of the Blasters on bass; Steven Hodges on drums; and keyboardist Pete Mazich from Mike Watt & The Secondmen.

They kick it off at 8 pm sharp.

PCH Club in Golden Sails Hotel - 6285 E. PCH in Long Beach - next to Gaslamp.

BIO

Among those who value originality, inspiration, eccentricity and character – as well as talent that hovers somewhere on the outskirts of genius, the story of Paul Thorn is already familiar.

Raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, among the same spirits (and some of the actual people) who nurtured the young Elvis generations before, Paul Thorn has rambled down back roads and jumped out of airplanes, worked for years in a furniture factory, battled four-time world champion boxer Roberto Duran on national television, signed with and been dropped by a major label, performed [on stages with Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, Sting, and John Prine among many others, and made some of the most emotionally restless yet fully accessible music of our time.

In 2018, Paul released an album titled Don’t Let the Devil Ride, which he describes as “the culmination of my whole life in music, coming back to my roots.”

It marks his first time recording gospel music - featuring guests such as the Blind Boys of Alabama, the McCrary Sisters, and Preservation Hall Horns - and his creation of a body of strikingly original songs that address the foibles of human relationships without necessarily favoring the sacred over the profane.

With 20 years of writing, touring, and entertaining under his belt, he shows no sign of slowing down with his new record, Don’t Let the Devil Ride, breaking genre barriers and topping charts, putting a new twist on his already-entertaining live show.

So that makes this PCH Club solo show a definite bucket lister for anyone who appreciates a dash of wry humor with their Americana.

If you know Paul, you will be here.

If you don't know him, then you should. Because this is a unique character on the level of a Mark Twain or a George Carlin - and there just aren't very many of those.

Seated show, all ages, free parking, fine dining, and hotel rooms are available at the Golden Sails on property.