Upcoming Events

Laurie Morvan Band

Laurie Morvan Band is a 5 piece high energy, rockin’ blues band lead by its fiery female lead guitarist vocalist. A pumpin’, thumpin’, tight-as-nails machine from Long Beach, CA, the LMB has fired up over 70 festivals and 700 shows together throughout the USA, Canada and Europe.

Laurie’s much anticipated 6th CD, “GRAVITY”, released in 2018, was an immediate hit with both fans and critics. GRAVITY was nominated for Best Blues Album of 2018 in the prestigious Downbeat Reader’s Poll. “Tasty yet blistering Strat work that hits all the right notes and overflows with soul.” (Vintage Guitar). The Laurie Morvan Band has also garnered the attention of the international market with a nomination for Best New Artist in the Independent Blues Awards.

“Laurie is one hell of a great guitarist and if you have not had the pleasure of seeing her, put it on your must do list!” (Blues Blast). “Morvan has all the soulfulness of Bonnie Raitt and the swaggering, muscular guitar tone of Stevie Ray Vaughan” (News Gazette).

So much more than just a wailin’ guitar slinger, Laurie is a charismatic performer whose stage presence is both powerful and inviting. Her songwriting has a fresh perspective, and her in-between-song banter alternates between inspirational and flat out hilarious. Audiences feel a genuine connection with her and she enjoys spending time with them after shows signing autographs, talking, and posing for photos.

Laurie Morvan Band concerts feature the beautiful harmonies of Laurie and backup singer Lisa Morvan, as well as dueling solos between Laurie, keyboardist Tom Salyers and bassist Pat Morvan. Drummer Lonnie Jones drives this high-octane train. They are a tight-knit unit who love performing together. Their fun-loving enthusiasm leaps right off the stage…and it’s contagious!

The LMB made their first big splash on the national blues scene in 2008 at the International Blues Challenge, a worldwide competition featuring over 160 bands held by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN. The LMB got to the finals in the live band competition and at that same event, the band’s “Cures What Ails Ya” CD was a finalist for Best Self-Produced CD. The Laurie Morvan Band is the only band in IBC history to reach both finals at a single competition. Other accolades include twice being named the House of Blues Radio Hour “Blues Breaker” artist of the week, a B.B. King’s Bluesville “Picks to Click”, and winning the Blues Festival Guide’s Blues Artist on the Rise Award.

The Laurie Morvan Band went on to win the Blues Foundation Award for Best Self-Produced CD at the 2010 International Blues Challenge competition with their next release, “Fire It Up”. The LMB then lit up the stage in their very own half-hour TV special, filmed live at the Elnora Guitar Festival in Champaign, IL, which continues to air nationwide on the Big Ten Network.

The band’s 2011 CD, Breathe Deep, follows the lead of their award-winning previous releases. “Scary good. Get out of the business good. Why everyone doesn’t know about this woman or her rocking blues band is beyond me.” - Bill Scheft, head writer for the David Letterman show.

Laurie Morvan’s unique, fiery guitar style has been highlighted in feature articles in the world’s top guitar magazines. “Morvan singes the strings with fast, clean chicken pickin’, reaches heights of lyrical ecstasy through liquid bends, and kicks the rhythm in the pocket with propulsive comping” (Guitar Player). “Stunning California axe slinger...exhilarating electric blues guitar style” (Modern Guitars). “Superior pop blues” (DownBeat).

In short, the Laurie Morvan Band plays red hot blues rock that feeds your soul.

SPECIAL GUEST ARTIST LISA MANN

Lisa has been awarded the prestigious 2016 Blues Music Award for her mighty skills on the bass guitar, an award which she also took home in 2015. Her first award win fell hot on the heels of her win for Blues Blast’s Sean Costello Rising Star Award, as well as three Muddy Waters Awards from the Cascade Blues Association for Contemporary Blues Act of the Year, Bass Player of the Year, and Northwest Recording of the Year. Her latest release, Hard Times, Bad Decisions debuted on the Living Blues radio chart at #7, and on the International Blues Broadcasters Association chart at #10, and can be heard burning up the airwaves worldwide.

On August 3, 2019 blues history will be made.

Not dissimilar to the date in 1951 when Mick and Keith first performed at Wentworth Primary School or July 6, 1957, the historic occasion when John met Paul, the next generation of the blues comes to the PCH Club in Long Beach on Saturday, August 3!

If you can picture Stevie Ray Vaughn at 16 or Buddy Guy when he was 21, this is a celebration of the best 21-and-Under Blues Musicians Behind the Orange Curtain!

This ain’t no guitar school recital. This is 9 of the baaaaaddest guitar slingers on the So Cal Blues scene. Each of these youngsters has been battle tested in 6 String Showdown regional competitions, performed on venerated stages up and down the Coast and come through with flying colors in order to be invited to be here tonight. If you can picture Jimi at 16, with Eric when he was 14 and Stevie at 20 sharing the same stage, on the same bill, that’s what tonight is.

The one in 10 years you will still be bragging about to your friends.

We will be featuring 9 of the hottest blues artists on the scene - all 21 or under!
Hosted by 6 String Showdown legend, 21-year-old Ryder Green – 2016 Golden Gate Blues Society IBC Winner and NorCal Best Bluesman of the Year 2019, the young cats have raised the bar.

Here are just a few of their bios:

21 y/o Johnny Agundez hit the ground running at the LA Regionals of 6 String Showdown Season 2 and walked away with first place, the Tagima grand prize, and blew away the judges with his talent and performance!

The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree when it comes to 6SS Season One sensation Steven Taylor, 21, whose dad is Kim Wilson from the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Totally fabulous on his own, Steven’s new record Moving On is available on iTunes and he may have a few CD’s with him to personally autograph.

16 y/o Andrew Ryan and 15 y/o Rahul Nedunuri will always be mentioned together after their memorable faceoff in the very first round of Season One of 6 String Showdown, when they went head to head, back and forth, trading licks til ultimately the judges sent them to sudden death overtime. Andrew has the looks and swagger of a Rock God and the licks to back it up. After his appearance at 6SS Season One, Rahul was approached by Crooked Eye Tommy to appear at the Ojai Bowl Full of Blues!

14 y/o Kyle Taylor appeared seemingly out of thin air to be a legitimate contender in 6 String Showdown LA County and wowed the judges with his technique, skill, and tone! Among others, he caught the eye of Season, One participant, Beano Mojo Hand who invited young Mr. Taylor to open for him at the Arcadia Blues.

Despite 14 y/o Xander Marsden’s boyish appearance, he’s already been playing and composing for over half his life. At the Season Two San Diego Regional, the young two-time Downbeat Magazine winner left a burning hole in the stage! Before becoming a teenager, Xander has had the good fortune of playing with or learn for some of today’s most highly regarded guitarists, including Steve Vai, Joe Bonamassa, Monte Pittman, and Robben Ford.

13 y/o Justin Walter is one cool cat with the confidence and demeanor to back it up. When faced at the Kern County regional with Bakersfield’s finest guitar dog, the legendary Brett Cox, he never faltered and while he didn’t win he never missed a beat going lick for lick with this seasoned pro. Word around Temblor Brewing was that this baby faced assassin performed better under pressure than many players 3, 4, and 5 times his age!

We take particular pleasure in welcoming everyone’s fan favorite, Austin Thomason 12. Since jamming with Israeli Blues musician Lazer Lloyd at an Orange County Blues Society event, this kid has played all over Southern California. Don’t let his age fool you; he has the soul of an elder statesman of the Blues!

Here are the standout performers for this singular evening:

Ryder Green 21

Austin Thomason 12

Kyle Taylor 14

Steven Taylor 21

Johnny Agundez 21

Andrew Ryan 16

Rahul Nedunuri 15

Zander Marsden 14

Justin Walter 13

Tentative schedule: 5:45 PM- 6 PM House band (Redd House)

6PM – 6:45: Player One and Player Two

7 PM- 7:45 PM Player Three and Player Four

8PM- 8:45 PM Player Five and Player Six

9PM – 9:15 PM Host and Friend

9:15 PM- 9:45 PM Host and Individual Player

9:45 PM – 11 PM Grand Finale

Collectors of Tiki Mugs will want an official Escape to Tiki Island work of art, designed by Outline Studios and created for the recent event at the Yost Theater.

This unique beauty looks like a tiki head plopped onto a volcano, and contains 16 oz. of any beverage you wish to pour into it!

To purchase, simply click on the box below, with or without shipping added.

Or, email christopher@expoeventsusa.net or text to 714-809-6146.

Just over a dozen remain available at $75 (or $93 with shipping) and the Ltd. Edition is sold out.

All ELVIS breaks loose in this swingin', swayin' Luau-ing South Seas event!

It's Paradise - Hula-style!

James Intveld will be playing all your favorite Elvis Presley songs - and a whole lot more...

Intveld has a successful history of performing his original music for his faithful fans, with a beat that gets you out of your seat.

Elvis, rockabilly and the sounds of the islands all combine to make this an event to get all your friends together.

Plus, it's in Long Beach at the fabulous Golden Sails Hotel, in the PCH Club with dance floor, full menu and crafted cocktails!

Doors at 7 pm, show starts at 8, free parking, all ages.

Deke Dickerson is a musical spokesperson for his generation - as well as an historian who is constantly updating the status of famed musicians from years gone by.

He is best known for being a guitarist and songwriter steadily creating new music, and has a new trio he has formed to play rockabilly, Western swing and honky tonk.

It's a rockabilly group with no drums - and a strong hillbilly influence.

Deke Dickerson & the Whippersnappers perform originals plus covers by artists like Webb Pierce, Ray Price and Skeets McDonald.

Adding to the Sunday soiree, enjoy two more great bands: Amber Foxx with her rockabilly and torch songs, plus the Moontones, the well-known R&B swing band.

These two excellent and entertaining bands round out the combination of styles that, together with Deke's hillbilly-influenced music, equal Hillbilly Jazz!

Since his stunning debut, Thunderstorms and Neon Signs in 1995, Wayne “The Train” Hancock has been the undisputed king of Juke Joint Swing - that alchemist’s dream of honky-tonk, western swing, blues, Texas rockabilly and big band.

Always an anomaly among his country music peers, Wayne’s uncompromising interpretation of the music he loves is in fact what defines him: steeped in traditional but never "retro;" bare bones but bone shaking; hardcore but with a swing.

Like the comfortable crackle of a Wurlitzer 45 jukebox, Wayne is the embodiment of genuine, house rocking, hillbilly boogie. Wayne makes music fit for any roadhouse anywhere. With his unmistakable voice, The Train’s reckless honky-tonk can move the dead.

If you see him live (and he is ALWAYS touring), you’ll surely work up some sweat stains on that snazzy Rayon shirt you’re wearing. If you buy his records, you’ll be rolling up your carpets, spreading sawdust on the hardwood floor, and dancing until the downstairs neighbors are banging their brooms on the ceiling.

Call him a throwback if you want, but all Wayne Hancock wants to do, is simply ENTERTAIN you, and what's wrong with that?

Join us at the PCH Club in Long Beach for this special showcase.

The Hacienda Brothers have recently released "Western Soul" as a tribute to their late leader, Chris Gaffney. This may be the final Hacienda Brothers record and it's certainly the first since 2008. Its 16 songs were either unreleased, or are versions that have never been heard before.

Western Soul will be on sale at the concert on Oct. 18, or order both CD and Vinyl online at https://luxrecordsusa.com/store.

Here is the history of the Hacienda Brothers:

The Hacienda Brothers originated in 2002 when friends Chris Gaffney and Dave Gonzalez played together during a planned jam session at the 40th birthday party of their mutual friend, Jeb Schoonover. Gaffney was a successful singer and songwriter who had released several albums with his band The Cold Hard Facts and had toured with Dave Alvin. Gonzalez is a singer, songwriter, and guitar player, then mainly active with The Paladins. After playing on stage together, and at the urging of Schoonover (who would become their business partner and manager), they soon joined in Tucson, Ariz., to write and record their first album. Calling themselves the Hacienda Brothers, they were joined by Dave Berzansky (pedal steel), Hank Maninger (bass, also with the Aqua Velvets), and Dale Daniel (drums). Their self-titled debut in 2005 was produced by the legendary Dan Penn, who also wrote two tracks. The album was praised widely; Vintage Guitar magazine called it "a great CD.” What's Wrong with Right, also produced by Penn, was released the following year and garnered critical accolades. Bob Mehr, writing for Mojo Magazine, praised its "authentic sawdust-floor shuffles" and "cinematic Morricone twang." Their self-titled debut album appeared in 2005, and quickly the band received critical recognition for their eclectic music. Their second album, What's Wrong With Right, was chosen by the alternative country magazine No Depression as one of the top 60 albums for 2006 and by R&R as one of the top 100 Albums of 2006. Band leaders Gaffney and Gonzalez were interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air, and Gonzalez was voted one of the "Top 101 All-time Unsung Guitar Heroes" by Guitar Player Magazine. In 2007, they were nominated for "Group of the Year" by the American Music Association. In August 2007, they released a live album Music for Ranch & Town. Chris Gaffney died of liver cancer on April 17, 2008, while the band was wrapping up the recording of their third studio album, Arizona Motel. That album received great critical acclaim and was called "forceful and timeless." A positive review accompanied an "in memoriam" article for Gaffney in Vintage Guitar; a later review in the same magazine said the album "kicked butt.” "This album delivers more moments of greatness, more consistently, than any of their previous releases and is a fully realized work of music-craft." The band planned on touring in support of a tribute album for Gaffney and did so in 2008; on at least one occasion they were joined by Dave Alvin as a special guest. In 2009, a tribute album to Gaffney was released, A Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney, which included songs played by fellow Hacienda Brothers as well as many other luminaries.

On the occasion of the 10th year of his passing, Schoonover and Christopher Burkhardt of Stellar Shows organized a Chris Gaffney Reunion Party in Long Beach with 400 guests, family members and fans. Performers included Los Fabulocos, James Intveld, Rick Shea, The Cold Hard Facts with Dave Alvin and the reunited Hacienda Brothers.

Playing together again, the quartet were reminded of the immense popularity of the Hacienda Brothers - and became determined to resurrect their success.

RICK SHEA

"An incredible and intelligent musician and songwriter with an angelic voice that I'd kill for" - Dave Alvin

Longtime Southern California singer-songwriter Rick Shea got his early musical education in the bars and honky-tonks of San Bernardino. While you may often see him live with his worn old Telecaster, backing up the likes of Dave Alvin and Wanda Jackson or burning through a set of his own songs and a few honky-tonk standards, he's also built a solid career for himself as a solo artist, singer, guitarist and songwriter. With nine critically acclaimed albums, he’s performed all over Southern California, the West Coast and across the country and in Europe.

Shea's songs reflect the folk, country, rock and Mexican influences he grew up with. "Songs tell our stories and our history and songs were how those stories were shared in the past, I'd like to continue that tradition."

"Shea is to interior California what Joe Ely is to west Texas: his music evokes deep Kern, San Bernardino and Riverside counties the way Ely nailed down Laredo - two pinches of old Mexico, a blast of exhaust from the bossman's new Suburban and a baseline of working-stiff desperation."

**** four stars - Jackson Griffith

“Like all outstanding folk writers, Shea knows the land and its human inhabitants are inseparable, and the former is predictable only in doing unpredictable things to the latter.“ David McGee - Deep Roots

"Shea’s storytelling, songwriting and performing skills place him in the tradition alongside the finest California roots singer-songwriters of the last 40 years including Dave Alvin, Tom Russell and John Stewart." - No Depression

"a hauntingly nostalgic vocalist, imperative guitarist and literate, detail rich songwriter, do yourself a favor" - Sing Out

"Superb!.. Shea’s songs are second to none."
- Jonny Whiteside LAWeekly

On Fri. Aug. 18, experience the Hacienda Brothers along with Rick Shea & The Losin' End at the Golden Sails Hotel, 6285 E. Pac Coast Hwy.

See StellarShows.net for seats.

All ages, Free parking, Full Menu and VIP seating avail.

Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band has built its reputation the long, slow, hard way. After 12 years of playing as many as 300 shows each year, Rev. Peyton, the world’s foremost country blues finger-style picker, along with the biggest little band in the country has pieced together one of the most dedicated followings out there. This following is sure to eat up the band’s latest offering, Poor Until Payday, (the second on their own Family Owned Records label through hip Nashville indie Thirty Tigers) out October 5th, a country blues record that was made the right way — two feet on the ground and both hands getting dirty.

With all the power of a freight train, the Big Damn Band is known for its live shows. Rev. Peyton delivers guitar pyrotechnics the old fashioned way — ten fingers, a 6 string and an amp cranked at full tilt. In the country blues style, he plays the bass with his thumb, while picking the lead with his fingers at the same time. When he lifts the guitar behind his head to play there’s nothing but skill and 16 gauge nickel strings to make the sounds coming out of the speakers.

Beside him on stage are just two other people. His wife, “Washboard” Breezy Peyton playing with all the nuance and percussive power of a New Orleans drum line, and keeping the train moving is Max Senteney on a lean drum kit including a 5 gallon maple syrup bucket. Together they play Peyton’s wildman country blues that’s as much ZZ Top as it is Bukka White.

On Poor Until Payday Peyton wanted a sound as live and electric as the records made in the heyday of 45 rpm blues classics from Chess, Stax and Sun Records. Playing his beloved custom-made National steel resonator, a 1949 Harmony Archtop, a 1954 Supro Dual Tone and a 1955 Kay Speed Demon through a 1949 Supro amp, Rev wanted to restore the “warmth, pops and hisses” mostly eliminated by modern-day compression. The band played in a room together with minimal micing (using only the best classic pieces they could get) with the main effect being tape saturation.

That’s it.

The result is an album that is direct, soulful and demands to be played loud.

The themes of songs like the title track, “You Can’t Steal My Shine” and “I Suffer I Get Tougher” offer the antidote to today’s hard times by touting “perseverance, inspiration and hope… being your authentic self despite everything lined against you, a light at the end of the tunnel.” With a vocal style reflecting both the soulfulness and bite of his idols, Rev has added world-class singer to his already-renowned skills as a finger-pickin’ guitar phenom. Breezy and Max also contribute background vocals to most of the songs, with “The Miss Elizabeth of Country Blues” actually taking the spotlight with a sultry call-and-response showcase on “Dirty Swerve,” in which she also contributed to the writing.

Peyton’s blues pedigree is well established. Woodshedding since he was 12, Peyton has kept alive a tradition of finger picking pioneered by the likes of Mississippi John Hurt. However, Peyton plays with the energy and attitude of a Howlin’ Wolf. Indeed if it has strings he can play it whether that’s a custom-built National, a cigarbox, an axe or even a shotgun (seriously, Google it.).

He’s done his homework and been given the blessing of the gatekeepers of the tradition — even befriending and touring with some of the last of the great Delta Blues and Hill Country blues legends like David “Honeyboy” Edwards, T-Model Ford (whose grandson calls him Unk), and Robert Belfour.

Rev and Breezy make their home in rural southern Indiana near the adopted home of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, among national parks and forests in what began as an artist’s colony. “Most of the people here can both paint a picture and skin a deer,” laughs Breezy.

There’s nothing dusty or sentimental about Peyton’s music, though. There’s no songs about picking cotton. They aren’t a museum piece. The Big Damn Band have taken nearly a century of blues songsmanship and crafted a thing all their own. There is not a single act out there that sounds like this.

The Big Damn Band make friends and fans every place they go — and there are few places they haven’t been, having performed in 37 countries. After Poor Until Payday, the only people who won’t be on the big damn bandwagon will be people who haven’t heard or aren’t paying attention.

This is real, from the heart, handmade music made by people, for people, who don’t have time for BS.