All-day music festival Twang N Bang comes to Liquid Gravity on Sept. 1 

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"In 2009, I was having a helluva hard time booking my little alt-country band, Pennyjar, into various clubs around SLO," explained Twang N Bang founder Patrick Hayes. "Despite doing the successful 'Mondays at the Peach' show, we still couldn't get past the 'country' stigma to get weekend slots. I know it seems crazy in 2024, but twangy bands were not as hip in '09. To prove to the venues that there was indeed an appetite and an audience for twangy rockin' bands, we held the first Twang N Bang on Labor Day weekend.

"The show was a hit, and for the next eight years we did one big Twang N Bang every Labor Day weekend," Hayes continued. "By the time the 2017 show came around, it seemed like every band across America had a banjo player and a guitarist with a distortion pedal. Everyone was twangin' and bangin', so we took a few years off."

Well, the wait for a return is over! Twang N Bang returns on Sunday, Sept. 1, at Liquid Gravity (1 to 10 p.m.; all ages; free).

"We're back and bigger than ever!" Hayes said. "This year's Twang N Bang Redux takes place at a larger venue than previous years. With two stages, there's never a break in the music."

It's a very eclectic lineup, including all-female hard rockers Hot Tina.

"Best rock band in SLO? I'd put them up against anyone," Hayes said. "They've been crushing it for years and are just getting back from their summer tour."

Other acts include rockabilly band The Bonneville Phantoms, gloom rockers Dead Magic, "electricana" Americana band Longstraw, moody alt-rockers Four Day Beard, and Lompoc's Angie & the Nightmares playing acoustic. But hey, Hayes is just getting started. He's also booked Dave, Brian and the 40 Hour Workweek: "The remaining half of American Dirt reaching incredible highs with gorgeous harmonies and world class songwriting," Hayes added.

There's also post punk indie rockers Halfway Boy, the hard blues and dueling guitars of The Cross Brothers, Chicano rock from Bracero Social Club, high energy acoustic emo punk by IDAREYOU, and singer-songwriters like Chris Beland, Jason Tapia, d.westlord, Lamb's Ear, Caleb Ayhens, and Hannah Clover.

"The show is free, the lineup is stacked, and the day after is a holiday," reminded Hayes. "What more could we ask for?"

Numbskull and Good Medicine

Turn your Friday up to 11 when beergrass heroes The Mother Corn Shuckers play Club Car Bar on Friday, Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $13.08 at goodmedicinepresents.com) with Paddy Marsh opening. TMCS are a real hoot—bluegrass instrumentation with hilarious original songs about grabbing life by the tail and hanging on.

Yacht rock progenitors Pablo Cruise play Castoro Cellars on Sunday, Sept. 1 (7 p.m.; all ages; $62.52 at goodmedicinepresents.com). They burst onto the scene in 1975 with their eponymous debut and hits like "Island Woman," "Ocean Breeze," and "What Does It Take." They went on to write many more hits on albums like Lifeline (1976), A Place in the Sun (1977), Worlds Away (1978), Part of the Game (1979), and Reflector (1981). This band was a fixture on Top 40 radio of the '70s.

Two amazing singer-songwriters—Logan Ledger and Jeremy Pinnell—play Club Car Bar on Wednesday, Sept. 4 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $23.90 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Ledger recently released his sophomore album Golden State, "a ruminative and graceful 10-song collection steeped in many of the ineffable qualities embodied by California: wild-eyed idealism, uneasy predictability, and the infinite promise of rebirth and renewal," according to press materials. Pinnell is touring in support of his third album, Goodbye LA, with forthright country songs punctuated by pedal steel and Telecaster guitar sounds.

The Siren

Get your early weekend started on Thursday, Aug. 29, with bluegrass ensemble Fog Holler, whose matching outfits and string-picking chops are a joy to behold (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18.48 at tixr.com), with local folk duo The Turkey Buzzards opening.

With a nod to criminal folk heroes Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow comes Nashville-based rock band Parker Barrow on their What Mama Don't Know tour making a Morro Bay stop on Friday, Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20.95 at tixr.com). Led by vocalist Megan Kane and her husband and drummer, Dylan Turner, the band's vintage sounds contain elements of rock, blues and soul, and influences by the Allman Brothers, the Rolling Stones, the Black Crowes, and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. They're touring in support of their debut album, Jukebox Gypsies. Bakersfield's The Soda Crackers, who say, "The only music we play besides country ... is western," opens the show.

Get your rock on when local act The Murder Hornets plays a free afternoon show on Saturday, Aug. 31 (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). They mix in everything from surf, psychedelic, funk, and blues, playing a broad mix of covers and originals.

Escape (The Ultimate Journey Tribute) plays on Saturday, Aug. 31 (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $30.12 at tixr.com), with Frampton Comes Alive. Double up on your '70s rock homage!

R&B sextet The Sinners plays on Sunday, Sept. 1 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). This group of veteran musicians has played together for over 20 years, opening for acts such as Cold Blood and Belinda Carlisle.

Vina Robles Amphitheatre

Vina's got three big nights cooked up this week starting with '60s pop heroes The Beach Boys on Thursday, Aug. 29 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $502.04 at ticketmaster.com). Expect to hear mega hits like "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Surfer Girl," "Don't Worry Baby," "Little Deuce Coupe," "God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Good Vibrations," and "Fun Fun Fun."

Concert attendees for Lost '80s Live will get a lot of bang for their concert bucks when A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, The English Beat, Missing Persons, The Vapors, Stacey Q, The Escape Club, Musical Youth, Animotion, and Dramarama play their biggest hits on Friday, Aug. 30 (6 p.m.; all ages; $75 to $417.38 at ticketmaster.com).

Yacht rockers Yächtley Crëw plays on Saturday, Aug. 31 (8 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $89 at ticketmaster.com). The SoCal septet will return to Vina with a stop on their Full Steam Ahead tour. If you dig the soft rock and Top 40 hits from the late '70s to the early '80s, these dudes are ready to deliver renditions of Boz Scaggs' "Lido Shuffle," Ace's "How Long," Robbie Dupree's "Steal Away," the Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love," and Christopher Cross' "Ride Like the Wind."

Fremont Theater

The Fremont only has one show this week, but it's a doozy: Christopher Cross on Tuesday, Sept. 3 (8 p.m.; all ages; $39.50 to $89.50 at prekindle.com). Cross hit the music scene by force with his 1980 self-titled debut, winning five Grammy Awards, including—for the first time in Grammy history—the four most prestigious awards: Record of the Year (for the single "Sailing"), Album of the Year, Song of the Year (also "Sailing"), and Best New Artist.

Cross worked with Burt Bacharach to write "Arthur's Theme," for the movie Arthur, which won an Academy Award for Best Song. With his 1983 release, Another Page, Cross scored hits with "All Right" and "Think of Laura." His song, "Swept Away," composed for the TV series, Growing Pains, was nominated for an Emmy. He's an icon of adult contemporary soft rock.

SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock

SLO Brew Live and (((folkYEAH!))) present the sun-warped psychedelic rock Triptides on Sunday, Sept. 1 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.21 at ticketweb.com) and the jangly folk blues The Ragged Jubilee.

Get a double dose of jam rock when Grateful Shred and Circles Around the Sun play on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 4 and 5 (doors at 7 p.m.; all ages; $45.23 at ticketweb.com; $1 per ticket goes to the Neal Casal Foundation). Grateful Shred went from playing the Shakedown Street vendor area prior to Dead and Company shows to touring the United States. Circles was originally formed from an idea that concert impresario Peter Shapiro had about commissioning original set-break music at the Grateful Dead's 50th anniversary concerts ("Fare Thee Well"). Both acts channel that Dead vibe.

More music ...

Award-winning singer-songwriter Dulcie Taylor opens the next Concerts in the Plaza show at 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, followed by last year's New Times Music Award winner for Best Album of the Year, Josh Rosenblum Band, from 6 to 8 p.m. It should be an amazing late afternoon of great songwriting.

Rumor, a sextet that plays everything from classic to contemporary rock, blues, R&B, and pop, has three gigs this week starting on Friday, Aug. 30, at The Pour House (7 to 10 p.m.); then on Saturday, Aug. 31, at BarrelHouse Brewing (5:30 to 7 p.m.); and finally Monday, Sept. 1, at Mersea's (2 to 4 p.m.). The band features powerful female vocalist Dani Cole. Check out some videos online and you'll be blown away by her voice. She nails everything from Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart" to Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools."

ZB Savoy presents Songs of Willie Nelson: The Musical History of an American Icon on Sunday, Sept. 1, in the Templeton Performing Arts Center (6 p.m.; all ages; $29.58 at eventbrite.com). "Willie is more than just an iconic writer and legendary performer; he's a shepherd of traditional country music," Savoy explained in press materials. "You'll get to hear some phenomenal playing by this outstanding band that I have with me. I hope you'll get to learn a little bit about the songs, the man, and the journey he's had to become the national treasure that is Willie Nelson."

You might not realize this, but what's missing from your life is some Bengali-infused mountain music from India, which is coming to the Octagon Barn's Milking Parlor on Thursday, Sept. 5 (an old-time jam at 6 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. concert; all ages; $23.18 presale at eventbrite.com; $25 at the door), courtesy of the Seven Sisters Folklore Society. Fronted by Nabanita Sarkar, who hails from Kolkata, India, and going by the name Bonnie and the Salty Dawgs, this band mixes Indian sounds and American folk in a wholly interesting way—it sounds familiar yet unique. Δ

Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at [email protected].