It takes guts to rebrand an already popular product—all that name recognition can disappear in a puff of smoke—but for Mike Harmeier, the time was right as he and his band recorded their ninth album, Silverada, adopting the album name for the band itself.
"Back in the day, all we wanted to do was play [famed Austin honky-tonk] the Broken Spoke," Harmeier said in press materials. "We had different aspirations back then. We were still figuring out what kind of band we were gonna be, and that took a lot of time and a lot of records."
They went from playing five-hour sets on Austin's dancehall circuit to recording with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios to playing the Grand Ole Opry. On this new album, the band has concentrated on "sharp, detailed songwriting that bounces between autobiographical sketches and character studies."
"Going into the studio, everybody in the band felt inspired to do something bigger than what they'd done before," Harmeier explained. "We all knew we were at a precipice, and we wanted to jump. I brought in some songs that were metaphorical and not always straightforward, and that showed the guys that I wanted to take this music somewhere new ... so they threw their own rulebooks out the window, too."
See Silverada courtesy of Numbskull and Good Medicine on Friday, Oct. 4, in The Siren (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $28.02 at goodmedicinepresents.com).
"We spent the first part of our career figuring out who we are and what we're good at," Harmeier added. "Now we want to evolve not only the sound of the band, but the dynamic of the live show, too. We're all lifers here. We're in this for the long haul. Silverada is us setting the stage for the next leg of the journey."
The Lowdown Drifters open.
Hot to Go: Chappell Roan Party comes to the Madonna Inn Expo Center on Thursday, Oct. 3 (7 p.m.; all ages; $21.32 at goodmedicinepresents.com), to create "simply the best Chappell Roan party at the best hotel on the planet," said organizers. Blade Trip & Lovely Iris host the event.
The town Goodnight in the state of Texas is midway between San Francisco and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home to the two frontmen of the storytelling folk rock band Goodnight, Texas. The quintet emphasizes their two songwriters' contrasting styles with one playing a 1913 Gibson A mandolin and the other a 2015 Danelectro Baritone Guitar, "at the crossroads of folk and blues and rock 'n' roll, in a place where dry wit and dark truths meet hope and utmost sincerity," according to the band. They play on Saturday, Oct. 5, in The Siren (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $22.35 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Singer-songwriters Madeline Hawthorne and Caleb Nichols open.
Singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey has an amazing backstory: "Raised working-class Catholic on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, he took a semester in Ireland, and immediately began cutting classes to busk on Grafton Street in Dublin and hitchhike through the country, finding whatever gigs he could," his bio explains. "Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging in the Midwest before lighting out for Boston, where he returned to busking (this time in the subway) and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national and international touring. The wheels have not stopped since." See the self-described "songwriter, road-dog, raconteur, and almost-poet" on Thursday, Oct. 10, in Club Car Bar (7 p.m.; all ages; $21.84 presale or $25.96 day of show at goodmedicinepresents.com).
Head to Morro Bay this Saturday, Oct. 5, for a free show at The Siren when local ballad and anthem rockers Kerosene Kings perform (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older). "Our special guest singer songwriter Matt Suarez will be bringing his soul-filled brand of guitar mastery to this show for you all to enjoy as well!" the club announced.
Last I checked, there are still tickets for country star Walker Hayes playing on Thursday, Oct. 3 (8 p.m.; all ages; $70 to $161.95 at ticketmaster.com). He's best known for his Grammy Award-nominated hit "Fancy Like." Joe & Martina opens. KJUG 98.1FM DJ Pepper Daniels spins.
Hailing from Apodaca, Nuevo León, comes two-time Latin Grammy Award-winner Bronco, known for their modern spin on 1980s and '90s norteño music. They're also known for incorporating modern instruments like synthesizer and keyboards into their pop sound. See them on Friday, Oct. 4 (8 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $200.60 at ticketmaster.com).
Calling all Swifties! The Taylor Party: The TS Dance Party returns to downtown SLO on Friday, Oct. 4 (9 p.m.; 18-and-older; $26.75 at prekindle.com). Dance to your favorite "it" girl.
The producer, singer-songwriter, and DJ known as Alleycvt brings her signature sounds to the Fremont on Wednesday, Oct. 9 (8 p.m.; all ages; $35.76 at prekindle.com). She burst onto the scene in 2021 and has since gathered more than 7 million streams on Spotify. According to press materials, "Her alluring pop adjacent vocals blend seamlessly with her heavy bass-filled drops, cementing her as a force to be reckoned with as she continues her meteoric rise."
Beach rocker Surfer Girl opens the week at R&H on Thursday, Oct. 3 (doors at 8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $24.91 at ticketweb.com), with special guests Claire Wright and Backset opening. Expect breezy, melodic earworms.
Originating from deep in the Seattle funk scene comes the Polyrhythmics playing Wednesday, Oct. 9 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.21 at ticketweb.com) with Spacehall Sound Machine opening. Expect "impossibly tight grooves with bold brass and hypnotic percussion that showcased elements of R&B, progressive jazz, and Afrobeat, which defined the instrumental group's early era sound," their bio explains.
Formed more than three decades ago at Chico State, The Mother Hips started as the quintessential college party band. While they were still in college, legendary producer Rick Rubin signed the band to his American Recordings label. Since then, they've grown into a preternatural force of sunny California rock and soul. Think Laurel Canyon's heyday. Their most recent record, 2023's When We Disappear, is their lucky 13th album. They return to SLO Town on Thursday, Oct. 10 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $32.36 at ticketweb.com) with Sam Blasucci opening.
Reminder that Chicago-based guitarist, composer, singer, and improviser Bill MacKay returns to San Luis Obispo with a show at The Bunker on Thursday, Oct. 3 (8 p.m.; all ages; $20 presale at my805tix.com). "MacKay is also a poet, visual artist, and polyglot, and is a member of both the avant-garde rock outfit Black Duck (with Douglas McCombs) and the experimental groove-drone project BCMC (with Cooper Crain)," according to his bio. The Succulent Marrow opens.
The SLO Symphony and German organist Felix Hell present Organ Spectacular on Saturday, Oct. 5, in the Performing Arts Center (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $12 to $92 at pacslo.org). They'll perform Belgian composer Joseph Jongen's Sinfonia Concertante for Organ and Orchestra from 1926, as well as Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E minor op. 98 from 1883 and other works. Δ
Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.