Guit with it when country guitarist and singer Junior Brown plays BarrelHouse Brewing on Aug. 11 

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Junior Brown is such a badass. His instrument—the "guit-steel"—is a combination electric guitar and lap steel guitar, and he freaking rips on it. He's also got one of the most distinctive voices in country music, and his songs are a flat out a hoot. "Highway Patrol" is about a cop whose "hours are long, and my pay is low," but "if you're driving too fast, like you shouldn't do, you can bet your boots, I'm coming after you. If you wanna race, then get on a racetrack, 'cause if you try and run away, I'm gonna bring ya back. I'm here to keep all the speeders driving slow. I'm just a-doin' my job. I'm The Highway Patrol."

The man's music works in the overlaps between outlaw country, Ameripolitan, Western swing, honky-tonk, surf rock, and boogie-woogie.

Dig the lyrics for "Broke Down South of Dallas": "That wife of mine, a suspicious kind. She says that I'm quite a flirter. But I've been a good boy all of the time, and I wouldn't do nothing to hurt her. She'll tan my hide for spending the night with Betty Lou or Alice. But I'm sleeping alone in this wreck I own. I broke down South of Dallas."

Genius!

Numbskull and Good Medicine bring Junior Brown to BarrelHouse Brewing this Sunday, Aug. 11 (6 p.m.; all ages; $41.92 at goodmedicinepresents.com). I can't wait to hear songs like "My Wife Thinks You're Dead," "Venom Wearin' Demin," "Semi-Crazy," and more.

Numbskull and Good Medicine have a bunch of other good shows this week. Don't forget Santa Cruz duo Poi Rogers playing for free on Thursday, Aug. 8, in Club Car Bar (7:30 p.m.; all ages; free). Gerard Egan (acoustic and his 1954 Fender triple neck steel guitar) and Carolyn Sills (standup bass) explain their sound resides "somewhere in between the tropical lounges of 1930s Los Angeles and the honky-tonk beer joints of rural 1950s California."

Break on through to the other side with Wild Child: Dave Brock's Doors Experience on Sunday, Aug. 11, at The Siren (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $24.93 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Brock's show recreates a 1960s Doors concert, "recapturing the original: sound, feel, mood, dynamics, and delivery of the Doors music," according to his bio.

Canadian indie pop band Alvvays plays on Thursday, Aug. 15, in the Madonna Inn Expo Center (6 p.m.; all ages; $43.98 at goodmedicinepresents.com). They formed in 2011, and their self-titled debut, released in 2014, topped the U.S. college charts. Their second studio album, Antisocialites (2017), won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year, and their most recent record, Blue Rev (2022), rose to No. 2 on the U.K. indie charts. Its single, "Belinda Says," was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance at the Grammy Awards. The Beths open.

The Siren

Leave it to The Siren to keep you entertained on the cheap. Free shows include rock and country act Daring Greatly on Friday, Aug. 9 (7:30 to 10:30 p.m.), classic rock cover band Back Pages Band on Saturday Aug. 10 (2 to 5 p.m.), and Latin/jazz/funk supergroup MiniNova (with Kenny Lee Lewis of the Steve Miller Band and Scott Martin of WAR) on Wednesday, Aug. 14 (7:30 to 9 p.m.). All Siren shows are 21-and-older.

You can also see baritone-voiced rising country star Carter Winter with local opener Bitterwater Road on Saturday, Aug. 10 (8 to 10:30 p.m.; $22.03 at tixr.com). Winter has a way with ballads and sings with a raw honesty. He's been called "country music's modern traditionalist."

(((folkYEAH!))) presents Drugdealer with special guest Color Green on Tuesday, Aug. 13 (7 to 10:30 p.m.; $43.82 at eventbrite.com). Drugdealer is fronted by Michael Collins, who has a laid-back soulful singing style he developed on the cusp of giving up. He recalled a chance encounter with composer Annette Peacock, explaining he'd lost faith in his voice.

"I told her my plight, then I played her a song, and she told me I wasn't singing high enough for my speaking voice," he explained on his record label website. "When I returned to LA, I started coming up with new progressions, which I'd modulate up three half-steps. It forced me to find a new way to sing."

The results speak for themselves on his newest album, Hiding in Plain Sight (2022).

Punk and country collide in the music of mohawked, wild-eyed Joe Buck Yourself (formerly of Hank III, Assjack, and Th' Legendary Shack Shakers), playing on Thursday, Aug. 14 (7 to 9:30 p.m.; $15.54 at tixr.com). The one-man band delivers ripping, kinetic songs like "Evil Motherfucker from Tennessee," "Drug Train," "Devil is on His Way." He's one of a kind.

Vina Robles Amphitheatre

Don't forget '80s rock stars Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo play on Thursday, Aug. 8 (8 p.m.; $46.10 to $352.80 at ticketmaster.com) with opening act The Vindys. "We Belong," "Love is a Battlefield," "Promises in the Dark," "We Live for Love," and "Hell is for Children" are handful of Benatar's massive hits.

More '80s power pop awaits when Rick Springfield and Richard Marx play acoustic on Sunday, Aug. 11 (8 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $417.38 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). Springfield's hits include "Jessie's Girl," "Don't Talk to Strangers," "An Affair of the Heart," "I've Done Everything for You," "Love Somebody," and "Human Touch." Marx scored hits with "Right Here Waiting," "Hazard," "Hold On to the Nights," "Endless Summer Nights," and "Satisfied."

Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes play on Thursday, Aug. 15 (8 p.m.; all ages; $25 to $225 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). Reyes and the Gipsy Kings have topped the World Music charts, selling more than 14 million albums worldwide. Their platinum compilation, The Best of the Gipsy Kings, was on the charts for a full year. Their ninth studio album, Savor Flamenco, won the 2013 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.

SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock

Kick off the weekend with a disco dance party with DJ Hobeaux on Friday, Aug. 9 (doors at 8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $10 at the door).

Buckle up for Son of a Gun: A Guns N' Roses tribute on Saturday, Aug. 10 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.21 at ticketweb.com). Frontman Ari Kamin was handpicked by Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler for his solo project.

"Axl Rose will always be the king, but Ari Kamin is one hell of a crown prince," Adler said in an interview with BraveWords. "They both have that almost unlimited vocal range and a natural ability to connect to the audience."

Add in lead guitarist Johnny Mayo as a stand-in for Slash, and you're left with a ripping tribute act of one of hard rock's most enduring bands. Honky-tonk psychedelic surf rockers The Murder Hornets open.

Reggae fans, get ready for Sammy Johnson on Thursday, Aug. 15 (doors at 8 p.m.; 18-and-older; $33.39 at ticketweb.com). He blends soulful and jazzy vibes into his sound, and local reggae act True Zion opens.

Fremont Theater

Don't forget Washington, D.C.-based alt-rock, blues rock, and soul singer-songwriter Citizen Cope plays on Thursday, Aug. 8 (8 p.m.; all ages; $22.25 to $99.50 at prekindle.com).

Lubbock, Texas-based country rockers Pecos & The Rooftops play on Saturday, Aug. 10 (8 p.m.; all ages; $36.79 at prekindle.com). Their gritty brand of country delivers narrative songs about broken relationships and broken people in tracks such as "Last Thing I Remember," "One Drunk Summer," and "This Damn Song."

Riley Thomas opens. His bio describes him like this: "Think of it like putting Waylon Jennings, System of a Down, and Led Zeppelin in a saloon blender on high, soaking it in whiskey, and lighting it on fire after the first swig." He recently released his major label debut single, "I'll Be Damned."

Colombian psychedelic funk trio Balthvs plays on Sunday, Aug. 11 (8 p.m.; all ages; $31.90 at prekindle.com). Their eclectic style blends elements of Middle Eastern, disco, house, funk, psychedelia, indie rock, surf, and cumbia into their sound. Soul, funk, and electronic act Flamingosis opens.

The Clark Center

Billy Joel and Elton John are arguably the two greatest piano pop music sensations of the 20th century, and you can hear their hits when Entertainment Events and T2 Presents bring Piano Men: Generations to the Clark Center on Thursday, Aug. 15 (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $49.50 to $70.50 at clarkcenter.org). The music of these two hitmakers will be brought to life by virtuoso father-and-son duo Terry and Nick Davies. You'll hear everything from "Only the Good Die Young," "Circle of Life," "Philadelphia Freedom," "Bennie and the Jets," and the iconic "Piano Man."

More music ...

Concerts in the Plaza continues to fill your late Friday afternoons with live music. This Friday, Aug. 9, in the Mission Plaza, see Americana singer-songwriter Noach Tangeras at 5 p.m. followed by rock band Ghost/Monster from 6 to 8 p.m. Ghost/Monster are two-time New Times Music Awards-winners for Best Rock Song and Album of the Year.

North Carolina-based alt-folk singer-songwriter Bryan Bielanski brings his "super happy fun time" show to Liquid Gravity Brewing Company this Saturday, Aug. 10 (2 to 6 p.m.). His bio reads, "Imagine Nirvana and the Beatles had a kid together who became an acoustic rock singer-songwriter: that's Bryan Bielanski! Although he is inspired by some of the rock greats like Tom Petty and REM, he has a distinct musical style and lyrics that make you think deep thoughts and feel like you're really alive!"

The Frequent Weaver presents a jazz matinee at The Bunker on Sunday, Aug. 11 (3 p.m.; $10 presale at my805tix.com or $15 at the door) with the Lisa Mezzacappa Quartet (featuring Kris Tiner, Cory Wright, and Jordan Glenn). Mezzacappa is a Berkeley-based composer, bassist, improviser, and producer who's been part of California's jazz scene for nearly two decades.

The Frequent Weaver also presents Escape-Ism this Wednesday, Aug. 14, in A Satellite of Love (7 p.m.; $10). Fronted by D.C. punk rock legend Ian Svenonius, the "found-sound dream-drama" duo also features bassist Sandi Denton. Local acts Net Worth and Mirror Maggots will open. Δ

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