Mama's Broke brings their elegiac sounds to Bristol's Cider House on Sept. 2 

How to describe the Canadian duo Mama's Broke? Alt-Appalachian? Dark folk-punk? Quebecois blues?

If you want to get a taste, I recommend their 2023 NPR Tiny Desk Concert. It's 16 minutes of remarkable harmony singing and sparkling string work on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo, with chopstick and foot percussion.

Mournful, elegiac, and heartachingly beautiful, their music is a lament, a cry in the night, a coyote opera heard across a steep canyon. You'll feel moments of familiarity mixed with moments of revelation as they pay homage to Americana roots while making art in the present.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Mama's Broke
• ASH AND DUST Haunting Canadian folk duo Mama's Broke plays a Seven Sisters Folklore Society show at Atascadero's Bristols Cider House on Sept. 2.

Read the dark poetry of "Wrecking Need": "It's hard to see so honestly/ But I know you got it bad like me/ That wrecking need// But I'll come back this way and I'll marry you someday/ If you promise that you'll never ask me to put the bottle away/ I'll come back this way and I'll marry you someday/ If you promise that you'll never ask me to put the bottle away// I spit poison at all you bad boys and/ God knows by now I got plenty good reasons/ To keep on holding the wrong side of the knife in my hand."

Enjoy the powerful and haunting music of Mama's Broke at Atascadero's Bristols Cider House this Saturday, Sept. 2 (doors at 6 p.m., show at 8; $20 presale at eventbrite.com or $25 at the door), in a concert brought to you by the Seven Sisters Folklore Society, which "endeavors to foster awareness and appreciation of folklore and traditional arts for the people of California's Central Coast region."

A food truck will be on-site to help you eat your pain.

Country two-step

Numbskull and Good Medicine has a couple of country shows cooked up for you starting with Triston Marez at The Siren on Friday, Sept. 1 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at goodmedicinepresents.com). The 25-year-old Houston native has a rich, resonant voice, and on his debut EP, That Was All Me, he sings about everything from old flames and new loves to long drunken nights and good friends. Chris LeDoux, Aaron Watson, and Cody Johnson are a few influences.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Triston Marez
• STRAIGHT OUTTA HOUSTON Numbskull and Good Medicine present Triston Marez at The Siren on Sept. 1.

According to his bio, "As a member of a musical family from Oklahoma known for their bluegrass and fiddle talents, Marez started playing guitar at age 6, and his first live performance was a Buck Owens song in the first grade talent show."

The Josh Abbott Band on their Country Nights Tour comes to BarrelHouse Brewing next Thursday, Sept. 7 (6 p.m.; all ages; $25 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Founded in Lubbock, Texas, in 2006, the band has gone from regional success story to national touring act. They've enjoyed a few nationally charting singles such as, "Oh, Tonight" with Kacey Musgraves, "Touch," "Hangin' Around," "Amnesia," and, "Wasn't That Drunk" with Carly Pearce. Jake Jacobson opens.

Mostly free

The Siren has a bunch of free shows lined up this week. On Saturday, Sept. 2, hear the rock, soul, and blues of Lady & the Tramps (2 to 5 p.m.; free), and later that night, The Sinners bring their R&B, rock, and "dirty stories" (7:30 to 10:30 p.m.; free). You must be 21 or older for all Siren shows.

On Sunday, Sept. 3, see award winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Cassi Nicholls & Friends (2 to 5 p.m.; free). "She disarms audiences with an honest, sincere delivery of her dark and dreamy indie style," her bio explains.

You'll have to pony-up a few bucks for this next one, but if you love bluegrass, it will be worth it on Wednesday, Sept. 6, when Never Come Down and opener Anam Cara play (7 to 9:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 at tixr.com). Portland act Never Come Down weaves together modern and traditional bluegrass and Americana sounds.

And mark you calendar for next Thursday, Sept. 7, when Marc Ford (of Black Crows) with opener Kareeta plays (7 to 10:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $17 at tixr.com). More on them next week.

Get irie

SLO Brew Rock has a very cool reggae show coming next Thursday, Sept. 7, when Kabaka Pyramid & The Bebble Rockers perform (7:45 p.m.; 21-and-older; $27 at ticketweb.com). Pyramid is a powerful Jamaican performer who mixes reggae with hip-hop, delivering socially conscious messages with Egyptian Kemetic roots. Rising reggae star Jemere Morgan opens.

Sail away

Back in the "old days" of the mid-'70s to the mid-'80s, what today we call "yacht rock" was known as soft rock. It was smooth, mellow, cleanly recorded, with light, catchy melodies. Nothing edgy about it. This genre wasn't coined "yacht rock" until 2005 and the release of the online series Yacht Rock about the fictionalized lives of soft rock stars. At the time, the term was meant as an insult, but like the once pejorative term "queer," yacht rock has been reclaimed and is now celebrated for its inviting, comfortable sound.

Hence, for your listening pleasure, Vina Robles Amphitheatre hosts Yächtley Crëw on Saturday, Sept. 2 (7:30 p.m.; $50 to $65 at vinaroblesamphitheatre.com). Some of the tracks that seem to turn up regularly in their setlist are "Reelin' in the Years" by Steely Dan, "Maneater" by Hall & Oats, "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder, "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Croft, "Ride Like The Wind" by Christopher Cross, "Brandy" by Looking Glass, "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmers, "Come Sail Away" by Styx, and of course "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett.

Traffic Records proprietor and opening act DJ Manuel Barba will be spinning a set of yacht rock tunes.

Balkan beats

For the Folks will host another concert at Bang the Drum next Thursday, Sept. 7, when they present live electronic act Balkan Bump with Vince Cimo opening (7:30 p.m.; all ages; $20 presale at eventbrite.com or $25 day of show). Balkan Bump is orchestrated by trumpet player, producer, and ethnomusicologist Will Magid, and his band fuses "heavy electronic production with global music influences including traditional Balkan brass melodies, Middle Eastern sounds, and American hip-hop." They've played everywhere from Coachella to Bonnaroo to Lightning In A Bottle.

More music ...

The free Concerts in the Plaza series features BeerGrass-playing foot-stompin' party band the Mother Corn Shuckers headlining on Friday, Sept. 1, from 6 to 8 p.m., with amazing singer-songwriter Dulcie Taylor opening the show at 5 p.m.

The San Luis Obispo Symphony with special guest the Damon Castillo Band plays Pops-by-the-Sea this Saturday, Sept. 2, at the Avila Beach Golf Resort (4 p.m.; all ages; $25 general lawn seating, $15 for 13- to 17-year-olds; under 13 free, with limited table seating for $80 per seat on tables up to 10, at my805tix.com). Hear popular and patriotic works by Dudley Buck, John Williams, Leroy Anderson, Michael W. Smith, John Philip Sousa, and more. The second half welcomes local singer-songwriter Damon Castillo.

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• Photo Courtesy Of The Cliffnotes
• BOOGIE BLUES BOPPERS The Cliffnotes—(left to right) Liz Douglas, Joey Five 'n' Dimes, Daniel "Grasshopper" Ruben, Valerie Johnson, Al B Blue (seated), and Cliff "Crawdaddy" Stepp—return to Paso's Halter Ranch Vineyards on Sept. 3.

New Orleans-flavored boogie blues band The Cliffnotes return to Paso's Halter Ranch Vineyards this Sunday, Sept. 3 (noon to 3 p.m.; free). Great music and you can check out the narrow-gauge railroad on the property. As bandleader Cliff Stepp notes, the event will be "free, fun, and packed full of the boogie blues that made The Cliffnotes semi-famous!"

Progressive rock fusion trio the Travis Larson Band kicks off its fall U.S. tour in support of their eighth studio album, The New Exhibit, with a warm-up show at Frog and Peach this Tuesday, Sept. 5 (8:30 p.m.). "We last played North America in 2019 on a sold-out tour of clubs and theaters with The Aristocrats," Larson explained. "This will be our first time back on a nationwide tour since the pandemic and our first new music in seven years. We look forward to seeing everybody!" Δ

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