Three-time New Times Music Award-winner Sadie Jasper releases Her Kingdom Come on July 19 

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Sadie Jasper really doesn’t sound like anyone else. The Texas born and bred singer-songwriter mixes rock, pop, country, and hip-hop into her dreamy music, but when listening to her new single “Not Here in the Now,” which has a terrific online music video produced by Room For Cream Films, you’ll be forgiven if you suffer whiplash as it moves through her mix of genres. Personally, I love it when from pop balladeering she breaks into a rap and then segues into an operatic chorus.

As her bio explains, her music and lyrics “offer an honest glimpse into a woman coming of age while breaking free from an oppressive religious culture.”

She grew up in a musical family but also a religiously restrictive one, daughter to an Anglican priest, teacher, and administrator in a private Dallas school, where feminism and expressionism were suppressed, which led to mental health challenges and self-doubt.

“I left the church, my entire community, and didn’t really know who I was anymore,” she explained. “Nothing made sense, including my marriage and being a young mom. It was hard for me to accept the reality of my life, my choices, and move forward with a healthier and more confident outlook, all at the same time. I became paralyzed in my self-expression for fear that I wouldn’t be accepted. Because I already felt really lonely, and that’s a terrifying feeling.”

Consider her new album, Her Kingdom Come, her coming out story of reclaiming her life and defining who she is and what’s important to her. These deeply felt and expressed songs will resonate.

“Her Kingdom Come is a lot of things,” she continued, “but mostly it’s a love letter to myself and my journey thus far. Discovering myself as a woman, a mother, and a lover, a human being that experienced religious abuse and overcame it, a misfit that is beginning to feel at peace simply belonging to herself, and an artist dedicated to creating beautiful things out of painful experiences is a wild ride, but it’s my ride. My life. My world. My kingdom.”

See three-time New Times Music Award-winner Sadie Jasper when she plays her album release party on Friday, July 19, in Humdinger Brewing (855 Capitolio Way, SLO; 7 p.m.; all ages; $23.27 presale at my805tix.com or $33.98 day of show), with Walk the Whale opening.

The California Mid-State Fair

As usual, the fair running through Sunday, July 28, has too many musical acts to list. Between the ticketed events at the Michelob Ultra Concert Series in the arena to the free Frontier Stage and free Mission Square stage, not to mention music in La Cantina and on the Island Stage, the best place to go is midstatefair.com/fair for a complete listing of concerts, tickets, events, and more—but let’s talk about why Nickelback has a reputation for being hated and yet continues to fill big venues. They play the Michelob Ultra Concert Series on Wednesday, July 24, the same night hard rock band Slaughter plays the Frontier Stage and Paso classic rock cover band Bad Obsession plays Mission Square.

    Canadian rock act Nickelback formed in 1995, but their breakout moment didn’t come until 2002, and their single “How You Remind Me,” off their 2001 album Silver Side Up, rose No. 1 on the U.S. charts. They continued to write more smash singles and sell millions of records, but somewhere along the line it became fashionable to bash Nickelback, earning them the title of the most hated band in America.

    Heck, there’s even a documentary about the phenomenon, Love to Hate: Nickelback, which aimed to show why the hate don’t rate. These are just four working-class dudes who made it, dig? They make pretty good music. Calm down, haters. 

    A Finnish cultural studies Ph.D. student, Salli Anttonen, wrote a paper about the hate too, titled “‘Hypocritical bullshit performed through gritted teeth’: Authenticity discourses in Nickelback’s album reviews in Finnish media,” which argued it was less about the music and more about the haters trying to make themselves feel cool for being so uncool to Nickelback. 

So here’s the thing, Nickelback fans. It’s OK to like, even love, this polished and commercial rock quartet, because it proves you’re not a sheepish follower of the hatred-du-jour. You like what you like, and you don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. That’s rock ’n’ roll, man.

Numbskull and Good Medicine

I told you about this guy last week, but don’t miss folk and blues artist Jake Xerxes Fussell at Bristols Cider House on Thursday, July 18 (7 p.m.; all ages; $24.41 at goodmedicinepresents.com). I’ve been listening to his new album, When I’m Called, and it’s positively beautiful, with nine sparkling interpretations of old folk songs. Incredible!

Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore with The Guilty Ones returns on Sunday, July 21 (doors at 6:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $30.39 at goodmedicinepresents.com) to The Siren. Alvin’s a Grammy Award-winner and Gilmore’s a nominee, and together they recorded the amazing collaboration Downey To Lubbock (2018), a collection of a dozen songs, many of them covers such as Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Buddy Brown’s Blues” and Brownie McGhee’s “Walk On.” They’re songs that hold special meaning for the troubadours, and hearing them live is a revelation.

The great singer-songwriter and storyteller Paul Thorn is returning on Thursday, July 25 (doors at 6:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $37.29 at goodmedicinepresents.com) to The Siren. Thorn is a real Southern gentleman, born and raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, with an amazing backstory. Before turning to music, he was a pro boxer with a 14-4 record, and a fight against former world champ Roberto Durán that was nationally televised. He has 11 studio albums, each one amazing. The most recent is 2021’s Never Too Late to Call. If you’ve seen him, you know he’s magic. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?

The Siren

In addition to the Numbskull and Good Medicine shows this week, The Siren has a bunch of other concerts, starting with speed metal OGs Exciter with metal/punk act Midnight, speed metal band Wraith, and death/thrash metal group Hellwitch opening on Thursday, July 18.

dada plays on their Return to Dizz Knee Land Tour featuring Kimmi Bitter plays on Friday, July 19 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $30 at tixr.com). dada hit the scene in 1992 with their groundbreaking debut Puzzle. Boasting prog-rock musicianship, vocal harmonies, and “melodic power pop layered with inspired psychedelic and experimental rock impulses,” this trio will dazzle.

On Saturday, July 20, The Siren kicks off with a free afternoon show featuring genre-jumping cover band Riff Tide (2 to 5 p.m.; 21-and-older) followed by a ticketed show with Grateful Dead tribute act The China Cats (8 to 10:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $18 at tixr.com).

Swiss rockabilly combo Hillbilly Moon Explosion plays on Wednesday, July 24 (7 to 10 p.m.; 21-and-older; $22 at tixr.com), and judging from their online videos, they’re a blast. I especially like their collaborations with gravel-throated singer, Sparky, from Demented Are Go. Expect rock, swing, jump blues, country, and surf sounds. Punk trio Wenzdaze will open.

Fremont Theater

The music-centric sitcom The Monkees, about the shenanigans of a struggling LA rock band, only ran for two seasons between Sept. 12, 1966, and March 24, 1968, yet it became an indelible part of rock history, in part because the fictional band created for the show—actors and musicians Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork—looked like they were having a ton of fun, and some of the music—“Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer,” and “Daydream Believer”—became No. 1 hits.

Sure, there were allegations that they couldn’t play their instruments and that the songs weren’t written by them, but they sold more than 75 million records worldwide, and they all managed to launch solo music careers after the show was canceled and they broke up as a group, reuniting occasionally for reunion tours. Ka-ching!

This week at the Fremont Theater, see Micky Dolenz of The Monkees: Songs & Stories on Friday, July 19 (8 p.m.; all ages; $24.75 to $99.50 at prekindle.com).

SLO Brew Live at Rod & Hammer Rock

Ready for some Zeppelin songs played by four ferociously rocking ladies? Because that’s what you’ll get when Zepparella—The Led Zeppelin Powerhouse comes to Rod & Hammer Rock this Friday, July 19 (doors at 7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27.21 at ticketweb.com). The band will “replicate the nuance and detail of Zeppelin’s catalog while honoring the powerful improvisational journeys for which Zeppelin shows were renowned.”  

Festival Mozaic

Festival Mozaic’s Summer Music Festival continues through Saturday, July 27, with too many events to list, but visit festivalmozaic.org/summer to see the list and links to tickets. Highlights this week include Quarteto Nuevo on Sunday, July 21 (2 p.m.; all ages; $67 lawn seating) at the See Canyon Fruit Ranch. They merge “Western classical, Eastern European folk, Latin, and jazz with an organic feel that packs a wallop.”

Another highlight this week is The Mother Hips frontman Tim Bluhm with the Coffis Brothers on Thursday, July 25, at Nipomo’s Dana Adobe (6:30 p.m.; all ages; $62). Bluhm, who plays a soulful brand of folk rock, has been a California staple for more than two decades. The Coffis Brothers are known for their heartfelt roots-rock sound. Should be an amazing collaboration. Bi-coastal singer-songwriter Melody Klemin will open. 

You can pre-order a picnic from SLO Provisions for both of these shows at sloprovisions.com/preorders.

Calling all performers!

It’s time once again for the New Times Music Awards, and if you want to throw your musical hat into the ring of fire, you must submit your entries by 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 5. You’ll find an entry form on page 9 of this edition, or submit online at newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/NTMAHome/Page. Winners must be able to perform at the showcase and awards ceremony on Friday, Nov. 8, at Rod & Hammer Rock.

More music …

Concerts in the Plaza continues this Friday, July 19, with singer-songwriter Emily Smith opening at 5 p.m., followed by headliner The Molly Ringwald Project from 6 to 8 p.m. Smith’s sound has been compared to Sheryl Crow and Colbie Caillat, while the TMRP is pure ’80s pop covers.

Get your fix of NOLA-style rock “with a dash of reggae, classic rock, and Americana” when The Cliffnotes play another TGIF sunset happy hour show at Mulligan’s Bar & Grill at the Avila Beach Golf Resort this Friday, July 19 (5 to 7 p.m.; all ages; free). It’s a party, baby.

The Midiri Brothers (from New Jersey) and The Barrelhouse Wailers (from Ventura) play a Basin Street Regulars Hot Swingin’ Jazz concert at the Pismo Beach Vets Hall this Saturday, July 20 (noon to 5 p.m.; all ages; $35 my805tix.com). 

The Seven Sisters Folklore Society hosts a Midsummer Barn Dance at the historic Octagon Barn Center this Saturday, July 20, with old-timey string band the SLO County Stumblers (6 p.m.; all ages; $20 presale at eventbrite.com or $25 at the door. Tickets for kids under 12 are $10). This fundraiser for the Land Conservancy of SLO County will feature a square dance with Bay Area caller Robin Fischer. There will also be line dancing to Santa Cruz’s ’90s country band, Lane and the Longbeds. ∆

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