Going to the Chapel of Pagan Wit, at Santa Barbara’s Lobero

Finding a pithy description of where cult hero singer-songwriter John Craigie is coming from, and going, is a difficult task, testament to the unique creative voice/identity he has created for himself. But the Seattle paper The Stranger comes close to touching on the Craigie paradox, describing him as “the lovechild of John Prine and Mitch Hedberg with a vagabond troubadour edge.” In other words, Craigie operates in Woody Guthrie’s line of work, but with a meta-mouth attached. He’s serious, and serious about his comic asides.

Hearing Craigie’s records can win you over for his power of song, maverick wit, and expert comic detours, as happens once again on his latest album, Pagan Church. The album is number nine in a discography on his own Zabriskie Point Records label — its name a nod to the desert haven and the iconic/pop apocalyptic Michelangelo Antonioni film Zabriskie Point. (Incidental note: Craigie released the album The Apocalypse Is Over in 2013. Good to know).

But to catch Craigie live offers a fuller, more three-dimensional profile of what he is all about. The Los Angeles–born, Portland-based troubadour comedian storyteller, now 44, returns to the Lobero on Friday, November 15, with his band the Holy Know-Nothings.

Craigie also has a Santa Barbara connection once removed, in the form of a bond and working relationship with semi-local Jack Johnson. Johnson was impressed enough with Craigie’s work that he invited him to open for him on the road, with the headliner singing along to Craigie’s “I Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man.” Craigie has also toured with Santa Barbaran Glen Phillips, who has his own wry side.

On occasion, Craigie checks in with Biblical references large, small, and ironic, as on Pagan Church, with the song “Judas” and a line from “Viking Sex,” “If God didn’t tell people what to do / a lot more people would believe in God.” In the same song, Craigie name-checks our town: “It ain’t cold in Santa Barbara; maybe you just don’t know the cold.”

In other geo-cultural news, one of Craigie’s best-loved tunes could be considered an alternative state anthem, “I Am California,” from his well-received 2017 album No Rain, No Rose. The chorus: “So drink all my wine, cut all my trees / Make love on my beaches, smoke all my weed / I am California, can’t you see? / Wherever you roam, you’ll always want me.” The Angeleno-in-Portland has spoken/sung, and the road goes on, stopping briefly at the Lobero. 

See lobero.org/events/john-craigie-2024.