ON the Beat | Home of the Blues, Continued

Rory Block | Photo: Speerofalltrades

At times, the musical calendar around these parts gives credence to the half-ironic declaration of country blues guitar master Kenny Sultan years ago, when he opened a show with his longtime partner Tom Ball by cheerfully calling Santa Barbara “home of the blues.” Could the blues and its loamy, rootsy spirit find a compatible cultural landing strip in an affluent tourist haven/SoCal beach town?

Tab Benoit, I Hear Thunder Tour | Photo: Jean Frank Photography

Sometimes, the blues muse does her bidding here, both in terms of the homegrown blues scene and shows ushered through our local venues through various parties. And the crowds show up, in numbers and in terms of head-and-heart attention paid. Last week at the Lobero Theatre, a hefty crowd packed in to hear the steamy goods laid down by prized blues-rock-Cajun star Tab Benoit. The proud Houma, Louisiana, native arrived with his signature Fender Thinline Telecaster and posse of Category 5 amps — and zero effects or tuners! — in tow. As expected, the organically gifted guitar wizard Benoit and his trio pumped out powerhouse blues-rock and dipped into his Cajun roots (more of that would have been ok with me).

This weekend, we shift from Benoit’s definitely electric and in-your-face domain to the sweet stuff of acoustic country blues, as delivered by bonafide blues hero/heroine Rory Block, in a solo show presented by the Santa Barbara Blues Society in the intimate confines of the Unitarian Society on Sunday evening. (Further evidence for the validity of our town’s blues cred: the Blues Society, nearly a half century old, is the longest running blues society in the nation.)

A rare female icon in one of many traditionally male-dominated musical realms, Block, a New Jersey native who dove deep into the country-timing blues cause early on, has built up a sturdy foundation of accolades and awards (e.g. seven Blues Music Awards) and a dense discography going back to her appearance — as “Sunshine Kate” — on the country blues avatar Stefan Grossman’s classic 1971 album How to Play Blues Guitar. Block established her prominent place in the blues firmament over the decades through 30-ish albums, many on the Rounder and Stony Plain labels, and on various compilation and tribute projects, including last year’s Bob Dylan paean “Positively 4th Street,” an excellent new spin on the bard’s vintage music, à la acoustic blues.

This year’s model is her album Heavy on the Blues (listen here), mostly a blues-steeped song set, but also with a nod to Jimi Hendrix with her unique take on “The Wind Cries Mary.” Block, going strong at 75, is always worth seeking and checking out. Unitarian, here we come.

Blues on the March, Asbell in Leisurely Retreat

Apart from the alive-and-kicking musical energy force of last Saturday’s return visit by Benoit, opened by the fiery fine Boston, Massachusetts–based blues trio GA-20, the show had an extra layer of significance and bittersweet vibes. This was officially the final show in the long and storied career of David Asbell, who retired from his post as the Lobero’s formidable executive director early this year, and finally turned in his secondary hat as program director just last week.

Asbell’s remarkable 29-year stint leading Santa Barbara’s great and genuinely historic theater through glory years which found the space, among other things, becoming a DownBeat magazine–anointed haven for jazz. The guy deserves a rest — and a toast or three.

Steeling SOhO

Twin Shadow at SOhO, August 30, 2025 | Photo: Josef Woodard

After basking in Benoit’s tasteful conquest of the Lobero, I had to head over to SOhO to catch the artist known as Twin Shadow (a k a the gifted, hip, and sensitive singer-songwriter George Lewis Jr., a Dominican-born American artist). Truth be told, I wasn’t familiar with Lewis’s impressive work and persona as a leader but was lured by the promise of hearing not one, but two pedal steel players on the heels of last year’s introspective and steel-steeped Georgie. There they were — Zena Kay, a k a Steel Witch, and Dan Kalisher — flanking and aurally coating and complementing Lewis’ craft as song-maker, fretless bassist, and acoustic guitarist in a refreshing new context.

Now on the to-do list: check out the full measure of the 15-year-deep Twin Shadows catalogue.

TO-DOINGS:

This week at the Santa Barbara Bowl, the Lips have it. We’re talking, of course, about Oklahoman post-modern hook-and-schtick slingers the Flaming Lips, whose quirky indie-electro-pop — with Wayne Coyne as cheeky sage and frontman — has found a ripe home at the Bowl for its sensational live show. And did we mention their mondo-hit “Do You Realize?” was once the Oklahoma state song? The Lips return to the Bowl on Friday night in a meaty hip double header with Modest Mouse. A certain ironic tinge, relevant to both bands, can be detected in the tour’s subtitle: “The Good Times are Killing Me.”

For those seeking further musical engagement after the Bowl’s 10 p.m. curfew, head over to SOhO for the official Lips/Mouse after-party, featuring Orangepit! and Big Hungry.

On Friday, September 5, from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., it’s again time for the inviting series known as “Noon Concerts” organized by bassoonist Bill Wood in the Gothic Revival–stylin’ Trinity Episcopal Church’s splendor. This time out, the musicians are L.A.-based John & Maya Proulx, an accomplished jazz worldly couple, on piano and voices.