When local musician Nataly Lola first started playing at The Good Life in Solvang around six years ago, the venue stood out to her immediately.
The small craft wine and beer spot, located in a brick-floored cellar in downtown Solvang, wasn’t what she was used to.
“It’s down inside an actual cellar, so it’s actually kind of hard to get the acoustics to sound right there,” she said. “One of the cool things about it is you feel like you’re playing in a cave.”
It didn’t take long for Lola to notice something else different about the venue too–its owners.
Alfred and Lisa Mesa, who started the business together after decades of experience in food service, are both into music, Lola explained. They share some of her musical tastes, and don’t mind her performing originals or more obscure covers, she said, like at her upcoming set there on Dec. 22.
That too made the venue stand out, Lola explained, as a place she could explore and play a set off the beaten path.
“It’s a rarity,” she said. “Most wineries, if you start playing that they will say, ‘OK, well we have some people here who want to dance, so can you play
“Brown-Eyed Girl” or “Mustang Sally”?'”
From the moment that the Mesas opened The Good Life, they knew they wanted to have regular live music, Alfred told the Sun. Alfred has a musical background, and they both love all kinds of styles of live music.
But Solvang also has a reputation among tourists and locals that “everything closes really early,” he explained.
“We’re one of the few spots that’s open later on the weekends,” he said. “It’s a nice way to kind of bring folks out who have been out all day tasting wine to get them out and just relax.”
Alfred said he only likes to schedule local artists from throughout the Central Coast, and that the live music nights have remained popular across the years because of those artists. Patrons often find a favorite performer who they look forward to seeing again, and he generally schedules artists to return across the months.
“It’s really just the local feel and the fact that we bring people back,” he said. “Everyone has a few different styles they will bring to the table.”
For artists like Lola, the creative liberty she enjoys makes a show at The Good Life exciting, but so do the connections she has made there.
Returning again and again, she has cemented relationships with ongoing audience members, Lola said.
“I’ve made some good friends from playing there over the years that are regulars and just cool people,” she said. “And they’re always encouraging you to play your originals and they’re really supportive of that, which is nice.”
The groups that perform at The Good Life tend to be solo singer-songwriters like Lola. It’s a smaller venue with the stoney floor and walls, she said, so a full band and blasting amplification aren’t needed. Scheduling the soloists helps lend an intimacy and charm to the venue.
It’s all part of what the Mesas have cultivated at the The Good Life, she explained.
“It’s just nice that they’re so accepting and let you be yourself, and they just have such a cool, laid-back attitude,” Lola said. “The vibe there is just really cool, and I feel like it attracts cool people.”
That’s why Lola brings her best to shows there, she said, including booklets of all the cover songs she does, so everyone can hear something they like. It’s all about pleasing the crowd, she said, but that includes those like her, with a taste for hip-hop, punk rock, and other styles.
“I have a bunch of holiday music this time of year … but there’s some cool ones by Bad Religion and Dropkick Murphys too,” she said, adding that Alfred and Lisa were fans of those groups as well.
This next show is her last of the year at The Good Life, Lola said, but she’s already scheduled monthly through June of next year. She said it is one of her favorite venues to perform at on the Central Coast, and she likes to take her out-of-town family there when they visit.
Over the years, they’ve all “become close,” she added, and she’s thankful for the regular work and the friendly attitude. It’s a feeling that’s mutual, Alfred explained.
“I think we just feel blessed that we’ve been able to work with the amazing talent that we’ve found in this area because they just bring so much more to what our space creates on its own, very cozy, and just a warm feeling, and to have the different styles here and the different musicians, it just seems like it’s more homey,” he said.
Managing Editor Joe Payne feels cozy and warm about live music. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 20-27, 2018.