Sometimes, getting through the year is only as good as the soundtrack you have playing. Thankfully, the Central Coast is home to a variety of skilled and talented musicians who set the tone for 2018.
There were competitions, awards, new albums, milestone performances, and more venues at which to enjoy live music. And there are more musicians with more songs filling those venues. The growing music scene inspired the Sun to start an entire Music section this year, showcasing the local and traveling talent that provided the soundtrack for 2018.
Before you tune up the guitar for 2019, enjoy this incomplete selection of some notable musical events from 2018.
The Santa Ynez Valley said goodbye to a longtime resident and country music legend Carlene Carter, daughter of June Carter Cash by her husband before Johnny Cash, earlier this year. Carter performed a special solo show to say her own goodbyes on March 24 at Standing Sun Wines in Buellton, demonstrating her masterful “Carter Scratch” guitar technique. Carter said she was moving back to her home state of Tennessee to be closer to her grandchildren, but said that Santa Ynez would always have a place in her heart. “I’ve loved every minute of being in this valley,” she told the Sun.
Orcutt native Pryor Baird blew aways locals and the judges on NBC’s The Voice after his first audition landed him on the show. Baird competed for several weeks with his bluesy, soulful sound, but was eventually voted off the show in May. Baird chose to join judge Blake Shelton’s team once he entered the show because of Shelton’s similar musical background, Baird told the Sun during the height of competition. “I think Blake and I have kindred spirits. … We’ve grown up hunting and fishing and being outside and enjoying the outdoors, an being a musician that has played the honky-tonks, has played the divey bars, has toured in a pickup truck, and stayed in really bad hotel rooms.” Baird returned to the Central Coast from Nashville for several performances where he was met with enthusiasm and support from local fans.
The Sun and New Times hosted the 10th annual New Times Music Awards on Nov. 2, welcoming singers/songwriters, bands, rappers, and composers to receive the coveted bronze Newtie awards. Musicians from across the Central Coast submitted recordings in various categories, and competed live at the event for the Best Live Performance award. The Cimo Brothers took the honors, and also won best song in the Country/Folk/Americana genre. Pictured: Brass Mash, the horn ensemble that won second place in the Open category and performed at the celebration at the Fremont Theater in Downtown San Luis Obispo.
The organizers of the Tales from the Tavern concert series, siblings Ron and Carole Ann Colone, started an all-day outdoor music event this year—the Ya Ya Festival. The new event happened on Sept. 22 at the Solvang Festival Theater and featured some of the concert series’ favorite performers, including Steve Poltz (pictured), Michael on Fire, and Dave Alvin. “Tales from the Tavern is such a quiet, intimate listening concert,” Ron Colone said. “Ya Ya Festival is Tales from the Tavern trying out its outside voice.”
Family, friends, and fans of Nipomo musician Andrew Rubin gathered to celebrate his life in June, more than a month after he passed away from a drug overdose in April. A prolific improvisor and skilled composer, Rubin was known for his love for music and the guidance he gave younger musicians as a teacher at Music Motive in Nipomo and Arroyo Grande. “Andrew was gracious enough to share his immense talent with my daughter,” a mother wrote to his tribute page on the Lady Family Mortuary website. “We are forever indebted to him for teaching her guitar. We send our heartfelt condolences to the family.”
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra welcomed 17-year-old violinist Amy Sze to perform Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto in D Major,” a monster of a piece in violin literature, on Sept. 29 this year. Sze grew up on the Central Coast studying music before moving to Santa Monica to attend the prestigious Colburn School. The virtuosic youth studied privately when she was much younger with Philharmonic Orchestra member Grace Seng, so joining the ensemble as a paid soloist was a milestone for the rising star. “I feel really thankful for all of those people who are mentoring me that now they are playing with me,” Sze said. “It’s kind of weird, but it’s amazing to think of this happening.”
Local singer/songwriter Dulcie Taylor released a new album this year, Better Part of Me, which blends her soulful and smoky South Carolina voice with ringing acoustic guitars and clean electric leads. Pulling on a wide team of skilled local collaborators, Taylor continues to produce and perform her unique country/folk-influenced music, which is definitely easy to listen to.
Lompoc saw a new musical nonprofit form in 2018, the Certain Sparks Music Foundation, spurred by Randall Sena, owner of Certain Sparks Music store and studio. Sena began the nonprofit to help pay for music lessons for locals who couldn’t otherwise afford them and started fundraising with a concert on Feb. 9. The funds helped youth attend lessons and group camps, like the shop’s Build-A-Band summer camp (pictured), which allowed students to play together in a large group.
This music writer made his first (long overdue) visit to Cold Spring Tavern off Highway 154 near the top of the San Marcos Pass this year, where live music, tri-tip sandwiches, and cold beer are the weekend tradition. One group that’s a fixture at Cold Spring is the famed blues duo Tom Ball (pictured left) and Kenny Sultan (center) from Santa Barbara, who perform in front of the historic tavern on most Sundays from 1:15 to 4 p.m. with bandmates Jody Eulitz and Tom Lee. Ball and Sultan have played together since the 1970s, and Cold Spring has always been a favorite venue. “It’s kind of like home,” Sultan told the Sun. “They like us up there, they don’t want things to change. They want people to come up with their kids and have it the way it was.”
Presqu’ile Winery continued to bring world-class touring acts to Santa Maria to perform at their outdoor amphitheater. One such show featured Robert Randolph & The Family Band on May 12, which featured Randolph’s ripping pedal steel guitar style front and center while his cousins backed him up in the band. “Whenever you get to go to California, go all over and visit the wineries, it’s always a great musical crowd there,” he told the Sun. “Great music fans, people that are into different cultures of music, all different styles of music. So, it’s really a cool thing.”
This article appears in Dec 27, 2018 – Jan 3, 2019.