I’m on the phone with Pryor Baird and he just called me “dude.”
“Dude, I miss the weather, I miss that beautiful 73 and 52 every day,” the former contestant on NBC’s The Voice said, after I asked him what he misses about living on the Central Coast.
The Orcutt native currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, and just recently embarked a national tour with Black River Entertainment, titled Country’s Back, joined by peer and fellow The Voice alumnus Kaleb Lee. The two met while competing on Season 14 together, and both artists made it to the top six.
The duo kicked off their new tour at the beginning of March in Fontana, California, and will continue through May with stops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, and other states. But no matter how far from his hometown Baird performs, Orcutt is still on his mind constantly, and he comes back to visit as often as possible.
“My mom still lives in the same house I was born and raised in,” Baird said. “My sister lives in Santa Barbara—all my family’s out there.”
Another Old Town Orcutt aspect Baird misses, compared to living Nashville, is the neighborly small-town feel, he said.
“You don’t get to wave at people. That’s what I miss, you don’t get to wave at your friends, you don’t get to see people you know every day,” Baird said. “I miss being able to drive with the windows down all the time.”
To find out more about the Country’s Back tour, visit blackriverevent.com.
Going south
“Round round get around, I get around, yeahhh.” The Beach Boys still get around too, as the legendary pop-rock group brings its 12 Sides of Summer Tour to the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, on Friday, March 6, at 8 p.m. Although the current lineup notably lacks co-founder Brian Wilson, it’s hard to turn down the chance to see Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, and company performing the band’s biggest hits, live in person. Tickets to the show range from $69 to $99. For tickets or more info, visit chumashcasino.com. The resort is located at 3400 E. Highway 246, Santa Ynez.
Also in the Santa Ynez Valley, the Maverick Saloon presents two local country-rock groups back to back, starting with Livewire on Friday, March 6, from 8 to 11 p.m., and followed by The Tex Pistols on Saturday, March 7, from 8 to 11 p.m. Solo artist Sam Mitchell takes over the saloon for a daylight patio performance the following afternoon, Sunday, March 8, from 1 to 5 p.m. Entry to all three performances is complimentary. The Maverick is located at 3687 Sagunto St., suite D, Santa Ynez. To find out more about upcoming artists at the saloon, visit themavsaloon.com.
Country-rock and roots band Stray Herd is set to perform at the Cold Spring Tavern off of Highway 154 on Friday, March 6, from 6 to 9 p.m. The Santa Barbara six-piece features Grayson Dale on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Nick Hoffman on lead guitar, Kate Ingalls and Ally Shiras on harmony vocals, “Wyoming” Steve Clemens on bass, and Snake Farmer on percussion.
The tavern’s lineup continues with Cuyama Valley-based ensemble Jan Smith and the Muddy Daughters on Saturday, March 7, from 1 to 4 p.m., followed by Americana group The Reserve, who perform from 5 to 8 p.m.
The weekend concludes with tavern regulars Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan, who play their trademark blend of blues, rags, and good time tunes on Sunday, March 8, from 1:15 to 4 p.m. Blues and rock trio Teresa Russell and Cocobilli follow the duo, with a performance from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission to every show at Cold Spring is complimentary. The tavern is located at 5995 Stagecoach Road, Santa Barbara. Visit coldspringtavern.com for more info.
More music
Starting Friday, March 6, R&B artist Dante Marsh becomes the Presqu’ile Winery’s monthly Musician-In-Residence, for the month of March. Marsh and his band, The Vibe Setters, will kick of their residency with their first performance of the month that evening, roughly from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The group won both Best R&B Song (for “Jungle Boy”) and Best Live Performance at the New Times Music Awards last year. Admission to Marsh’s concert series at Presqu’ile is complimentary. Visit presquilewine.com to find out more. The winery is located at 5391 Presqu’ile Drive, Santa Maria.
The Santa Maria Valley Senior Citizens Club presents Green is the Thing, a St. Patrick’s Day dance party featuring live music from the Riptide Big Band, on Sunday, March 8, from 1:30 to 4 p.m., at the Elwin Mussell Senior Center. Guests are encouraged to wear green of course, along with their best dancing shoes. Admission to the event is free, thanks to funding from the Community Foundation of SLO County. The venue is located at 510 Park Ave., Santa Maria. To find out more about the concert, visit riptidebb.com.
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood wrote this week’s Local Notes. Contact him at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 5-12, 2020.