Former Santa Barbara resident surfer and musician Jack Johnson made history on the stormy California night of Fat Tuesday, February 21st. The master of contagious acoustic pop hits played an extraordinary performance at the historic downtown Lobero Theatre as part of the venue's 150th-anniversary celebration. Johnson, a huge draw, especially in Santa Barbara, quickly sold out two nights at the 4500-seat Santa Barbara County Bowl last summer.

As eminent Baltimore funk quartet Pigeons Playing Ping Pong approach fifteen years as a touring act, the band presents Perspective, a twelve-track studio album. PPPP’s storied career has carried the artists across the country, a consistently ascending migration defined by the continuous achievement of milestones, building a success story made possible by an unyielding commitment to craft and a penchant for fun. Perspective is a summative assessment of the journey from a bird’s eye view.

The harmonious collective consciousness of music, lights, love, and sharing that is ALO’s Tour D’Amour is in underway as the band, with singer/songwriter Anna Moss along for most of it, is bounding from California town to town before winding up in early March in Oregon and Washington.

Today, Baltimore’s favorite funky foursome, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, announced the release of a new studio single. Titled “Indiglo,” the sprightly track combines PPPP’s signature uplifting funk with masterful keyboard work from Zach Gill (ALO). Available now on all streaming platforms, the single is the band’s first studio release since the 2020 album Presto.

The Shift Network (TSN), a global leader in transformational learning and events, presents an epic three-day free online festival, The Shift Music Festival and Visionaries Summit, September 17-19. World-renowned musicians and visionaries will unite for one purpose: to kick off the Shift Network’s goal of planting 1 MILLION TREES.

The soothing sounds of Zach Gill can be summed up in one word: Earworm. His new album Cocktail Yoga will paint a picture of 2020 inwardly, instrumentally, and with more than just the muted colors of an impressionist painting. Tracks like Playground in Your Soul answer back to his ALO song Dead Still Dance.

Singer/Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Zach Gill has announced a four show run slated for California this August.   Billed as an “Evening With” these shows will take a dip into his solo catalog, highlighting compositions from his recent solo album Life In The Multiverse, and 2008’s Stuff as well as songs from his role as one of the founding members of ALO.

I have to admit, I like to take an angle when I write. Often times, I will have a phrase or concept thought out, which may be developed into an introduction, even before I go to see a band. How can that be, you may be asking. Well, most of the bands I review I have seen before and I can figure out what to expect. But, last Sunday night's show left me dumbfounded.