Michelle Lundeen at Humphreys Backstage Music Club
January 15
Dubbed the “Queen of Steam” for her soulful vocals and energetic stage presence, blues singer Michelle Lundeen blends classic roadhouse rhythm & blues, jump swing, Memphis groove, sultry jazz, and funky soul. She's shared stages with blues-rock heavies such as John Lee Hooker, Savoy Brown, Elvin Bishop, Tommy Castro, and more. Lundeen has been nominated for around a dozen San Diego Music Awards. Her debut full-length Song Inside Me was nominated Best Blues Album at the 2005 SDMAs, and was also voted one of the final four Best Self-Produced CDs at the Blues Foundation’s Int’l Blues Challenge (IBC). She and her band won Blues Lovers United of San Diego’s Regional IBC, scoring the chance to represent San Diego at IBC in Memphis, TN.

Coral Bells at the Holding Company
January 16
Indie folk-Americana band Coral Bells was founded by members who hail from Oklahoma, Boston, and Imperial Beach. The band took home a 2021 San Diego Music Award for Best Americana or Country Album, for their full-length Treehouse Tapes. They’ve been featured on various media outlets, from local KPBS, NBC SoundDiego, and 91X to NPR and more. Their most recent EP Still Be Home was produced, engineered, and mixed by Scott Seader (The Sinclairs) and mastered by Nashville-based Moses Mastering. New music is apparently on the horizon. “We’re slowly, intentionally, and deliberately curating our fourth album,” the band reported last year, “shaping it note by note, word by word.”

Cowboy Jack Johnson at Escondido First Congregational Church
January 18
Longtime (since 1968) San Diegan Cowboy Jack Johnson has fronted local tribute acts such as The Hank Show, re-creating the music of Hank Williams with costumes that include vintage smile-pocket Western shirts with hats and ties provided by original tailors from Nudies Rodeo Tailors and playing instruments accurate to the era that Williams recorded, from 1947 to 1953. Johnson formed another re-creation called Band in Black, featuring the music of Johnny Cash. "That band does the same thing,” he says, “we dress in black and play vintage gear like an upright bass, the lead guitarist uses a Telecaster, and I have my Martin guitar." (Cash owned several Martins.) "We cover the late '50s through early '60s, all presented based on research and authentic down to the last detail." For this Escondido performance, Johnson will cover a wide range of classic country artists.
Tomcat Courtney’s 97th Birthday at Winstons Beach Club
January 19
Born in 1929, the late bluesman Tomcat Courtney grew up in Texas, where picking cotton was the family business. Later, his pianist father owned a nightclub frequented by players who'd become blues legends such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Tampa Red. At the age of 16, Courtney was hired on as a tap dancer and a singer in the Ringling Brothers Circus minstrel show. He’d taught himself to tap dance after seeing Mr. Bojangles (Bill Robinson) perform on the family farm. Learning guitar, he fell easily into the laconic, traditional Delta blues groove. He relocated to California in the 1960s, first to Los Angeles and then to San Diego in 1971. Here, he formed the Bluesdusters, who became house regulars at OB’s Texas Teahouse, where he played every week for around 20 years. Courtney passed away in January 2021 at the age of 91. The afternoon tribute performance kicks off at 4PM and features local blues fixture Billy Watson along with Tom's Kids with Tony Tomlinson and Chickenbone Slim and The Biscuits.

January 20, 21, 22
Pinback was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV (also known as Zach Smith) and man-of-a-thousand-bands Rob Crow. Besides Crow and Smith, the group has included at least a dozen other locals over the years. For this three-night-stand in Little Italy celebrating the Casbah’s 37th anniversary, each night will feature a different set of support acts. On Tuesday, January 20, experimental easy-listening concept rockers Hasco Enjoyments will open the show, while Wednesday, January 21 features Disheveled Cuss, a 90s-inspired alt- pop-rock project headed up by Nick Reinhart, singer-guitarist for math rock band Tera Melos. The Thursday January 22 bill includes one of Smith’s other groups, Systems Officer, which has featured members of Goblin Cock, Thingy, Mr. Tube, and Octagrape.

Michelle Lundeen at Humphreys Backstage Music Club
January 15
Dubbed the “Queen of Steam” for her soulful vocals and energetic stage presence, blues singer Michelle Lundeen blends classic roadhouse rhythm & blues, jump swing, Memphis groove, sultry jazz, and funky soul. She's shared stages with blues-rock heavies such as John Lee Hooker, Savoy Brown, Elvin Bishop, Tommy Castro, and more. Lundeen has been nominated for around a dozen San Diego Music Awards. Her debut full-length Song Inside Me was nominated Best Blues Album at the 2005 SDMAs, and was also voted one of the final four Best Self-Produced CDs at the Blues Foundation’s Int’l Blues Challenge (IBC). She and her band won Blues Lovers United of San Diego’s Regional IBC, scoring the chance to represent San Diego at IBC in Memphis, TN.

Coral Bells at the Holding Company
January 16
Indie folk-Americana band Coral Bells was founded by members who hail from Oklahoma, Boston, and Imperial Beach. The band took home a 2021 San Diego Music Award for Best Americana or Country Album, for their full-length Treehouse Tapes. They’ve been featured on various media outlets, from local KPBS, NBC SoundDiego, and 91X to NPR and more. Their most recent EP Still Be Home was produced, engineered, and mixed by Scott Seader (The Sinclairs) and mastered by Nashville-based Moses Mastering. New music is apparently on the horizon. “We’re slowly, intentionally, and deliberately curating our fourth album,” the band reported last year, “shaping it note by note, word by word.”

Cowboy Jack Johnson at Escondido First Congregational Church
January 18
Longtime (since 1968) San Diegan Cowboy Jack Johnson has fronted local tribute acts such as The Hank Show, re-creating the music of Hank Williams with costumes that include vintage smile-pocket Western shirts with hats and ties provided by original tailors from Nudies Rodeo Tailors and playing instruments accurate to the era that Williams recorded, from 1947 to 1953. Johnson formed another re-creation called Band in Black, featuring the music of Johnny Cash. "That band does the same thing,” he says, “we dress in black and play vintage gear like an upright bass, the lead guitarist uses a Telecaster, and I have my Martin guitar." (Cash owned several Martins.) "We cover the late '50s through early '60s, all presented based on research and authentic down to the last detail." For this Escondido performance, Johnson will cover a wide range of classic country artists.
Tomcat Courtney’s 97th Birthday at Winstons Beach Club
January 19
Born in 1929, the late bluesman Tomcat Courtney grew up in Texas, where picking cotton was the family business. Later, his pianist father owned a nightclub frequented by players who'd become blues legends such as Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Tampa Red. At the age of 16, Courtney was hired on as a tap dancer and a singer in the Ringling Brothers Circus minstrel show. He’d taught himself to tap dance after seeing Mr. Bojangles (Bill Robinson) perform on the family farm. Learning guitar, he fell easily into the laconic, traditional Delta blues groove. He relocated to California in the 1960s, first to Los Angeles and then to San Diego in 1971. Here, he formed the Bluesdusters, who became house regulars at OB’s Texas Teahouse, where he played every week for around 20 years. Courtney passed away in January 2021 at the age of 91. The afternoon tribute performance kicks off at 4PM and features local blues fixture Billy Watson along with Tom's Kids with Tony Tomlinson and Chickenbone Slim and The Biscuits.

January 20, 21, 22
Pinback was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV (also known as Zach Smith) and man-of-a-thousand-bands Rob Crow. Besides Crow and Smith, the group has included at least a dozen other locals over the years. For this three-night-stand in Little Italy celebrating the Casbah’s 37th anniversary, each night will feature a different set of support acts. On Tuesday, January 20, experimental easy-listening concept rockers Hasco Enjoyments will open the show, while Wednesday, January 21 features Disheveled Cuss, a 90s-inspired alt- pop-rock project headed up by Nick Reinhart, singer-guitarist for math rock band Tera Melos. The Thursday January 22 bill includes one of Smith’s other groups, Systems Officer, which has featured members of Goblin Cock, Thingy, Mr. Tube, and Octagrape.
