Thursday, Sept. 10
Honky Tonk
The Las Vegas-based honky tonk country band Paige and the Overtones are committed to keeping the spirit of outlaw country alive and well into the 21st century with their live, high-energy performances. The lead singer, Paige – known as the “Angry Songbird” – is joined by Jake Shepard on lead guitar alongside a groovy rhythm section. The crew have collectively opened for Willie Nelson, Dick Dale, Junior Brown and Wanda Jackson, among other iconic country artists and will bring their soulful sounds to the stage of Pop & Hiss. [AS]
7pm Thursday, Sept. 10. Pop & Hiss, 215 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. $5. (831) 275-3303, popandhiss.net.
Friday, Sept. 11
Steinbeck’s Eyes
The most important Steinbeck scholar in the nation, Pacific Grove-based Susan Shillinglaw, is back with another book. Steinbeck’s Landscapes: Where Story Meets Place is a thick, well-illustrated volume – an offer to see California through John Steinbeck’s eyes, its ”tawny” hills, “comfortable” oaks, “cathedral” forests and the churning Pacific coast of Monterey County. Salinas is the heart of Steinbeck country and there, in the author’s hometown, Shillinglaw will meet with fans and talk about the newly-released book. Shillinglaw spent four decades teaching a Steinbeck course at San José State, directed the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies, and later ran the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. Her books include Carol and John Steinbeck: Portrait of a Marriage and A Journey into Steinbeck’s California. [AP]
6-8pm Friday, Sept. 11. Downtown Book and Sound, 213 Main St., Salinas. Free. (831) 477-6700, downtownbookandsound.com.
Friday, Sept. 11-Sunday, Sept. 13
Italian Holiday
Quick quiz: Which would be more fun, a religious ceremony to bless fishing boats or a festival celebrating Italian heritage with food, music, dancing and games? Yeah, that’s an easy one. But Festa Italia had its humble beginning with Monterey’s Italian fishing families bringing a statue of Santa Rosalia to bless the fleet. But what it has become is three days of family fun – not only all of the above, but also a cooking demonstration, dance lessons (for those who don’t know the tarantella), a bungee trampoline, slides, vendors… mannaggia, there’s too much to list here. That’s why the festival needs three days. And we didn’t even get to the popular bocce tournament. Best of all, organizers have not forgotten the event’s roots – there will be a procession to the wharf for a blessing of the fishing boats. [DF]
3-9pm Friday, Sept. 11; 10am-9pm Saturday, Sept. 12; 10am-6pm Sunday, Sept. 13. Custom House Plaza, Monterey. Free to attend. (831) 633-4444, festaitaliamonterey.org.
Saturday, Sept. 12
Royal Gem
It was once a turkey farm, although the turkeys never left Royal Oaks. More importantly, it was the first park in the County of Monterey system when it opened in 1966, leading the way to the recreational gems across the county we all enjoy today. Royal Oaks Park marks its 60th anniversary with a party featuring more than a dozen food trucks, a disc golf tournament and other festivities. The 122-acre park offers various amenities, including a softball field, playground equipment, hiking trails and more. Word is County Supervisor Glenn Church has challenged Chief of Parks Bryan Flores to a competitive horseshoe match. See how it all plays out. [EC]
8am-7pm (disc golf tournament begins at 9am) Saturday, Sept. 12. Royal Oaks Park, 537 Maher Road, Royal Oaks. Free. (831) 755-4895, bit.ly/RoyalOaksPark.
Bluegrass Boy
Peter Rowan is an American bluegrass musician with quite the storied career. He’s a composer, yodeler, singer, mandolin player and guitar strummer. Right out of the gate, in 1956, at just 14 years old, he formed a rockabilly band called the Cupids, having learned to play guitar from his uncle. Flash forward through many decades of touring, singing in bluegrass bands, working alongside Jerry Garcia with the West Coast Band, and frequently opening for The Doors with the band Earth Opera. In 1997, Rowan won a Grammy Award for his contributions to the bluegrass compilation True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe. The album won Best Bluegrass Album that year, but Rowan didn’t stop there. In 2012, he received the Bluegrass Star Award from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, an honor given to artists who advance traditional bluegrass music and bring it to new audiences. [KR]
7pm Saturday, Sept. 12. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $43-$67. (831) 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com.
Cross Continental
Tamazight only became an “official” language in Morocco in 2011, but its roots are ancient – in fact, Afro-Asiatic languages were among the very first to develop systems of writing. Lucky for us, Tamazight musical tradition has also endured across time and place. The band AZA is rooted deeply in Tamazight music, indigenous to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, which is also where Imazighen natives Fattah Abbou and Mohame Aoualou studied music for 25 years. Eight years ago, the duo moved to the U.S. and founded AZA in Santa Cruz. They tapped into the music of people whose culture had been marginalized for centuries, making it fresh and relevant to modern audiences, and also incorporated the various international influences of their band members. The result is something definitely North African but bluesy, danceable and bright. [SR]
7:30-9:30pm Saturday, Sept. 12. Palenke Teen Arts Center, 530 Elm Ave., Seaside. $30. (831) 899-9909, palenkearts.com.
Saturday, Sept. 12-Sunday, Sept. 13
Art Crawl
It’s early fall in Monterey County, the time of the year when on weekends local artists open their homes and studios to everyone curious. This year, Open Studios Art Tour comes with about 65 spots on the map to discover, from homes of individual artists to garages, workshops and galleries. Read a story on the tour in the Sept. 17-23 issue of the Weekly. A special magazine with a map of the tour and artists’ descriptions is available as an insert in this issue of the paper. [AP]
11am-5pm Saturday, Sept. 12-Sunday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 19-Sunday, Sept. 20. Various locations around Monterey County. Free. Visit arts4mc.org/open-studios-art-tour to get a map or download an app.
Sunday, Sept. 13
String Time
With the aid of effects pedals, guitarists can bend, distort, compress and modulate the instrument’s output to create riffs that can be gritty and crunchy or thick and dreamy, whatever the artist prefers. But what if you took that pedal and hooked it up to a violin? That question is answered by Grammy Award-winning violinist Mads Tolling, who uses effects to create a solo concert that feels like an orchestral performance. With effects pedals and innovative techniques, Tolling creates a unique sound while covering familiar favorites like Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe” and the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony,” among others. [AS]
4pm Sunday, Sept. 13. Wendi Kirby Music, 550 Hartnell St., Suite F, Monterey. $45. info@wendikirbymusic.com, wendikirbymusic.com.
By the People
Do you think of yourself as an “artist”? This often feels like a trick question – must one be good enough or prolific enough or have tried to sell a piece of art to earn the title? Guests at Gathering for Women-Monterey are unambiguously artists – not that they needed to check that box, but they can say they are putting their work up for sale. Unhoused women at this critical resource center produce profound and beautiful artwork in a range of styles, and in what has become a tradition – this year marks the seventh annual – sell that work and keep the proceeds. (Professional artists also donate work to the nonprofit for this fundraiser.) This event is a chance to see the creative spirit of guests here, support local artists (professionals and otherwise), grab a glass of wine and learn about how Gathering for Women is serving the community. [SR]
5-6:30pm Sunday, Sept. 13. Gathering For Women, 147 El Dorado St., Monterey. Free. (831) 241-6154, gatheringforwomen.org.
Tuesday, Sept. 15
Good Porn
The New Pornographers might be a Canadian band, but they are known to many fans thanks to the hypnotic voice of the group’s American vocalist, Neko Case. Founded by vocalist and guitarist Carl Newman, this indie rock group functions more like a group collective than a fixed-membership band, allowing for plenty of artistic freedom and thriving with quality original compositions and ambitious lyrics. The band gained wide critical acclaim starting with their debut studio album, Mass Romantic (2000), and released their newest, 10th album, The Former Site Of, in March 2026 and are currently touring through the West. [AP]
7pm Tuesday, Sept. 15. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $46-$70. (831) 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com/shows/the-new-pornographers.
Tuesday, Sept. 15-Wednesday, Sept. 16
Big Apple Trees
There really is no other place in the world like New York City, and even those who scorn urban life can find something magical about it. Not that the Monterey Symphony is judging – quite the opposite. Their 2026-2027 season launches with Love Letter to New York: a musical ode to the Big Apple in the Forest Theater. The program promises everything from New Yorker classics like pieces written by Duke Ellington to Alan Silvestri’s modern movie scores from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s also a costume contest so dress to impress and grab a slice of New York-style pizza with a bottle of Monterey County wine for a perfect pairing. [SC]
6:30pm Tuesday, Sept. 15 and Wednesday, Sept. 16. Forest Theater, 707 Mountain View, Carmel. $12-$57. (831) 646-8511, montereysymphony.org.
Wednesday, Sept. 16
Guitar Man
Eric Clapton has declared Grammy-winner Albert Lee to be “the greatest guitarist in the world.” The legendary Lee is considered a “musician’s musician,” respected by them for his fluid signature hybrid picking style. He’s worked with countless artists, including Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Clapton as part of his band for five years. “Between his guitar, his amp and his whammy bar, Albert Lee has more than enough musical magic to create most any sound he needs,” a promo for his upcoming show declares. The 82-year-old guitarist is still performing, now on tour with his band promoting his new album Lay it Down, a tribute to some of Lee’s favorite artists from his career spanning five-and-a-half decades. [PM]
7:30pm Wednesday, Sept. 16. Golden Bough Playhouse, Monte Verde Street between 8th and 9th, Carmel. $91-$191. (831) 622-0100, pacrep.org.
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