Notes From The Eclectic Music Festival, 2026

The annual Eclectic Music Festival was held yesterday in South Pasadena. This year it had a new name, The South Pasadena Arts And Music Crawl, but that's not as good, so we'll continue to call it the Eclectic. There were multiple stages, some indoors and some outside, mostly along Mission Street. The website listed the start time as being 3 p.m., but if you clicked on the individual stages, there was an indication that actually the music started at noon, at least at one location. Neither of those were correct. The music started at 2, and it began at Jeweled Universe with singer/songwriter Tisa Adamson. She was joined by Ed Tree on electric guitar. Ed would play his own set a little later in the festival, and Tisa also had her monthly gig at Republic of Pie in the evening. Busy musicians. And what a great way to kick off the day, with some excellent, thoughtful songs. Songs with a certain power, some with a bluesy edge, particularly in Ed Tree's guitar work. "We're going to do three more, then you guys can wander around South Pass," Tisa told the crowd toward the end of her set. That was quickly met with calls of "No, stay here" by the lovely folks running that venue. And, yes, the lineup of artists throughout the day at Jeweled Universe was particularly good, but I did want to check out a few artists at Dinosaur Farm too. That's the trouble with events with multiple stages; you're undoubtedly going to miss some great sets.

Tisa Adamson, with Ed Tree

Arvin

Dinosaur Farm, like Jeweled Universe, is an unusual venue with its own particular charm. I had seen I See Hawks In L.A. play there in February. For this event, there was the usual indoor stage at the back of the store, but also an outdoor stage set up in the parking lot in the back. The first several artists performed indoors. At that point, there was still a question of rain anyway, the sky clearly toying with the idea of letting loose on folks. First up at Dinosaur Farm was Arvin, a duo of two young women, sisters, performing mostly original material. They named their duo after their grandfather. During their first song, "Backtrack," the sound suddenly blew out. It was because of the food truck setting up in the back, came the word. So they started the song again, performing it unmiked, which was actually a wonderful moment. Their harmonies are beautiful. Partway through the song, the power came back.  My personal favorite song from their set was "This," where even their humming and the "doo doo doo" vocal part were moving.

"Backtrack," the moment the sound blew out

Cynthia Brando

Cynthia Brando was up next, and Ed Tree accompanied her, this time on acoustic guitar.  Cynthia was getting over a cold, and after her first song, "Canyon Of Dreams," joked about her "new husky voice." Still, she sounded great, and even delivered the debut performance of a song titled "It's Enough To Just Be In This World." Her set also included "California Song" and "Will You Haunt Me," the latter, as she explained, one she wrote when watching videos about near-death experiences online. "Will you haunt me/Like I want you to." She played a relatively new song about Los Angeles. "I'm always inspired by this city," she said, and mentioned the idea of putting together an album of L.A. songs. "I think my voice will hold out for one more," she then said, and concluded her set with "End Of The World," which featured some excellent guitar work from Ed Tree.

David Plenn introduces Cynthia Brando

Ed Tree

Ed Tree is someone I've seen perform with a lot of different artists over the years, but had never seen perform solo. So what an absolute treat it was to get to see him do a solo set yesterday. And he was fantastic. He played acoustic guitar for this set. "It may take all your strength to smile through it all/You'll be down on your knees, learning to crawl/Looking for a softer place to fall," he sang during his first song. Those lyrics might not demonstrate it, but there was a great sense of fun to his set, and a sense of humor, as in the song about how he held the world in his palm before he met that certain someone. He also did "Marie," a song inspired by Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee," with lines like "His uncle took your message and wrote it on the wall/But that was fifty years ago, it's ancient history/No, he ain't gonna call you, Marie." David Plenn joined him on electric guitar for a song, but was still setting up when it came time for him to do his lead, so Ed playfully shouted out, "Take it, Ed," and did it himself. He then extended the song, giving David enough time to join in, which was great. During the next song, a delightful blues number, David started adding some guitar work, until Ed jokingly said, "That's enough," which got a big laugh. At the end of the set, Ed Tree said that if the audience liked his music, his name was Ed Tree, and if they didn't, his name was David Plenn.

Ed Tree, with David Plenn

I then rushed back over to Jeweled Universe, because I wanted to get a seat before Sandy Rogers Band began. I made it there in time to catch the last few songs of Brad Lieberman's set. He was on upright piano. He covered Warren Zevon's "Werewolves Of London," changing the lyrics to fit the event, singing "Werewolves Of South Pass," which drew plenty of laughs from the crowd. He wrapped up his set with "Remember To Remember."

Brad Lieberman

Sandy Rogers Band

Sandy Rogers Band opened with "Tingling Blue," the band having a delicious energy right out of the gate. There's something about Sandy Rogers, something about her voice, something about this band, that had us in the audience tingling through and through. "Tingling Blue" was followed by "One Of Those Kind" and then "Fool For Love." Sandy mentioned how "Fool For Love" had been written for the film of that name, but actually used in Reservoir Dogs. "I'm the biggest fool for love myself," she said afterward. A highlight of the set was "Lonesome Man." Sometimes a particular line will stand out during a performance; perhaps a certain word in that line is given a different emphasis or more attitude than usual. On "Lonesome Man" yesterday, every line was like that. Every line hit home, every syllable. It felt fresh, it felt immediate, and it was wonderful. It didn't hurt that Paul Marshall was delivering some excellent stuff on bass. Then "In Her Auto-Mobile" seemed to have more power than usual, and was a lot of fun. Sandy joked about there being nothing worse than a hair on your vocal mircophone, and after a bit of tuning, the band went into "No Antidote," Dan Janisch feeding Sandy a line when she lost her place, which was actually an adorable moment. "It's so nice to have a smart band," Sandy said after that song. Regarding "Missouri Blue," Sandy told the audience that she had a desire to write a song about every state at one point, and got "Missouri Blue" and "Why Wyoming" and that was it. "Missouri Blue" is one of those songs that hits the right spot every time, and featured some really nice work by Dan on electric guitar, and some especially gorgeous vocal work near the end. The whole band was shining, and that was not lost on the audience, who gave the song great applause. That was followed by "Let's Ride," and then the word was given that there was time for only one more song. So Sandy skipped to the end of her intended set list, wrapping things up with a phenomenal rendition of "Run Out Of West." Victora Jacobs delivered some excellent work on drums, and the song also featured a wonderful bass line and a delicious guitar lead. A wonderful finish to a great set. By the way, at the end of May, Sandy Rogers Band will return to the Highpoint Brewery, so mark that on your calendar.

Mike Berman

Mike Berman was up next at Jeweled Universe, so I wasn't going anywhere. It's interesting that with more than a half dozen different stages at this festival, I ended up visiting only two. Mike Berman was joined by Marty Axelrod on keyboard and Lauren Lundeen on backing vocals. When Diana, who was introducing the bands, teased Mike about the lack of a creative band name (it was to be Mike Berman Band), Mike on the spot came up with Mike Berman And The Mission Street Band, and then Mike Berman And The Jewels, to reflect Diana's venue. Well, Mike Berman And The Jewels opened with "Drive," a wonderful Los Angeles song, with lines like "Head east on Sunset Boulevard, and double back on Fountain" and "And there's hardly reason why you would go downtown." He then mentioned having just returned from a long road trip, and did another driving song, one that will be on his next album, which is in the works. A line that stood out to me was "if there's a place for me to park." Looking for a parking space is one of my least favorite activities. Mike played electric 12-string guitar for those first two songs, then switched to acoustic guitar for "It Should Be Raining Today," a song I love. That was followed by a beautiful rendition of "Blanket Of Light (Oh, Mercy)." He then played another song from his upcoming album, one with a good power at key moments. The final two songs were two of his best: "Hold Back The Sea" and "Broken Angels." On "Hold Back The Sea," I could feel those waves coming in. "Broken Angels" was dedicated to anyone who felt broken. The new album, by the way, should be out in October. So keep an eye out for that later this year.

JK Jones

I had a decision to make then, whether to stay for JK Jones or head back to Dinosaur Farm for Man Boy Brown. It was a tough call, but Man Boy Brown was already twenty minutes into his set, and I'd heard some good things about JK Jones. JK Jones also had Lauren Lundeen, who is her daughter, accompany her, along with Jonathan Dale and Adam Vogt. She opened the set with "Hot To Cold," the lead track from Past Lives, and it was immediately clear why people are drawn to her voice. She followed that song with "Mocking Bird," which featured some nice stuff on electric guitar, and "Soothe My Mind," which was written during the pandemic and featured some pretty harmonies. "Widow's Walk" was a particularly good song, with more energy, especially to the vocals. JK then handed Lauren the guitar, and Lauren sang lead on "I Don't Recognize Me," one that she wrote. JK played mandolin on that one. It was another really good song, and I loved the mandolin work. The next song, which JK introduced as Lauren's favorite, was beautiful. She then wrapped up the set with a couple of Joni Mitchell covers, "Conversation" and "Big Yellow Taxi."

Delgado Brothers

I then rushed back to Dinosaur Farm. The rain had held off, and the Delgado Brothers were playing at the outdoor stage. I missed the first three songs of their set. They were partway through "Be The One" when I arrived. A woman in the audience yelled out, "You guys sound amazing!" "Thank you, Mom" came the quick response from the stage. That woman, whoever she was, was not wrong. The band sounded great. There was a good crowd, and some folks in the back and on the sides were dancing. "Be The One" was followed by "L.A. Ellie," and then a cover of "The Forecast Calls For Pain," which the band dedicated to David Plenn, who was in the audience, of course, and who had co-written that song. It was famously recorded by Robert Cray, and included on his 1990 album Midnight Stroll. Joey Delgado then told the crowd, "You know, I really feel like I'm playing in somebody's back yard," and added that these types of gigs are his favorites. The band then delivered a really good rendition of Dave Mason's "Look At You Look At Me," Joey first mentioning that he got a chance to jam with Dave Mason a while back. He delivered some great stuff on guitar. "That's a hard song to play," he said afterward. "I grew up with that man. It's crazy." Dave Mason, for anyone who is unaware, died on the 19th. "Live For Today" followed, with Steve Delgado on lead vocals. "Man Without A Plan" closed out the set. But the crowd wanted more, and so the Delgado Brothers gave us "Let's Get Back." "Let's get back to the way that it used to be." Ah, is it still possible? "I want things like they were."

And a day of excellent music came to a close, the Delgago Brothers sending everyone home with a smile.

Lights Out Levine, Hollywood Sinkhole, The Manic Standstill, and Honeychain at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, 4-23-26

It was one of those great high-energy, totally fun nights of rock and punk and power pop at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon. The kind of night when you don't even mind your ears ringing at the end. When the music stops, there's nothing to listen to anyway, and the ringing will surely stop before the next concert. 

Lights Out Levine

Lights Out Levine was up first, and was scheduled to go on promptly at 8 p.m. That was because there were four bands, so there was a need to start early. But the band expressed concerns that eight o'clock was too early. People in Los Angeles often won't get anywhere that early, or, conversely, go out if something starts too late. There is a sweet spot for most folks in this city, which is from 9 to 11 p.m. But at 7:50 p.m., Adam got the word they could push the start time to 8:30, closer to that sweet spot. And so the band was happy. The soundcheck ended at 8:06, and Adam told the crowd, "We'll be on at 8:30, guys." At 8:27 p.m., the band started to gather on the stage, and at that point the room was starting to get more crowded. Just before 8:30, someone in the room shouted out, "Lights Out Levine!" And the band took that as the right moment to start. After brief band introductions and a great howl, Lights Out Levine launched into the first song, "Run From The Moon,"which featured a good lead by Mike on guitar. The song ended with a howl too. That was followed by "Pervert Queen." If you're heard the song, you know it's a lot of fun. But I'm guessing even if you haven't heard the song, you might guess it's a ton of fun from its title. There was particularly good stuff by Justin on bass, and a great beat. Adam mentioned they're doing a new album, and then played "Reaper's Rodeo," a very cool number, a delicious, mean song that comes stalking you down a dark highway.

"You didn't make the cut!" Adam shouted at one point in "Cutting Room," and Mike made the cut with his great though brief guitar lead immediately thereafter. That song is one of those perfect Los Angeles songs, because of its subject matter and attitude. Lights Out Levine followed that with "Around The Block," written by Mike Williamson, who was in the audience, and then "I Like It With The Lights Out," which Adam introduced as being "semi-autobiographical." These guys seem to put every bit of their energy into each set. There must be some place where they go and recharge for a week afterward. They followed "I Like It With The Lights Out" with a song from the upcoming album, and wrapped up the set with "Tingles." The set ended just before 9 p.m. And guess what? The placed was packed at that point. The sweet spot.

Hollywood Sinkhole

Hollywood Sinkhole then took the stage. Sid announced he had changed his guitar strings, so that meant the band was determined to deliver something special. There was a call of "Let's jam!" and the band ripped into "In Another Life," a good rock song with a playful bent. And that was key to this band, something that was immediately apparent, from the music, from Jon Levy's demeanor. These guys were having fun, and the music was fun, and so the audience was encouraged to just have fun too. And from what I could tell from the folks around me, everyone was having a good time. "Lost And Found," a single from the band's new EP, followed, continuing that great sense of fun, and featured some excellent drumming from Tony. Tony Matteucci was one of the main reasons I wanted to see this band. He was the drummer for both The Dogs and Kanary, two kick-ass bands. "Lost And Found" was followed by "Big City," a great punk number written by Nick Alexander, who also sang lead on it. And then we got "California," which Jon said was a brand new one. I was lucky to get to see him perform it with Mike Williamson at Music Garden L.A. a month ago, and so was already in love with it. "California, wrap me in your arms," he sings in this one. And then, "It feels so right until it feels so wrong."

"Half Baked" featured a catchy bass part, along with some really good drumming. And toward the end, there was an excellent lead on guitar. That was followed by "Feed The Need," which Jon mentioned was about his dog Gus and how he pees all over the house. The set also included "Keep Knockin'," "Kiss Me When I Walk Away" and "Setting Sun." Actually, before "Setting Sun," the band delivered a nice little tribute to sound man Nubs, basically a chant of his name, which was actually adorable and deserved. The whole set had a great energy, but probably the most energetic of all numbers was that final song, "Setting Sun," with the audience singing along. The set ended at 9:51 p.m.

The Manic Standstill

Twenty minutes later, The Manic Standstill was ready to go. Some folks who appeared in their music videos were among those in the audience, and they were pointed out from the stage. The band wasted no time, tearing into "Reasons Why" to open the set. And then there was perhaps a one-second pause before the drummer led into "Trying Too Hard," a song that moved at a wonderfully fast pace. What a great bass line! Adam, the band's lead singer, was kind of a ham, putting his hand to his ear, encouraging more applause from the audience. And getting it, too. It was all in the name of good fun, of course. He called out the other bands, each one getting applause as he named it, and then mentioned his own band too, to get even more applause. The next song, "Bulletproof," featured some really good drumming. That led straight into "Francisco." During that song, Adam mentioned that his dad was in the audience. A family affair, as Adam's brother was on drums. Adam got the crowd singing along, and even stepped into the audience to get folks more pumped up. During "My Love," he asked the audience to sing along again, jokingly adding, "You're going to sing whether you like it or not." He announced that everyone in the room was now in the band. "Do you meet the height requirements?" he asked. Yeah, the member of The Manic Standstill are tall. They talked a bit about that earlier, and were able to add to the joke then. Adam again went into the audience at one point during "My Love." And that was the final song of the set. They were done at 10:49 p.m.

Honeychain

Honeychain, the final band of the night, went on a few minutes after 11 p.m., and as we were no longer in that sweet spot, the audience was a bit smaller for that band's set. Those folks who left missed an excellent, powerful set of delicious power pop and punk songs. The set began with "Bombs Away," a kick-ass rock number that was a perfect way to grab the audience, Hillary delivering an excellent vocal performance. By the way, a couple of her Pandoras bandmates were in the audience. "Bombs Away" led straight into "Crushed," great power pop, with the emphasis on power. That song was fantastic fun. "Think it's kind of funny/The way you think you know me/But you don't understand a thing." Then, after "Breed," there was some feedback, and when it stopped, Andre on bass joked, "That's our transition sound." A cover of "Little Sin" was the song it transitioned into. Honeychain then played "Let's Get Pretty," the new single, which had a great heavy sound. "Go Away" followed. This was one of my personal favorites, a totally delicious song that included a cool part with just vocals and drums, something I always love. Hillary joked that they weren't really a sing-along kind of band, and then launched into "289," which featured some good drumming. And Andre was attacking his bass at one point. Everything was working perfectly. That was followed by a cover of Material Issue's "Goin' Through Your Purse," which also had a short section of vocals and drums. They wrapped up the set with "Lucky One," a catchy number with a phenomenal energy. The set ended at 11:36 p.m., closing out one hell of a good night of energetic and fun music.

Maui Sugar Mill Saloon is located at 18389 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California.