Michael Doherty's Music Log: John Surge And The Haymakers at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, 11-26-25 Concert Review

John Surge And The Haymakers

The "Open Road Americana" music series held its wonderful pre-Thanksgiving bash at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon last night, with John Surge And The Haymakers headlining. Originally, three bands were scheduled to play, but The Macat Persico Band was unable to make it due to a family matter. That meant getting two sets by John Surge And The Haymakers, so no complaints. And actually, the other band that was originally on the bill couldn't make it either, apparently having to split to the east coast. And so The Paul Devlin Band was added. Both bands still played the Macat Persico Band's drum kit, and Scott Persico hosted the show. It was a fun night, a good night for folks to drink and cut loose before spending time with their families.

The Paul Devlin Band

The Paul Devlin Band kicked off the show at 8:25 p.m. with "Long Way To Go," and on the very first line we heard Paul's vocal power, a perfect way to grab everyone's attention and let us know this was going to be a strong set of music. That was followed by "Slow Turning," the guitar part at the beginning reminding me a bit of The Monkees' "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You." It was an energetic, fun number featuring some nice drumming. Paul mentioned that he's known Scott Persico for a long time, and the next two songs were ones he wrote with Scott. The first, "You Can Hold On To Me," began a cappella, Paul along with backing vocalists Kim Ledoux and Leslie Martinez. "When everyone else has let you down/You can hold on to me." It was a catchy, cheerful number, and when Paul sang, "Everything's gonna be all right," I believed him. The second, "When Tomorrow Comes," featured a passionate vocal delivery. "Does your heart sometimes question what is real?" Paul Devlin followed that with a good rendition of David Wilcox's "Rusty Old American Dream." Paul switched to mandolin for a couple of John Hiatt songs, "Cry Love" and "Gone." Greg Watmore switched from lap steel to electric guitar for those songs. I especially loved their rendition of "Gone," which was a lot of fun. The set was rounded out with "Crazy Love," Delbert McClinton's "Monkey Around" and Don Henley's "The Heart Of The Matter." The set ended at 9:14 p.m.

John Surge And The Haymakers

At 9:38 p.m., John Surge And The Haymakers were ready to go, bass player Teresa Cowles sporting a turkey T-shirt under her denim in honor of the holiday. Before the first song, John mentioned that it had been one year since he last played at this venue. John, in fact, used to host the music series at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, before The Macat Persico Band took over and John began hosting down in Long Beach. The band opened the first set with "Your Wonderful Life," an energetic number with good leads by both Chris Motter on guitar and John Schreffler on pedal steel. They followed that with "You Don't Know Me," the lead track from the band's most recent release, and one I am always happy to hear. This one also featured some good stuff on pedal steel, plus some wonderful work by Kevin Jarvis on drums. John told the audience that with the powerful stadium lights aimed at the stage, it was hard to see everybody, and he hoped everyone was doing well. The crowd responded, letting him know they were doing all right. And the band continued the set with "One Promise At A Time." There was some serious joy in the playing, and thus in the room as a whole.

"You've been waiting for our hit single, and we're going to play it right now," John said, introducing "You're So Right," a country gem that was the lead track on Almost Time. Chris delivered some delicious work on electric guitar, and the song was hopping. That was followed by "Tricks Of The Trade" and then an excellent cover of the Desert Rose Band's "One Step Forward." They slowed things down then with "I Remind You," another favorite of mine, this one featuring some lovely work on pedal steel. "Welcome To Suckerville" then got folks dancing, and was followed by "Almost Time," "Amtrak" and "Beyond The Break" to wrap up the set. "Beyond The Break" was a fun choice to lead into the set break. The first set ended at 10:24 p.m.

Less than twenty minutes later, the band was back on the stage, and started the second set with "Ricochet," the lead track from the Your Wonderful Life album. That was followed by "What Were We Thinking," which featured a good lead on pedal steel. There was a bit of an awkward ending, but that just added to the song's charm. "Marisol," another of my favorites, followed, this one featuring a nice lead on guitar and some wonderful drumming. John mentioned that the band was going to be opening for the Beat Farmers, and that they wouldn't be playing the next song then because it's theirs. That song, "Gun Sale At The Church," is one that John Surge included on Your Wonderful Life. He dedicated the song to sound man Nubs. That was followed by "Rattle Me," a song that features a fantastic bass line by Teresa, as well as a really good guitar lead.

"Honky Tonk Song"

In introducing "Barstool," John said it was a song about going to a bar, getting drunk and falling in love. He said it could happen tonight, adding that there is still hope as long as the bar is open. Do people still meet in bars, or are all relationships begun on the internet these days? I hope people still fall in love the old-fashioned way, the honest way, the fun way, getting drunk at a bar while a great band plays. That's how it happened with me. Anyway, the song featured some cool work on pedal steel. Karman Jeanne Kruschke (of Karman Jeanne & The Fish) then joined the band on backing vocals for a cover of "Honky Tonk Song." This one contained some great stuff on electric guitar. That was followed by "Studio Apartment Blues," a slower, mellower number. Things then got rocking again with the band's cover of "Mercury Blues," which featured lots of excellent work on pedal steel and a really fun lead on guitar. The band wrapped up the set with a cover of "Six Days On The Road," a nice, rowdy ending to the night. The show ended at 11:24 p.m.

John Surge And The Haymakers Set List

Set I