When Dulcie Taylor starts singing, you know she's going to take you somewhere. Her protagonists are often navigating difficult emotional waters or looking back on past relationships, and on her upcoming five-song EP, Edges of Silver, to be released June 30 on Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings, the journey is moving and nostalgic.

The album begins with "Backbeat In His Blood," that has a ripping Southern rock sound with a swampy guitar and groove grease organ fills.

"Rock 'n' roll, and all its manifestations, has been around so long now, most everyone has the back beat in his blood," Taylor explains in her liner notes, "and from so many different directions—The Beatles, Hendrix, Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Aretha—to name a few."

"We Almost Got It Right" is sweet, elegiac, and filled with longing—a song about a failed love affair that, as they title mentions, almost got it right.

It's "a love song to a dearly beloved departed lover. The singer is taking a nighttime stroll down memory lane, hoping to figure out 'who we were.' 'We didn't know what we were doing, but God knows we tried.'"

"Soft Place To Fall" features Taylor's lovely, lilting voice in full display on this track about offering refuge from a difficult world.

"Whenever the hard times hit or the bad situations come around, here's what you can do: 'Call me, you know I'll be your soft place to fall,'" she explained.

"Sometimes Love Ain't Enough" faces the challenging truth that even in a loving relationship, sometimes love "ain't enough."

"The love was really real and present, but it wasn't enough to make it work," Taylor noted. "When the singer looks back, the story and the message are still perfectly clear."

The EP's closer is "Somewhere Bright," a song about trying to hold onto hope, using the moon as a metaphor: "edges of silver in the sky promise the moon is out there somewhere bright."

It's about "a couple struggling to keep their love alive, trying hard to get back the trust they've lost. [They're] saying hurtful things to each other. The night sky is filled with clouds and when they look up, it's hard to see the moon. But they need to remember that even on the darkest night, the moon is out there."

Taylor's a local gem, and she'll celebrate the release of her upcoming EP with a series of Central Coast shows. See her this month at Stolo Vineyards on Thursday, June 8 (3 p.m.), Avila Beach Golf Resort on Sunday, June 10 (5 p.m.), Nipomo's Blacklake Golf Resort on Saturday, June 17 (1 p.m.), and Atascadero Lake Park (4 p.m.) and Live Oak Music Festival (10:15 p.m.) on Saturday, June 24. Visit her website at dulcietaylor.com for more upcoming shows.

Numbskull and Good Medicine

If you're a fan of Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Steve Earle, you're going to dig Vincent Neil Emerson, one of the contemporary torchbearers of the Texas songwriter tradition. He debuted in 2015 with East Texas Blues but really put himself on the map with 2019's with Fried Chicken and Evil Women. His newest is the Rodney Crowell-produced self-titled album Vincent Neil Emerson (2021), Emerson's pandemic record.

He was raised in "Van Zandt County in East Texas by a single mother of Choctaw-Apache descent," according to his bio, and when he first heard Townes Van Zandt's music, it set his life's trajectory.

"To hear a guy from Fort Worth say those kinds of things and make those songs was pretty eye-opening," Emerson said in press materials. "I had never heard songwriting like that before."

He cut his teeth playing bars, honky-tonks, and barbecue joints, slowly working his way up the music scene food chain. Then 2020 and the pandemic hit.

"At the beginning of quarantine, I was really frustrated with everything else going on," he said. "Everything was falling apart around me, and I didn't know what to do."

So he wrote, coming up with "High on Getting By," the most autobiographical song he'd yet penned: "I got my first child on the way / And the bills are all unpaid / I should have finished high school / Got a job and learned to save / But the words keep on fallin' / And the highway keeps on callin' / To my pen."

"After I wrote it, the floodgates opened up for me in my songwriting and emotionally," he said. "Songwriting has always been a therapeutic thing for me. So, I just started writing more from the heart."

See Emerson with special guest Logan Ledger on Tuesday, June 6, at The Siren (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $20 at goodmedicinepresents.com).

Also, don't forget Numbskull and Good Medicine are bringing Red Dirt ambassadors Jason Boland & The Stragglers back to the Central Coast this Thursday, June 1, at The Siren (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $26 at goodmedicinepresents.com), with Jeremy McComb opening.

Also at The Siren ...

On Friday, June 2, get a dose of soul, funk, rock, Latin jazz, and indie when The Charities with opener The Bash Dogs play Morro Bay's only nightclub (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $17 at eventbrite.com). The Charities, which formed in Manhattan Beach but now call SLO County home, feature music influenced by Motown, disco, and more.

On Monday, June 5, check out Object Heavy (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; free), NorCal's soul sensation from Arcata. Frontman Richard Love is a powerful vocalist, and they're touring in support of their new album, Love & Gravity.

Next Thursday, June 8, The Siren hosts New Orleans jazz and soul act Bon Bon Vivant (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; $15 presale at eventbrite.com), which performs "original bawdy cabaret, dark ballads, and up-tempo indie rock/dance music," according to their bio.

Fremont Theater

The Fremont kicks things off with the Central Coast Pride 2023 Burlesque & Drag Show on Friday, June 2 (7 p.m.; 18-and-older; $27 to $57 individual and $600 VIP tables that hold six people at fremontslo.com), a fundraiser for the GALA Pride and Diversity Center. DJ Suz will be spinning until showtime, followed by three hours of "amazing numbers from United Queendom featuring Andre Mayhem as well as titillating performances from the SLO Tease Burlesque Troupe," organizers explained.

Hip-hop artist OhGeesy makes at stop at the Fremont as part of his GW2 Tour on Saturday, June 3 (8 p.m.; all ages; $31 or $131 for meet-and-greet at seetickets.us). Born Alejandro Carranza, the LA rapper was a founding member of the now-disbanded hip-hop collective Shoreline Mafia.

SLO Brew Rock

There's only one show this week at SLO Brew Rock, but it's a doozie—Good Fruit: A SLO Food Bank Benefit on Friday, June 2 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25 to $280 at ticketweb.com)—that features a killer three-band lineup: The Mother Hips, Wolf Jett, and The Silent Comedy.

The Mother Hips are definitely a local favorite. Formed at Chico State back in 1990, they've toured through our area consistently and have come to define the California alt-rock sound through 13 albums. Over the years they've signed record deals with MCA and American Recordings, but at heart, these guys are indie artists who prefer to do things their way.

Wolf Jett is another NorCal independent artist, billing their sound as "cosmic mountain music." Fronted by Chris Jones, the band formed in 2019, and their self-released debut album was later picked up by Warner Chappell Music.

The Silent Comedy originally hails from San Diego and plays folk rock and Americana. They're currently touring in support of the re-release of Enemies Multiply (2018, now out via Artist Labs), and its companion film I Am Alright, which chronicles the band's rise.

Hear some great live music and help a good cause.

Cal Poly!

The Forbes Organ Series: An Evening with Karen Slack and Alan Morrison is scheduled for Friday, June 2, (7:30 p.m.; $35 to $55 at calpolyarts.org). "Internationally renowned American soprano Karen Slack is paired with one of America's premier concert organists Alan Morrison, for a moving performance of dynamic musical synergy rarely seen on the Central Coast," organizers announced.

Cal Poly also has a bunch of end-of-the-quarter concerts this week starting with RSVP: Soundings this Thursday and Friday, June 1 and 2 (7:30 p.m.; $20 general or $10 for students at (805) 756-4849), in the Performing Arts Center Pavilion. Student composers collaborate with a guest ensemble to premiere original interdisciplinary work for percussion, electronics, and dance.

The Cal Poly Symphony with guest artist and composer Bahram Osqueezadeh will perform his works as well as "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov on Saturday, June 3, the Performing Arts Center (7:30 p.m.; $15 and $20 general and $10 students at (805) 756-4849).

Cal Poly Choirs present In Her Words, compositions by female composers, poetry by female poets, and works historically important to female figures on Sunday, June 4 (3 p.m.; $15 and $20 general and $10 students at (805) 756-4849).

More music ...

Sweet Springs Saloon is bringing back live music on Thursdays through June. See soulful pop rock act Kerosene Kings with opener The Journals 805, a father-and-son duo, on Thursday, June 2 (8 to 11 p.m.). Next Thursday, June 8, Baywood Jones featuring singer-songwriter Matthias Clark takes the stage (8 to 11 p.m.).

Forever Looking Up and Debi Red play the SLO Odd Fellows Hall this Friday, June 2 (5:30 to 8:30 p.m.) during Art at the Odd, an art show that will feature a live painting demonstration by Lisa Manion Escoto.

Get your summer vibe on when ripping R&B band Burning James plays Mr. Rick's in Avila on Saturday, June 3 (2 p.m.) right across the street from the beach. Bring your dancing shoes for an afternoon of guitar-driven music.

Live Oak tracker ...

The annual Live Oak Music Festival is only about three weeks away, and one of the bands for opening night, Friday, June 23, is none other than alt-country icons Cracker, known for hits such as "Low," "Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)," "Euro-Trash Girl," and "Get Off This," among others.

Formed by David Lowery (formerly of Camper Van Beethoven) and his boyhood friend guitarist Johnny Hickman back in 1990, they've been described in many ways over the years, such as—according to their current bio—"alt-rock, Americana, insurgent-country, and ... even had the terms punk and classic-rock thrown at them. But more than anything Cracker are survivors."

They're in the middle of a huge U.S. tour, and their show will feature their hits, fan favs, and deep cuts from their 31-year-long career, including material from their last studio double album, Berkeley To Bakersfield (2014).

Also that Friday, see headliner Neko Case, Brothers Comatose, and local acts Word Sauce, Hot 45, Jody Mulgrew & Grey Bear, and Kenny Taylor. Visit liveoakfest.org for ticket options and the schedule for the entire festival held at El Chorro Regional Park. Δ

Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at [email protected].