Send ideas to montereycountynow.com/events HOT PICKS GUITAR MAN You know Eric Johnson can dazzle on the acoustic guitar. He has albums with the old-fashioned six string. He can also rouse audiences on the lap steel and resonator guitars. And his touch with the pedals is deft. But it’s his Grammy-winning prowess with the electric guitar that has won him award after award, landed him on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of the 21st century—and earned him platinum, too. The singer-songwriter with a penchant for instrumentals draws from rock, jazz, blues, country (anything, really), rooted in Austin. Yet his sound has been compared to a violin. He is currently on the Texaphonic Tour. [DF] 8pm Saturday, May 9. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $52-$76. (831) 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com. LIVEWIRE MAFIA Oakland natives Lil Blood and J. Stalin will bring their party-driven and conscious jams to Salinas for their joint Livewire Mafia Tour. J. Stalin, who grew up in the Cypress Village housing projects in West Oakland and whose name derives from the Soviet revolutionary, once said that he chose the pseudonym because Joseph Stalin shares the same initials and stature. Lil Blood, who also hails from West Oakland, boasts a catalogue that spans more than a decade and is known for his gritty depictions of life in the East Bay. [AS] 9pm Saturday, May 9. Hacienda Mexican Grill, 1449 N. Davis Road, Salinas. $25, $35/ skip the line tickets. (831) 424-6400, tinyurl.com/LilBloodStalinSalinas. Saturday, May 9-Sunday, May 10 TRUE HISTORY The Point Alones fishing village was at one time the largest Chinese community on the Monterey Peninsula. It was destroyed in a fire in 1906, but the destruction did not stop there—the story of the suspicious fire and the continued discrimination against its former inhabitants persisted. Well into modern times, the truth of what the Chinese community endured was obscured. Now, thanks largely to the persistence of the late activist (and descendant) Gerry Low-Sabado, the history is spoken out loud, the faces and names of Pacific Grove’s early Chinese settlement are remembered and their culture is celebrated. The Walk of Remembrance begins with remarks and a lion dance performance (starting at 1pm); the one-mile walk begins at 1:45pm then ends at Hopkins Marine Station, where the village once stood. Start off the day by meeting artist Michael Croft, who worked on an exhibit and diorama of the village from 11am-noon; attend a panel discussion that covers various angles on history from noon-1pm; and the walk concludes with a lecture about Chinese fishermen at 2:45pm. From 10-noon on Sunday, tour Point Lobos with descendants of the place where the very first Chinese settlement in the U.S. began. [SR] 11am-3:30pm Saturday, May 9 at Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. 10am-noon Sunday, May 10 at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Free. (831) 648-5716, quockmuifoundation.org. ART FOR MOM They say that good artists work with what they know, and all of us know a mother (or a few)—the women who birthed us, raised us, guided us. For Mother’s Day, nonprofit Hijos Del Sol celebrates with an exhibit featuring work by more than 30 local artists depicting something about motherhood. The opening Saturday night includes refreshments and music; Sunday’s Mother’s Day event also includes paper mache and silkscreen workshops to find your own creative spark. [SR] 4-6pm Saturday, May 9 and 1-4pm Sunday, May 10. Hijos Del Sol, 443 E. Alisal St., Suite C, Salinas. Free. (831) 200-3915, hijosdelsol.org. DOMESTIC BLISTER By now we’ve figured out that the social media trad wife craze is not all it’s cracked up to be. Those women in feminine floral dresses and full makeup, deftly mixing cake batter with nary a drop spoiling the spotless kitchen—it’s all a facade, made for the cameras. In the witty comedy-drama by Laura Wade, Home, I’m Darling, Judy attempts to escape the realities of the 21st century by becoming the perfect 1950s wife with dress, pearls, heels and the perfect hairdo included. But reality soon catches up with her and her husband Johnny as their experiment in the retro lifestyle begins to unravel. Watch the story unfold as the players of The Western Stage bring this award-winning play to life. Performances repeat every weekend through May 31. [PM] 7:30pm Fridays and Saturdays (except May 29) and 2pm Sundays, May 9-31. The Western Stage, Hartnell College, 411 Central Ave., Salinas. $28. (831) 755-6816, westernstage.com. Sunday, May 10 MUSICAL YOUTH Don’t let their youth fool you. The performers who make up Youth Music Monterey County are accomplished. Their upcoming orchestra concert features violinist Benjamin Goldoust, winner of the 2026 Junior Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. And the organization can bring together students for chamber music, ensembles and full orchestras. The performance—Songs My Mother Taught Me—promises to be engaging and eclectic, putting the full range of talent on display. It features students in the Junior Youth Orchestra, Honors Orchestra and Orchestra in the Schools programs. [DF] 3pm Sunday, May 10. Sunset Center, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. $20-$30; $10/ seniors; $5/students. (831) 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org. Tuesday, May 12 SHE PLAYS A MEANS BASS Typically, the grass should always be greener, unless you live in California— water is a precious commodity here. Rather, you want your grass to be bluer, and that’s what Shelby Means is here to do. The Grammy-winning bluegrass bassist performs a night of down-home country tunes and good old fun. In what is a rite of passage for bluegrass artists, Means made a name for herself in Nashville, performing in the all-woman bluegrass band Della Mae and later joined Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway as a bassist and vocalist (Tuttle, many will know, performed recently in Monterey). Means is currently on her Streets of Boulder Tour, which includes shows across the United States and Europe. [EC] 7pm Tuesday, May 12. Monterey United Methodist Church, 1 Soledad Drive, Monterey. $35; free/children 15 and under. otteropry.org. Wednesday, May 13 HELPING HANDS Many of us have been touched by cancer. Whether you’ve faced it yourself or supported someone who has, it’s a difficult journey no one should go through alone. Healing Partners of the Central Coast hosts its fourth annual Hands & Hearts event, bringing the community together to raise funds for therapy sessions for cancer patients. It’s a fun night out for a good cause, with the evening featuring live music from The Money Band, known for their covers of everything from The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison to Maroon 5. Appetizers, dinner, desserts and drinks are included, and all proceeds support therapeutic treatments that help ease side effects and bring comfort to patients. [KR] 5:30-10pm Wednesday, May 13. Hidden Valley Music Seminars, 104 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. $135. (831) 659-3115, bit.ly/HandsHearts4. Hot Picks by Sloan Campi, Erik Chalhoub, Dave Faries, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Agata Popęda, Katie Rodriguez, Sara Rubin and Aric Sleeper. The students of Youth Music Monterey County perform on May 10 celebrating Mother’s Day in a concert that brings together musicians from several of the group’s programs. DANIEL DREIFUSS 32 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 7-13, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com
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