28 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com MUSIC Julian is a mountain town nestled in the Cuyamaca Mountains, an hour’s drive east of San Diego. It is known for its gold-rush history, apple pies, and now also an indie folk duo—Salinas Road. Paul Cruz and Bill Jones have been playing music around San Diego County for decades, performing among ranchers and farmers. “Everybody had told us, ‘Hey, you should meet up,’” Cruz says about forming Salinas Road with Jones in 2023, after many years in different bands, doing a lot of gigs in what they call the backcountry of San Diego. Musically, they are inspired by Ray LaMontagne, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and The Milk Carton Kids. Lyrically, their inspiration is Steinbeck’s prose. “Steinbeck was one of my biggest influences in my life when I was younger,” Cruz says. “He changed my life.” Life in the “backcountry of San Diego” is similar to life in Salinas Valley—full of agricultural fields, hills burning at sunset, hard work and everyday heartbreak. It has its own slow, beautiful pace. “It’s how we try to live—slower, more intentionally, outside of the city, with the land, on the highway, on the road,” says Jones, who adds that the band is “stripped down instrumentally,” relying on melancholic acoustic guitars and beautiful harmony of vocals. There’s a simplicity in that, too. Salinas Road focuses on the art of songwriting, emphasizing original compositions and picking a few covers very thoughtfully. They have been releasing singles and EPs regularly since 2023. They work on a six- to eight-week schedule, striving to release a single within that timeframe, and gathering all singles into an EP at the end of each year. One of their biggest hits is “Lonely Soul” from 2024. It’s a universal story of a man running away from the past and hitting the road to do so, hoping for better days. Oscillating between reality and metaphor, the lyrics seek to bring healing after a day of hard work but also reflect on the past: “I’m a lost soul drifting in the wind / I’m a broken man trying to mend / I’m a rolling stone moving on again / I’m a lonely soul searching for a friend.” Completely at peace with the melancholia of good folk, Cruz notes, “It’s not that anybody will be dancing.” But they will be listening. Salinas Road performs at 6pm Sunday, May 31. Pop & Hiss, 215 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. $5. (831) 275-3303, popandhiss.net. MARIA GASCON On the Road A Steinbeck-inspired folk band plays in ‘Steinbeck country’ for the first time. By Agata Popęda Folk duo Salinas Road (Paul Cruz and Bill Jones) write lyrics inspired by the writing of John Steinbeck. Their newest single, “The Outside,” comes out on Thursday, May 28.
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