SUMMER STARTER: We know. We know! We know. June 21 is the start of summer and all that. But for all accounts and purposes and other things like accounts and purposes, the hot-hot season gets going at the end of May for most people. So some hot-hot sounds to kick the whole dang thing off is not only perfectly appropriate but much desired. And that's what's going down at the Orange County Marketplace right now, courtesy of the 2nd Annual West Coast Rockabilly Showdown. ("Right now" meaning Saturdays; the rocking got going on May 14, and will continue for a few more Saturdays through Saturday, June 18.)
THE BANDS: It's "a battle of unsigned rockabilly bands," say the organizers, which is music to the ears of a lot of fans. Being signed is nothing to sniff at, of course, but "unsigned" promises you may discover a hidden gem or an act that lots of people will know about in the years to come. There are a trio of bands on most Saturdays; Dawn Shipley and the Sharp Shooters, pictured above, will stir it up on Saturday, June 4. You'll be fully pompadoured out if you go, we expect? Aces.
