Though singer-songwriter David Lowery calls the East Coast home these days, he still has a soft spot for California. It’s an affinity he developed growing up in the Central Valley town of Redlands and attending college in Santa Cruz, where he formed acclaimed alternative ensemble Camper Van Beethoven in 1983 while earning a degree in math.
Also a founding member of Cracker, Lowery continues to celebrate the Golden State on the band’s latest album, 2014’s Berkeley to Bakersfield. The double album features Cracker’s original lineup, first assembled in 1991, and shows both sides of a musical coin that embraces the hard edges and garage-rock aesthetics of the East Bay, as well as the classic country Americana that populates Southern California’s inland valley.
For the last few years, Lowery has also shown his love for the state with an annual holiday West Coast tour that combines both projects into one massive convoy. The tradition continues this year when Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven split the marquee in Petaluma next week for a night that sees Lowery pulling double duty onstage, backed by a cavalcade of close musical friends.
Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven perform Wednesday, Dec. 30, at McNear’s Mystic Theatre, 21 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. 8:30pm. $26–$28. 707.765.2121.
