Davy Knowles w/ Alternative Zen Blues Trial
Wed, 12 Aug, 8:00 PM PDT
Doors open
7:00 PM PDT
Moe's Alley
1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95065
Description
Moe's Alley presents the versatile and formidable bluesman, Davy Knowles with special guests Alternative Zen Blues Trial!
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Doors: 7pm / Show: 8pm
$30 in advance / $35 day of the show
21+
* No Refunds | All sales are final
* Avoid scammers! Only purchase tickets from moesalley.com or ticketweb.com
* Tickets requested by email will be delivered 3 days prior to the event
* Will Call tickets will be available at the door on the day of the event
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DAVY KNOWLES
Whether playing acoustic, mandolin, national steel, or screaming electric guitar, Davy Knowles has an unmistakable style.
Since bursting on to the scene with his band Back Door Slam’s critically acclaimed album ‘Roll Away’ in 2007 (“I heard the spirit of Jimi Hendrix” Patrick McDonald - Seattle Times), Davy’s star has only risen. His sophomore release ‘Coming Up For Air’ was produced by the legendary Peter Frampton (“Davy already has a recognizable style. He’s definitely the gunslinger guitarist of the 21st century,’’- Peter Frampton), with subsequent tours seeing him supporting and sharing the stage with acts such as Jeff Beck, The Who, Joe Bonamassa, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Thorogood, Brian Setzer, the Sammy Hagar-fronted supergroup Chickenfoot, and guitar hero Joe Satriani who called Davy “My favorite modern Bluesman”.
Knowles has several top-5 Billboard Blues charting albums under his belt, high profile TV appearances (Jimmy Kimmel Live and CBS Good Morning America among others), and has been praised with high accolades from heroes and press alike - but it’s not just the music industry who has taken note. Knowles was also the very first artist in history to perform live to the International Space Station directly from mission control in Houston TX, and has had his music taken to the Space Station by two astronauts, Nicole Stott and Ron Garan, on their missions orbiting Earth.
In November of 2025 Davy was awarded the title of ‘Global Ambassador’ by his native country, The Isle of Man, in recognition of his success as a Manx-born musician on the global stage.
Whether spending an evening onstage armed with just an acoustic guitar, or wielding his well worn and trusty Telecaster while fronting his blues/rock trio - and at any point in between the two - Davy Knowles is a versatile and formidable songwriter and musician.
ALTERNATIVE ZEN BLUES TRIAL
Comprised of Christopher Watkins (Preacher Boy), Etienne David Franc (Papiba & Friends / SambaDa) and drummer extraordinaire Zack Kirk Olsen (Slow Gherkin). These guys are doing something totally unique that has never seen before - and all original. Coast Road Records had this to say about their music - “The Alternative Zen Blues Trial is an improvisational power trio with a DNA string equal parts Band of Gypsys, R.L Burnside, and Johnny Winter. The band cooks down its telegraphic drum-bass-guitar musicality with rough-hewn vocals and a street-zen lyrical style to extract their signature brand of blackstrap funk.”
Event Information
Age Limit
21+
eTicket Delivery
Your tickets will be e-mailed closer to the event date.
Blues-Rock
Davy Knowles
Davy Knowles
Blues-Rock
On his aptly-titled Provogue Records’ debut, ‘What Happens Next,’ out October 22nd, roots singer-songwriter and guitarist Davy Knowles boldly steps forward with timeless and cohesive songwriting; sleek modern production; and a lyrical, play-for-the-song guitar approach informed from soul, folk, rock, and blues. The 12-song album is just as influenced by The Black Keys, Fantastic Negrito, Gary Clark Jr., as it is Muddy Waters, Junior Kimbrough, and R.L. Burnside. It is a cohesive body of work rather than a collection of disparate songs.
“When it came time to record this album, it was all about supporting the songs as opposed to ‘how quickly I can get to the guitar solo’,” the Isle of Man-born, Chicago-based artist says laughing. “I’m not a purist, and the way for roots music to stay relevant is to adapt and progress.
Produced by Eric Corne (John Mayall, Joe Walsh, Joe Bonamassa), ‘What Happens Next’ something of a departure from Knowles’s fired-up and reverent take on blues and Americana, featuring poetic songwriting and soulfully emotive vocals that steal the show. The 12-song body of work offers forth a peaks-and-valleys album experience winding through brawny riffs, jazzy blues balladry, and vintage soul before concluding with one of Knowles’s most personal songs released to date. Throughout it all, his guitar playing is brilliantly understated, his rhythm work is deft and dynamic. The album bursts open with, “Light Of The Moon,” a swaggering riff-rocker replete with vibey 1960s organ flourishes, hooky minor-tinged refrains, and impassioned soul-drenched vocals. Here, Davy’s lead breaks drip sustain, vibrato, and sublime bluesy melodicism.
Knowles first burst onto the scene at the age of 20 with his band Back Door Slam, garnering rave reviews, making national US television appearances (Jimmy Kimmel Live, Good Morning America), earning extensive triple-A radio airplay, and achieving two Top 5 Billboard Blues charting albums. Since then he has been solo, and he independently released two more studio albums, 2014’s The Outsider and 2016’s Three Miles From Avalon, which also hit the Top 5 on the Billboard Blues chart. He’s earned plum endorsements from D’Addario strings, PRS guitars, Bludotone amps, and Celestion speakers, became the first musician in history to play live directly to the International Space Station from Mission Control in Houston, and held his own sharing the stage with such heavyweight artists as The Who, Jeff Beck, Gov’t Mule, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kid Rock, Joe Bonamassa, Sonny Landreth, Peter Frampton, Joe Satriani, and Sammy Hagar, among many others.
Despite the songs on ‘What Happens Next’ featuring concise lead guitar playing, fans of Knowles’s fleet-fingered lead style fear not for the blues-rock fire still burns inside him. Knowles says: “This album taught me about restraint in terms of guitar playing. I had to reign it in to let the songs breathe, but I am looking forward to reimagining them and stretching out when we play live.”
Electric Blues
Alternative Zen Blues Trial
Alternative Zen Blues Trial
Electric Blues
Comprised of Christopher Watkins (Preacher Boy), Etienne David Franc (Papiba & Friends / SambaDa) and drummer extraordinaire Zack Kirk Olsen (Slow Gherkin). These guys are doing something totally unique that has never seen before - and all original. Coast Road Records had this to say about their music - “The Alternative Zen Blues Trial is an improvisational power trio with a DNA string equal parts Band of Gypsys, R.L Burnside, and Johnny Winter. The band cooks down its telegraphic drum-bass-guitar musicality with rough-hewn vocals and a street-zen lyrical style to extract their signature brand of blackstrap funk.”