First order of business is my final Eurovision 2024 commentary: Estonia was robbed.

BottleRock is next weekend. I already gave you my highlights when the lineup was announced, but if you’re going, of course you’re gonna see Stevie Nicks and Pearl Jam. What you need is a guide to the deep cuts you should check out.

I’ve got you.

Chevy Metal — “Hair of the Dog”

It seems weird that Chevy Metal is still going without Taylor Hawkins. He started the band with some friends and the Foo Fighters’ drum tech as a bar band, and they went mostly unknown for quite a while before getting recognition.

Now Hawkins is gone, and they’re still going. Which is fair. It’s not a solo act, and the band has the right to go on. And Hawkins’ son, Shane, is their new drummer, which makes it feel right.

Above all, I love a good cover band, and Chevy Metal is easily the world’s best. You’d be well-served to go see them do their thing.

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Con Brio — “Free and Brave”

Another from Friday’s lineup: If you don’t know the Bay Area’s own Con Brio, you’re missing out. They’re the sort of socially conscious soul band that’s needed now as much as they were in their heyday in the ’70s. Thankfully, no great genre ever dies as long as the Bay exists to keep it alive and better than ever.

I’ve never seen them in concert, unfortunately, but based on their music, I can’t imagine they won’t be fantastic. Any soul band with seven listed members puts on a show. That’s just science, probably.

Tower of Power — “What Is Hip?”

Most of our readers are in the Bay Area because that’s generally the shows we cover, so you know Tower of Power. The pride of Oakland has been around since the dawn of time itself (1968), and if you’ve lived here long enough, you probably know at least two former members.

Seriously, the list of Tower of Power members is so long it has its own Wikipedia page. There are 10 current members and—I am not making this up—63 former members listed on the page. It’s amazing.

Look to your left. Look to your right. If neither of those people has been a member of Tower of Power, it’s you who was in Tower of Power.

I was lucky enough to interview founder Emilio Castillo in 2021, and it was one of the few times I was starstruck and had to keep it together talking to a musician. A year later, I saw them in a double bill with, of all people, Too Short. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

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The Soul Rebels — “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This”

I’m just gonna admit this up front: I know about The Soul Rebels because of Metallica.

Back in 2011, The Soul Rebels were on British TV show “Later… with Jools Holland” at the same time as Metallica and Lou Reed when they were promoting their collaborative album, sigh, Lulu. Metallica loved them so much they invited them to play at their 30th anniversary shows in San Francisco.

I tragically didn’t get tickets to any of those shows (don’t worry, I saw a 40th anniversary show), but I did watch videos, and I was very curious about the New Orleans brass band. They seemed out of place. But they weren’t because they’re amazing. After one of the shows, they played with Green Day. The Village Voice once called them “the missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong,” and that’s the best compliment I’ve ever heard.

The BottleRock lineup says they’re performing with Talib Kweli, rapper and half of Black Star. That’s awesome. I’m very, very happy they’re playing Sunday when I’ll be there to see.

Cannons — “Fire For You”

I like Cannons‘ music, and I’m hoping to catch their set Sunday, but that’s not the main reason I picked them. The main reason I picked them is because they’re awesome.

During Outside Lands 2021, the postponed one over Halloween weekend, I interviewed the band on the day itself. Guitarist Ryan Clapham and bassist Paul Davis were dressed as KISS—Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, respectively—and vocalist Michelle Joy was Dazzler from the X-Men.

First off, the costumes were uncanny. Joy especially; it doesn’t look like it would work in this video, but she was pretty much a spot-on Dazzler. And I say this as a huge nerd who was already familiar with the character.

Second, the three of them were so cool. Joy and I geeked out about X-Men a bit, and Clapham and I tried to get Davis to do the Gene Simmons tongue thing on camera. It was a really good time. Pretty much every musician I’ve interviewed was pleasant enough, but not as many are genuinely fun to talk to, like Cannons were. So go see their set.

Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis and send column ideas to him at @bayareadata.press on BlueSky.