Line-up

Headliner
The Growlers Last time in Bakersfield: 6 months ago

Venue

Fremont Theater

1035 Monterey Street, 93403, San Luis Obispo, CA, US

fremontslo.com/

View upcoming concerts

Additional details

Tour name: The Growlers - Fall Tour 2026

Doors open: 20:00

Fall Tour 2026 — West Coast

The Growlers return this fall for a west coast run, adding five new California shows plus two-night stands in San Francisco and Vancouver.

Fan club pre-sale tickets go on sale this Wednesday, January 28 at 10am PST

Password: HUMDRUM

Public on sale this Friday, January 30 at 10am PST

9/17 — Santa Cruz, CA — The Catalyst Club
9/18 — San Francisco, CA — The Castro Theatre
9/19 — San Francisco, CA — The Castro Theatre
9/20 — Sacramento, CA — Ace of Spades
9/22 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Depot
9/23 — Boise, ID — Shrine Social Club
9/24 — Portland, OR — Crystal Ballroom
9/25 — Vancouver, BC — The Pearl
9/26 — Vancouver, BC — The Pearl
9/27 — Seattle, WA — Neptune Theatre
9/30 — San Luis Obispo, CA — Fremont Theater

Tickets: TheGrowlers.com

Concert in your area for Rock.

Find out more about Rock.

The Growlers biography

The Growlers have always thrived just outside the lines. Emerging from Southern California’s coastal underground, they fused surf shimmer, shadowy psychedelia, garage grit, and crooked pop into a sound that felt both nostalgic and strangely futuristic. What started in small clubs and backyard parties grew into one of the most recognizable and influential cult movements in modern rock. At the center is founder, songwriter, and frontman Brooks Nielsen. With his unmistakable baritone and gift for offbeat storytelling, Nielsen shaped The Growlers into something far more than a band. His lyrics blur romance and cynicism, humor and heartbreak, weaving tales that feel lived-in and slightly dangerous. Equal parts crooner and misfit poet, he became the voice of a generation drawn to music that was unpolished, stylish, and defiantly authentic.

Across seven studio albums, The Growlers evolved without ever losing their identity. Early releases captured a hazy, lo-fi beach mystique—reverb-drenched guitars and swaying rhythms that felt like late-night drives along the Pacific. As the catalog expanded, so did the palette: darker tones, sharper hooks, glam swagger, and moments of unexpected vulnerability. Each record added depth to a body of work that refuses to sit still while remaining unmistakably theirs.

Touring cemented the legend. The Growlers built their following city by city, turning packed clubs into communal celebrations fueled by sweat, spontaneity, and sing-alongs that felt almost ritualistic. Their live shows became known for unpredictability—loose yet magnetic, raw yet hypnotic—where the line between band and audience blurred into shared experience.

That same spirit gave rise to Beach Goth, the band’s self-created festival that expanded from a local gathering into a full-scale cultural phenomenon. More than just a lineup of artists, Beach Goth embodied the band’s aesthetic: theatrical, chaotic, stylish, and fiercely independent. For fans, it wasn’t simply a festival—it was an invitation into The Growlers’ universe.

Over time, their influence seeped beyond the stage. The band’s sound, fashion sense, and DIY ethos left a mark on a new wave of independent artists who embraced imperfection, mood, and individuality over polish. Yet for all the imitators, The Growlers remain singular—defined by instinct rather than trend, atmosphere rather than formula.

More than a decade into their journey, The Growlers’ catalog continues to resonate with longtime devotees and new listeners alike. The songs endure because they feel human—crooked, romantic, restless, and alive. In an era of constant reinvention, The Growlers stand as proof that authenticity, once sparked, can build its own mythology.

Live reviews

The Growlers were first introduced to me via their surreal, car meets spacecraft transported journey through metallic-noir-insect-infested-galaxies music video for “One Million Lovers:” and what an introduction it was. Their unique blend of surrealist folk, late 60s psychedelic rock influence and lo-fi garage sounds make for a modern day band with an authentic throwback quality that’s quite hard to find. Brooks Nielsen’s voice can take a lot (but by no means all) of the credit for this due to his raspy tones and lazy diction, especially evident on tracks such as “Acid Rain” and “A Man With No God” from their 2009 debut album, ‘Are You In or Are You Out?’ a live rendition of which they performed for Dickies Sounds and can be found on YouTube. As well as the aforementioned “One Million Lovers,” another single from The Growlers’ 2013 album, ‘Hung at Heart’ entitled “Someday” makes for another delightfully folk-soaked, California surf-rock infused track to get your teeth stuck into if you’re not acquainted with The Growlers already. As for seeing them live, I managed to catch their Halloween weekend London show at Scala. All dressed in cloaks and witches hats, the five California boys brought their subtle quirky theatrics and laid back performance style to the venue, playing a mix of crowd pleasers and older songs; keeping the audience both entertained and guessing, a nice compromise from a band with such an extensive repertoire of three studio albums and five EPs to boast of. If you like your surf rock slow but steady and appreciate a varied show, I cannot recommend going to see The Growlers enough.

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