Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot lets loose in Lincoln, CA

Brian Setzer — the legendary guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist — debuted his Rockabilly Riot 2024 tour in Lincoln, CA at The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino. Fans were excited and it was really fun to see people dressed up in their best Rockabilly clothes (next time I’m definitely dressing up!), ready to hear the hits spanning Setzer’s 40-plus year career.

I’ve always loved his version of the Rockabilly and swing genres since his Stray Cats days, not to mention his Orchestra and solo work. 

The opening artist was Yates McKendree. Born and raised in Nashville, Yates grew up playing with many great musicians, including his father Kevin McKendree, who accompanied him on keys that evening. Yates began playing music at age three and he proclaimed his love for traditional blues music.

When Setzer and his band first came onstage, there were some technical difficulties with the sound. He said they were going to go offstage and come back and start over, but it was quickly fixed and they just started rockin’ out. Joining Setzer was Chris D’Rozario from Melborne, Australia on bass and Juan Laurios from Mexico City on drums. Juan played standing up the whole time; it was very charismatic and fun to watch. Chris was amazing: I have never seen someone stand and balance on an upright bass until that night, as well as play the bass from behind his back on the floor. At one point, Setzer asked the crowd if he should bring back the “Christmas Tour” which rendered a resounding “HELL YES” from the crowd.  

The setlist included lots of hits, as well as some covers and solo guitar, starting with “Rock Boys Rock”, “Double Talkin’ Baby”, and “Stack My Money”. And, of course, this led to “Stray Cat Strut”! His solo set consisted of “Georgia on My Mind”, “Lonesome Road”, “Black Mountain Rag”, and “Sleep Walk” before exiting the stage for a short intermission.

Back onstage for set two, Setzer kept the wily times goin’ with “The Train Kept A Rollin’”, as well as “What’ll It Be Baby Doll?”, “Fishnet Stockings”, and “Rock This Town” before the big encore of “Gene and Eddie”.

My one and only complaint about the whole night was that I wish there was room to dance!

My husband and I have been swing dancing for over 20 years and I would have loved to have room to practice our moves! Honestly, I really can’t complain though. I want to thank the band for giving us such an amazing evening; it was nice to just relax and enjoy the high energy tunes and dance as much as we could in our seats. I highly recommend catching a show on this tour if you can!

Photography by Sara Taylor

Share this article

or