Aretha Franklin called Carolyn Wonderland “The Bluesman” — not the blues woman, not a blues singer, but the singular honorific Aretha reserved for someone whose guitar and voice had arrived at something beyond category. Wonderland plays blues the way the great Texas players always have: as if the guitar is an extension of breath, and the song a place you live inside rather than a thing you perform from a distance.
About the Show
Wonderland brings that force to Caffe Lena on Friday, August 21, as part of the venue’s Momentum Series — the programming strand built for music that, as Caffe Lena describes it, “infuses the room with crackling energy.” She is touring behind Truth Is (Alligator Records, 2024), produced by Dave Alvin, who co-wrote four of its songs; the record is drawn from “vividly detailed, instantly memorable songs” that take the world’s measure with honesty and conviction. Her previous Alligator release, Tempting Fate (2021), held the top spot on the Roots Music Report Texas Album Chart for 16 consecutive weeks.
The band for this show includes Shelly King on acoustic guitar and vocals, Giovanni “Nooch” Carnuccio on drums and vocals, Naj Conklin on bass and vocals, and Kevin Lance on drums.
Raised in Houston on her mother’s vintage Martin guitar, Wonderland was exchanging songs with Townes Van Zandt by sixteen. She moved to Austin in 1999 and built a reputation that eventually reached Bob Dylan, who offered his assessment plainly: “She’s something else. She should be nationwide.” In 2018, John Mayall selected her as lead guitarist for The Blues Breakers — the first woman to hold that chair in the band’s history, a lineage running from Eric Clapton to Mick Taylor. She has stayed on the road. The current run logs 36 confirmed dates from August 2026 through February 2027, spanning the US and Europe. The Momentum Series is made possible by the support of Joseph and Luann Conlon, in honor of Thom O’Neil.
Venue & Logistics
Caffe Lena, at 47 Phila Street in Saratoga Springs, is a 110-seat listening room — and for a guitarist of Wonderland’s caliber, that scale is part of the point. In a room this size, there is nowhere for the music to go but through you. The show is part of the Capital Region’s roots and folk calendar. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. The show is all ages.
Tickets
General admission is $48.80, all fees included. Members pay $45.55; child and student tickets are $24.40. A livestream through Caffe Lena TV is available for $5, with 100% of proceeds going directly to the artists. Buy tickets