< blog | Benji Hughes and Jon Lindsay Live at Lost Chord

Benji Hughes and Jon Lindsay Live at Lost Chord

Lost Chord Guitars in Solvang is gearing up for an extreme evening of live music with Benji Hughes and Jon Lindsay tonight. The concert, which will feature a pre-show interview conducted by actor Jeff Bridges, is already sold out. If you've got your tickets, you're in for a good one.

Of Benji Hughes, Lost Chord owner Chris Pelonis says "I’m so excited to have Benji at Lost Chord Guitars! I first met him years ago when we were playing his music with Jeff Bridges & the Abiders. It's a small world, and here's a fun fact: Jackson Browne—who actually came up with the name Lost Chord Guitars—introduced Benji to Jeff. What really moves me in an artist is that rare combination of being instantly recognizable and completely original. Just as important is being fearless and exposed, raw and honest. That’s Benji to a T!"

Interview with Jon Lindsay

In advance of the show, SYV Buzz had the chance to interview Jon Lindsay (performing tonight as a member of Benji's band) about his own music and career. Here's what we learned:

SYV Buzz: I gave your new album Big Stage a listen yesterday, and that sent me down the rabbit hole of also listening to your previous releases. Starting with 2010’s Escape from Plaza-Midwood again too — an absolute gem. There’s a clear power pop vibe running through your music that reminds me of the dB’s, and I noticed you’ve even worked with Chris Stamey. I’d love to hear about your early influences and how you’d personally describe your sound.

Jon Lindsay: Early influences are all over the place as you might expect. I was classically trained on the piano at a young age, so there’s that. I was also raised in the Christian church (Episcopalian), so I learned how to play a lot of classical hymns and whatnot. I was all about Boyz 2 Men, Prince, Madonna, Paul Simon, and the wild mix of pop that was happening on the radio when I was around 12 in the early nineties. Then, of course, I fell hard for the Lemonheads, Teenage Fanclub, the Breeders, Pixies, REM—and simultaneously discovered Big Star and The Replacements. Once I got into the jangle and power pop greats, I definitely stayed in that zone of inspiration for a while, and you can hear that curiosity in my early projects The Young Sons, The Catch Fire, and on songs like “My Blue Angels” or “Not Trying” from my early solo records. You mentioned the dB’s, and being from NC, I know those guys and am a huge fan. Same for Mitch Easter’s stuff and a bunch of folks from the NC scene. My sound presentation on records has always followed the songs and vibe of the moment, mixed with whatever resources were or weren’t on hand at the moment. I’d describe the first three records as pretty highly experimental pop outings. Big Stage might represent the most immediately accessible record I’ve ever done start to finish. I’m really proud of them all, but super into the sounds I’m making right now.

SYV Buzz: It’s been a minute since Cities & Schools dropped in 2016. What’s been keeping you busy during that nine-year stretch? How did those in-between years shape the sound, style, and spirit of Big Stage?

Jon Lindsay: Yeah, there’ve been a few singles and other off the radar projects since 2016, as I write for film and TV and do work behind the scenes as well. But Cities was the last LP and that’s been a few years for sure. Short answer, life has been colorful since 2016. I moved to NYC for 7 years, moved full-time to a house I bought in Savannah, GA, during the pandemic, got oh so happily remarried, had a beautiful son, started my own PR firm and record label. I didn’t intend to lay low compared to the run before that of 10 straight years of full-on touring and a bunch of solo records and side projects, but it’s been a really helpful reset. It’s great to be back, and I intend to keep a more regular cadence of releases again. Have a bunch more I wanna say.

SYV Buzz: Tonight, you’re taking the stage as part of Benji Hughes’ band — what’s the backstory on that? How did you two start working together, and what’s the dynamic like between you guys on and off stage?

Jon Lindsay: We started working together around 2007 or so. We’re old pals from Charlotte, NC, where I used to live for a long time and was basically raised. When Benji dropped A Love Extreme, we toured that together in a full band with some other great guys. I also had a weekly solo residency at a cabaret bar in Charlotte around that time, and I ended up roping Benji into that scene, and he got his own weekly show that we’d play as a duo. We’d do standards, classic country songs, all the wild unreleased stuff from deep in his catalog; but we also developed our kooky stage vibe, which is just a lot of fun schtick and keeping things light and weird, and creating a space for experimentation where people feel like they can really be free and experience something rare and different. Offstage? He’s kinda like my uncle or older brother. We enjoy a really close friendship. He’s a great dude.

SYV Buzz: I also wanted to dig into the NC Music Love Army — the progressive collective you co-founded with Caitlin Cary back in 2013. With heavy hitters like Stamey, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Rhiannon Giddens involved, it’s clear you’re drawn to making music that matters. What’s the group working on now, and how are you feeling about music’s role in today’s political climate?

Jon Lindsay: Love Army was a really special thing. We did like 14 releases over four years, which is pretty wild to say out loud, and to look back on now. A truly wonderful mix of amazing North Carolinians I’m proud to call dear friends involved in so many ways in that collective. The project got a bit of a second wind last Fall ahead of the election with a new release and a couple performance videos that are out there you can check out. Who knows what we’ll do with it in the future. Times are very dark right now, and I know music will continue to be the light; we’ll just have to see how much runway remains for the NCMLA vehicle. It’s tough to get 50 people together for free to change the world, but who knows, there could be a remount one day. If Trump doesn’t get us all killed first.

SYV Buzz: A few more quick ones for fun: You’ve worked with a ton of talented artists over the years. If you could form an imaginary group with any artist — living or dead — who’s getting the call?

Jon Lindsay: Chris Bell, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voormann, Linda Ronstadt, Jason Crosby would make a pretty sick band don’t you think?

SYV Buzz: A lot of critics describe your music as boundary-pushing. Is there a sound or style you haven’t explored yet that’s calling your name?

Jon Lindsay: Honestly I’m gonna chill on pushing boundaries for a few records. I’m gonna continue keeping things packaged a bit classically/conventionally for the next few records, just given the material I’m pushing around at the moment. It’s stuff that just feels right with a really straight up production approach. The next record after Big Stage won’t be a huge departure from that sonic zone; it might skew a touch more digital, but not a ton.

SYV Buzz: You’ve played everywhere from intimate bars to larger venues. Do you have a favorite kind of crowd to play for, and do you have a most memorable show experience (good, bad, or just plain weird)?

Jon Lindsay: Shows like last night at the Hotel Café are my favorite. It’s just me, a hushed room, everybody in on the song together, riding through it as a team, audience and artist- those are always the deepest. Europe and the West Coast have the most awesome listening rooms, and they’re definitely at the top of my list.

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See our complete list of upcoming music and wine events in the Santa Ynez Valley.