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By Lookout Staff

September 1, 2011-- In recent years, the trend for upcoming rock and roll bands has been to take the music back to its country, blues and folk roots. So it’s only fitting that some of the hottest acts in this new genre known as “Americana” will appear tonight at the Santa Monica Pier’s Twilight Dance Series.

Downbeat is at 6:45 p.m. As always, the concert is free.
Headlining the show is the self-described “American Rock and Roll band” Dawes, which has built a nationwide following among young and old rockers alike.

They’ve been on Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel, and they’ve jammed on stage with Jackson Browne and Robbie Robertson since releasing their first record “North Hills” in 2009.

With their latest release “Nothing is Wrong” just out, the band is now halfway through a 58-city tour with shows in London, New York, Chicago and Austin before concluding at San Francisco’s famed Fillmore in November.

Led by brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, Dawes performs original music with a heartfelt intensity reminiscent of the great rock bands of the 60’s, complete with layered harmony singing and chiming guitars propelled by a solid backbeat.

After performing tonight on the pier, the hardworking brothers head off for two concerts in Colorado and one in Utah before the Labor Day weekend is over.
Joining Dawes on tonight’s bill is a group of young San Francisco psychedelic, folk, hipsters who call themselves Sonny and the Sunsets.

Led by singer-songwriter-guitarist Sonny Smith – who, according to the band’s own literature, derives his inspiration from frequent bouts with mental illness – the Sunset’s music tackles such paranormal and mystical subjects as fortune telling and other-worldly spirits with a sense of humor and wonder.

Their album – “Hit after Hit” released by Fat Possum records in Oxford Mississipi – is a collection of highly-listenable yet twisted folk-rock tracks in which the band pokes as much fun at their pretensions as artists as they do at the absurd world they inhabit.

Also tonight, local band Olio, which won the Emerging Artist’s Competition sponsored by Rusty’s Surf Ranch, will open the evening with a special set at 6:45.

Now in its 25th season, the Twilight Dance Series showcases some of the best musical acts from throughout the world. Downbeat for the 2011 series is 7 p.m. every Thursday throughout the summer.

This year’s series is winding down with only one more show left after tonight – an evening of New Orleans R&B Funk called "A Night in Treme” featuring Jon Cleary’s Philthy Phew on September 8.

With the series drawing large crowds, pier officials encourage concert goers to walk, bike or ride the Big Blue Bus.

Parking will be available at the beach lot located north of the pier at 1550 Pacific Coast Highway, but the pier itself will be closed to traffic. A bike valet will be available on the bike path on the south side of the pier.

Cosponsors of the 2011 series include Pacific Park, Bloomingdales, StarLine Tours, the Australian Consulate, Cotton On and the City of Santa Monica. The series is produced by the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation and Ron & Humble.