By Michael Gaither

If you took the blues, rock and roll, country and soul, and then blended it with just as many literary influences, you’d probably end up with a band that sounds pretty much like Jeffrey Halford & The Healers. Jeffrey was born in Texas but raised all over California — ideally anywhere that was near the ocean and surf. He calls Marin home these days.

Jeffrey’s been busy. His latest record, “Soul Connection,” went to No. 1 in Europe. It also reached the top 25 in the U.S. Americana charts. A new release is due for March next year. A little further back, in 2023, Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones sought out Jeffrey after seeing a live YouTube video of Jeffrey’s song “Elvis Shot the Television.” Wyman said it “had a beautiful, greasy touch” and asked him to record a version of Wyman’s song “Mississippi Flier.” Jeffrey recorded his own take on it and released it with a video.

Jeffrey brings his trademark sound down our way again this Saturday for an afternoon show in Corralitos at El Vaquero Winery. I caught up with him last week to talk about this upcoming show and what’s next for him and his band. “We’ve done maybe 70 shows this year, so I took August off,” he says. “I spent time with the family and did a lot of surfing and water stuff. September’s busy, and we’re getting ready.”“Getting ready” also means he’s making plans for their seventh tour in Europe this October (and again in Spring 2025). “We’re doing 20 dates with four days off this time. It’s gonna be grueling, but we’re lucky to be able to do it. And if you look at other singer/songwriters who go over there, that’s how you gotta do it. It’s also lucky to have that many people who want to hire you.”

Closer to home, Jeffrey’s equally excited about return to El Vaquero Winery in Corralitos this weekend. “I like the blues. And I love rock and roll, country and soul,” he says.” I’d add that the reader in him also stands out. “I loved the beat poets, Hemmingway, Steinbeck and so many fiction writers. I mix all those ingredients like a cook. The trio we have is a pretty rocking little outfit. And we keep it pretty danceable, especially for a place like El Vaquero.”

The Healers is made up Kevin White on bass and Adam Rossi, who is a bit of a triple threat: He play keyboards AND percussion, and both Kevin and Adam add vocals to the mix. It’s a lot of sound for a three-piece band.

For all his influences, it’s the songwriting Californian in him that also stands out. “California has always been a place where there are stylists,” he says. “What you’ll find here are artists who are very unique. I was raised on that, and it makes you try to get your own style and sound going.” That includes “interpreting all these different styles into what I do, writing about day-to-day life … and sometimes just writing about something super simple and fun.”

Michael Gaither is a performing songwriter, DJ at KPIG radio, and in a previous life was also a writer for The Santa Cruz Sentinel.