It was the night of March 1, 2026 and I headed out to Hopmonk Sebastopol in Sebastopol, California. The event that evening was Connor McLaren opening for Bob Schneider, presented by KC Turner and what an evening it was.
Connor is an amazing artist. He flew from his hometown in Noblesville, Indiana just to play the show that night and he was flying home the next day. That is a stellar artist. He started off with a couple of mellow ones, that set the night off on a good start. From there, he explained that his last name is McLaren but he’s not related to the car people because if he was, he be driving one and he wouldn’t be here playing and that would be a drag.
From there he did a sing along where he would say a curse word and the audience would say one back. That was an awesome song and the audience sang along proudly. From there he told us about his grandmother who wasn’t proud of his choice of careers but loves him anyway. From there he went on to play “Genevieve” and that was a killer song. His next song was “Cecelia”, a stunning song indeed. He played his heart out on that song and it showed.
Following that song up was the only song that made his mom cry. The song was called “Gettin’ By” and it was about him heading off to college, leaving the girl he thought he’d marry. Well, that didn’t happen. When he started “Lemonberry” he told a story about being in Austin, Texas living the rock n roll lifestyle. You should check him out someday to hear the story because it’s amazing.
He played a Todd Schneider inspired song called “Old Timer” and that song was pretty awesome as well. With that, it was time to say goodnight and he played the song “Cliche”. He laughed and laughed as he wrote it because It Me It Ain’t You. It was a funny song no doubt and the perfect song to leave on.
When Bob Schneider hit the stage, he was in rare form. Stories flowed from him. His songs supported his stories and spoke to his life. He opened with “Down the Dark Stairs,” instantly pulling everyone in. The next upbeat song, “C’mon Baby”, was awesome. He did a rock n roll trick, raising the energy, then mellowing the tone. He said people fall for it every time. They do.
Well, during the song, he reminded us that the Olympics are heading to Los Angeles in two years. Well, he said he is the coach for the USA Olympic Audience team, and our job is to win. So, whenever he said Sebastopol, we are to scream and yell. I think we nailed it. For the next song, he donned the harmonica and offered an interesting take. That song was “Metal and Steel”, a banger, and everyone was into it. For the next song, it was great as he whittled through it.
The next song was “Thor”, and it was incredible. It was about the day-to-day life of Thor, and it was well-received. Next, he transitioned to a Queen song, “We Will Rock You”, which then led into “Honeypot”, a stellar tune indeed. He even had everyone sing the ending, and it was incredible. Afterwards, he launched into a diatribe about white teeth and how he had some stumps in them. He joked that he wouldn’t wear those on stage—those are for traveling. Not really.
The next song was good, and the crowd dug it. Then, the set shifted to a rap, and the crowd was totally into it. That one had a soothing message that still resonates with me. Afterward, the mood mellowed—a nice change of tempo. Next came “Big Blue Sea”, with everyone singing along. After that, he played “Disappointed In Paris”, which took a different approach but was very entertaining. Finally, the song about “Jingy”, the monkey, was hilarious to listen to.
Transitioning from one song to the next, “Old Timer” had the audience laughing. From the intro, he clarified what the song was throughout the start; everyone was busting up. It was a great time. He then drifted into “Here We Go Again”, another hilarious song. He dipped into an Italian sound in the middle, which was interesting. After leaving that part, he said, “That’s too much Italian,” and continued the song.
After the Italian-inspired tune, he followed up with “I’m A Man” and a song he wrote just after his daughter was born, called “Blood and Bones”. He kept the theme of new beginnings by starting the next song with a tribute to the love of peaches—the song, fittingly, was called “Peaches”.
From there, he moved on to “Batman”, and that song was a riot. He had the whole crowd hooting and hollering as he was singing. He took a break, telling us about Batman and Robin during the song. He went back into the song, and a girl in a mink came over to him. He said his name was Batman, but you can call him Bob. Well, the girl turned out to be Catwoman, and the story went on from there.
After “Romeo and Juliet”, the crowd sang along, having a ball. Their standing ovation prompted him to play one more song. He chose “Love Is Everywhere” to close the night, and even though it was mellow, it was the perfect way to end.
This is one of those artists that I will continue to see for a long time. He is that good. He is a truly amazing singer, you should see!
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