Spotlight: Lacy J. Dalton

Former Santa Cruz area songbird Lacy J. Dalton says she’s always had a fond place in her heart for Santa Cruz and San Lorenzo Valley, where she grew her folk-country-Americana sound in the hippie era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“I’m so glad to be playing here,” she said of her upcoming 8 p.m. gig on Saturday, May 16, at Don Quixote’s in Felton. “I do have great memories of Santa Cruz — my band is here and many old friends are here.”
That band, the Dalton Gang, will back her up, and she hinted that there might be a few guests to sit in. Possibilities: Santa Cruz bass guitarist Bill Layman, formerly of New Riders of the Purple Sage and the David Nelson Band, and singer-songwriter Jeff Blackburn.
As Jill Croston, her real name, Dalton sang at the old Club Zayante, the Crow’s Nest and the Catalyst in Santa Cruz — and nearly any club that had live music. She left Santa Cruz for the Nashville country scene in the early ’80s and had some success, but abandoned it all when crossing over to pop became the thing to do.
Her home is in Nevada now, but she tours and finds herself in Santa Cruz County every few years. Her 2006 CD, “The Last Wild Place Anthology,” contains at least six songs written in the Santa Cruz Mountains and one, “Crazy Blue Eyes,” that was her first hit.
Her quirky music is impossible to characterize. It’s a little folk, a little country, a little bluesy and well worth the $18 ticket price ($20 at the door).
For reservations: 603-2294.