Somewhere Between Bakersfield and Oahu: Poi Rogers and the Shape of California Sound

I originally wrote this for the Western Swing Society newsletter, but as the bandleader of Mae McCoy and Her Neon Stars, I knew this piece needed to live somewhere bigger. Poi Rogers blends soft steel and desert charm with a sense of place that reminds me why California music still matters. This isn’t nostalgia — it’s a signal.

Poi Rogers debuts with a Western Swing-rooted release, filtered through desert air, Hawaiian steel, and vintage California charm.

Poi Rogers debuts with a Western Swing-rooted release, filtered through desert air, Hawaiian steel, and vintage California charm.

Album cover courtesy of Poi Rogers via poirogers.com

Mae McCoy and Her Neon Stars shared a bill with Poi Rogers at a Shelby Ash Presents show in San Francisco — a city that welcomed both sides of my bloodline. My Irish great-grandmother made her home here. My Filipino grandfather came after the war, carving out his place in a country still learning how to hold him. They built their lives in California. That night, I could feel it in the air.

Poi Rogers came in with a Hawaiian steel guitar, upright bass, and a sound that floats somewhere between Bakersfield and Oahu. The crowd leaned in. It had that rare ease — where no one’s selling, and nothing needs to be louder than it is.

“Twilight Blues”

Album cover courtesy of Poi Rogers via poirogers.com.

Their set leaned into the upcoming debut album, Twilight Blues — a project shaped more by tone than tempo, with melodies that settle in slow and stay a while. From what I’ve heard — their singles “You’re All That I Need” and “Don’t Steal My Covers” — we get a clear sense of the direction. The tone is warm, washed in steel and sentiment. More easy chair than dance hall. You’ll also recognize the unforgettable melody of Tennessee Ernie Ford and Kay Starr’s “I’ll Never Be Free”, reworked here with original lyrics by Poi Rogers — another nod to the past reframed through their lens.

Photo courtesy of Poi Rogers via poirogers.com

Carolyn Sills holds the low end steady, unfazed, and beautifully unhurried — like someone who’s played this tune in a dream before. Gerard Egan shifts between six-string and steel with a tone that lingers more than it leads. They’re a married duo, and you can hear it — they leave space in the arrangements, never crowding each other. And in that space, you can tell: this isn’t performance. It’s presence.

Their other project, The Carolyn Sills Combo, recently picked up the 2024 Ameripolitan Award for Western Swing Group, and Carolyn herself was named Western Swing Female of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists. Awards don’t always capture the full shape of a sound — but they follow momentum. And Poi Rogers has built their own.

Twilight Blues sits at the edge of the Western Swing world — less barroom, more beachfront. A little surf, a little prairie, a little salt in the air. It’s shaping up to be a mood record. A California mood, even if it doesn’t call itself that. For fans of vintage Americana, steel guitar, or modern storytelling with classic bones, this release is one to keep an eye on.

As someone with both Irish and Filipino roots, I’ve always understood American music as a collision of stories — immigrant threads, borrowed instruments, working-class rhythm, and regional sound. I front a California Western Swing band shaped by tradition and live musicianship. I don’t write about this music to define it — I write to trace where it’s headed. Poi Rogers, with Twilight Blues, threads their own lineage into that larger map.

If you’re drawn to dreamy steel, slow burns, and songs that don’t ask for a clink of a glass, this might be your record. You can the singles now or visit PoiRogers.com to learn more.

Full album release June 6th.

Originally published in the Western Swing Society Newsletter (2025) and on Medium.com. Shared here for visibility and archival.