“Undefeated” Bobby Bare, Jr. Returns to San Diego

Alt-country all-star Bobby Bare, Jr. will screen a new documentary at San Diego’s Media Arts Center — and perform at the Belly Up — this Saturday, June 14.

Born into music, Bare grew up with a Country Music Hall of Famer for a father and stars like George Jones and Tammy Wynette as next door neighbors. He released his first single at age eight: a duet with his father written by close family friend Shel Silverstein.

Bare released his first two solo albums in the late ’90s under the moniker Bare Jr. before forming the Young Criminals Starvation League, with whom he’s played ever since. With the YCSL, Bare has released several excellent records, including 2004’s From the End of Your Leash — which features the title song for the new documentary — 2006’s The Longest Meow, an 11 song album featuring 11 players, recorded in 11 hours — and 2010’s A Storm, A Tree, My Mother’s Head, about his mother’s near-death experience.

This year, Bare released Undefeated, another characteristically smart, poignant, and funny record. Of the album, Bare says “You ever hang out with comedians? They’re dark, and they’re not really fun to hang out with. I’ve got the same darkness. I’m trying to take this stuff that scares me the most and get a room full of people to laugh along with my scary stuff, because that makes it a little less scary.”

That’s been Bare’s M.O. for a long time, and it always works like a charm.

Bare’s new documentary “Don’t Follow Me (I’m Lost)” is screening at the Media Arts Center at 3pm on Saturday, June 14, and then he’ll open for Guided By Voices at the Belly Up that night. Go see him!

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