Song Recommendation: “California” by The Olympians (2026)

Sounding a bit adjacent to those stalwarts of rock/funk instrumental jam sessions, The Budos Band, The Olympians offer generally sunnier tunes but with no less focus on the craft and the overall mission of providing a rollicking good time. Example today is the pretty stunning “California” which sounds somehow both modern and retro, with its clean production and high energy carrying multiple earworm melodies blasted out by muscular horns and a locked-in rhythm section keeping things chugging along nicely. But stay for the incredible guitar solo which isn’t bombastic (indeed there might not be anything more than simple amplification) or anything but still kinda rocks my socks off (like, from a sock-hop). Great stuff.