Article Contributed by Scott Ward
Published on 2026-09-23
Photos: Courtesy of Southern Fields
This past Friday night, I had the opportunity to see Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band at Boom Days in Fort Payne, Alabama. Boom Days is an annual two-day music, art and regional festival held every September. Fort Payne is probably best known for being the hometown of the Recording Industry Association of America’s Group of the Century, Alabama, and features the Alabama Fan Club Headquarters.
With record temperatures and scattered storms with lightning in the area, things finally settled down and cooled off, turning into a pleasant night for a concert with a half moon overhead.
A local band called Canyonland opened the show. I remember my grandparents taking us to Canyonland Park in Fort Payne when we were kids. The park was open from 1970 until about 1973, and the band Wild Country—Alabama’s name before they became the band Alabama—performed there. Canyonland is a really great band, and they did really great covers of “People Get Ready,” “Modern Day Romance,” Little River Band’s “Happy Anniversary” and Ace’s “How Long.” They also performed some of their original music.
I have loved the Beach Boys for as long as I can remember. When I was a teenager in the late ’70s, the first albums I bought with my own money were by the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Ricky Nelson and the Beatles—specifically the Beach Boys albums Endless Summer and Good Vibrations on the Pickwick label.
When the Pet Sounds Band, which was handpicked by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, took the stage, I knew this concert was going to be something special. Jardine was a founding member of the Beach Boys, playing rhythm guitar and singing harmony vocals. He also sang lead vocals on “Help Me, Rhonda” and “Then I Kissed Her.”
He and Brian met at Hawthorne College in California, and after they both enrolled at El Camino College, they formed the Beach Boys with Brian’s brothers Carl and Dennis Wilson and cousin Mike Love. Jardine was inducted with the Beach Boys into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and continued with the band until Carl’s untimely death in 1998. Carl’s death left a huge void in rock and roll music. Jardine has been working as a solo artist since that time.
The last reunion of the Beach Boys was in 2012, when the surviving members recorded an album called That’s Why God Made the Radio, followed by a tour. Later that year, Mike Love started touring with his own incarnation of the band without Brian or Jardine.
The band launched into “California Girls” with Al’s son, Matt Jardine, on lead vocals. Matt sings all of the songs that Carl sang lead and high harmonies on in the Beach Boys’ recordings and also played tambourine. To use the term “spot on” would be an understatement. The only way I can describe the Pet Sounds Band is that I think this is what the music in Heaven will sound like.
In addition to Matt, the band consists of Al playing his old familiar Fender Stratocaster and singing vocals; guitarists Emeen Zarookian, Rob Bonfiglio and Randall Kirsh—Bonfiglio wasn’t able to be there due to a scheduling conflict; bandleader Darian Sahanaja on keys, along with Debbie Shair; bassist Bob Lizik; percussionist Jim Laspesa; drummer Mike D’Amico; and saxophonist Paul Von Mertens, who played every kind of saxophone, plus flute. Lizik is fortunate to get to play all those great basslines at every show. The lead guitarist alternated between an Olympic White Fender Jazzmaster and a red Epiphone 12-string electric.
The band continued with hit after hit—“Do It Again,” “Surfin’ Safari” and “Don’t Worry Baby.” Jardine prefaced the latter by describing how great it was working with Brian and his amazement at Brian’s genius as a songwriter.
Next up were “Surfer Girl,” “Don’t Worry Baby” and “Little Deuce Coupe.” “Don’t Worry Baby” was from the album Shut Down Volume 2. Co-written and sung by Brian, he later referred to the song as one of the band’s finest records. It was released as the B-side of “I Get Around.”
Before the band played “In My Room,” Al prefaced the song by stating that it was written by Brian and described his feelings of safety and comfort from just being alone in his room working on songs. At the height of his struggles with anxiety, the record label installed a sandbox with a piano inside at his house.
“Dance, Dance, Dance” has always been another one of my favorites, mainly because of Carl Wilson’s use of the Fender Bass VI doubling the lead guitar line. The Bass VI has a distinctive, twangy sound and was often used in television themes in the ’50s and ’60s, such as “The Wild Wild West,” and on Johnny Cash’s “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” Legendary bassist Carol Kaye, of the group of Los Angeles session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, would later use one when they played on the Beach Boys albums. The lead guitarist played a fantastic 12-string guitar solo during the performance.
The band then played “Darlin’,” around which an entire episode of the television show The Big Bang Theory revolved. One of the main characters, Sheldon Cooper, is on the verge of going mad because the song is stuck in his head and he can’t identify it. The song features a low piano part, great horn parts and inversions in the bassline, for which Brian really had a knack.
Up next was “Sail On, Sailor” from the 1973 album Holland. Blondie Chaplin sang on the recording, making it one of the few well-known Beach Boys recordings that did not feature Brian, Mike Love or Carl singing lead vocals. In addition to being a member of the Beach Boys in the early ’70s, Chaplin also toured with the Rolling Stones for 15 years. One of the guitar players handled the vocals on that one.
The band then launched into “I Can Hear Music,” which was a cover of the Ronettes’ version and was also recorded by Freddie Mercury under the alias Larry Lurex. The song was Carl’s first solo production with the band. It features some great vocal harmonies, and Matt Jardine delivered another great vocal performance.
“Heroes and Villains,” from the 1967 album Smiley Smile, was conceived by Brian Wilson as an Old West musical comedy. It features some great baritone saxophone, piano and harpsichord parts, along with a slide whistle throughout the song, which is scarcely heard in popular music, especially rock and roll. Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” also features one. I have one on my mantle that belonged to my great-grandfather. The song also features elements of doo-wop and a barbershop quartet.
Right before the band started “Honkin’ Down the Highway,” a train came through Fort Payne as if it were part of the show. They followed that with “God Only Knows,” which Paul McCartney has frequently called the greatest song ever written.
The Beach Boys album Pet Sounds marked the end of the band’s formula of surfing and hot rods and gave way to Brian’s desire to broaden his musical horizons. Heavily inspired by the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, the album’s compositions and arrangements were more complex and orchestral. Brian once stated that the album would be the greatest record he had ever produced and described it as a spiritual experience.
“Sloop John B” was one of those songs from the album. I didn’t really get into that album until a few years after I had bought my first Beach Boys records, but I immediately fell in love with the song because of the beautiful vocal harmonies. You can hear the Bass VI in this one and, once again, the bass player performing the third and fifth of the chord in the fantastic bassline that Brian had written.
“Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” the first track on Pet Sounds, is another great song that has been featured in several movies, including 50 First Dates, Shampoo and Roger & Me. The band nailed it with this one.
“Good Vibrations” is another one of my favorites. The song opens with a staccato organ part, with the bass player playing off the beat with a pick, just as Carol Kaye did, before the band goes into a blues progression on the chorus. The vocal harmonies on this one are unbelievable. The Pet Sounds Band was Brian’s backing band for more than 20 years.
After Al’s introduction of the band members, they kicked off Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” one of the most iconic songs from the early ’60s, with Al singing the lead vocal. Debbie Shair played the unforgettable organ solo.
Next up was “Help Me, Rhonda,” which was my favorite Beach Boys song when I was a teenager, mainly because of Carl’s electric 12-string intro on the recording. The song featured a great alto saxophone solo by Von Mertens.
When my youngest daughter, Lane, was 3 or 4 years old, she loved “Barbara Ann.” I always loved the recording because of its party atmosphere, with the ashtrays clanking and the fabulous walking bassline. This one also featured another excellent saxophone solo by Von Mertens. “Surfin’ U.S.A.” featured a cool organ solo.
To close the show, the band performed “Fun, Fun, Fun,” which I always loved because of the Chuck Berry-inspired lead guitar. It was also featured in one of my favorite movies from my teenage years, The Hollywood Knights.
I applaud Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band for keeping the legacy of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys alive. In many ways, their music has been the soundtrack of my life, and I doubt we will ever hear music like this again.
