Up until just a few years ago, only a fool would have believed that Michael McDonald would suddenly become cool again, four decades after rising to prominence as a member of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers-turned-solo-artist.
But cool McDonald is, thanks to the rise in popularity of yacht rock and his collaborations with such much younger admirers as Grizzly Bear and Thundercat, whose 2017 Coachella festival performance featured McDonald as a special guest.
To McDonald’s surprise and delight, the Coachella audience not only sang along, word-for-word, to the Thundercat/McDonald slow jam “Show You The Way,” but also to the McDonald-led 1979 Doobies’ hit, “What a Fool Believes.”
As McDonald noted in a 2017 Union-Tribune interview, “It’s been a wild ride!”
You can join in when McDonald, 67, and his band perform here Tuesday.
Michael McDonald: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 North Escondido Blvd, Escondido. $45-$125; VIP packages range from $175 to $350 each. (800) 988-4253. artcenter.org.