Upcoming Shows

NEW ALBUM RELEASE SHOW

Sunday
March 8, 2026
Doors 3:00pm
Show 4:00pm

Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell St
San Francisco, CA

BUY TICKETS NOW

NEW ALBUM

Akwa Mmiri

CD will be available on March 8, 2026

PRE-ORDER CD NOW

You will receive the CD at the show
or will be shipped on March 8, 2026

Album cover painting "SF WEST" by SHAWN "BARNEY" BARRON, Design by Denise Halbe

The Mermen
Jim Thomas, guitar
Jennifer Burnes, bass
Martyn Jones, drums
Daniel Guaqueta, drums on Floating Past Distant Suns On The Way To Forever

All songs written and copyright James Matthew Thomas
Except Ravel Bolero (Public Domain)

“AKWA MMIRI” is a Nigerian word
meaning “Bridge” with water involved.

Album cover painting “SF WEST”
by SHAWN “BARNEY” BARRON

Design by Denise Halbe

Release date: March 8, 2026
Produced by Jim Thomas
Recorded at Pleasure Point Recording, Santa Cruz, CA
Mastered by Michael Romanowski at Coast Mastering, Berkeley, CA
Kiss My Ass Records #0023 ©2026

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Riding the ‘cerebral surf’ wave:
How Santa Cruz’s epic
surf-rock trio The Mermen keep on shredding
by Wallace Baine

Jim Thomas in the Pleasure Point studio the Mermen inhabit. (Kevin Painchaud/Lookout Santa Cruz)

Read the story published
May 11, 2021
Lookout Santa Cruz

WHY THE MERMEN ARE
SANTA CRUZ’S
GREATEST CULT BAND
by Wallace Baine

Read the cover story published
May 9, 2018 in Santa Cruz, CA,
arts and culture magazine,
GOOD TIMES

“The best Rock and Roll is poetry in motion, with or without words – and some of the best records of 1995 came without. The Mermen play an extreme brand of surf music, and black minor-chord moods of guitarist Jim Thomas are like a rough ride on the icy seas of the mid- Atlantic. Hints of Dick Dale filter through the cracked-sidewalk wave forms of Sonic You. But on long hauls like the nine minute “Obsession for Men” Thomas sounds more like Neil Young at the wheel of Crazy Horse. “

David Fricke, ROLLING STONE

“…ferocious and haunting instrumentals of an almost orchestral density…. roaring through mesmerizing waves of feedback and melody …. the Mermen never collapse into surf kitsch or fall back on the genres beloved but overfamiliar cliches… the burbling underwater atmospherics…and the shimmering riffs…disguise intricate arrangements, and the muted arpeggios and grandiose leanings are a long way from Wipe Out….”

David Dudley, NEW TIMES

20220903 The Mermen at Golden Gate Park Bandshell SF-4271_r3_2200px

Past Shows

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn
25th Anniversary Celebration
with
Adam Scott
Boots Riley
Glynn Washington
The Mermen
Scott Simpson

Saturday
November 1, 2025
Doors: 7:15 PM
Show: 8:00 PM

Kuumbwa Jazz Center
320-2 Cedar Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

It’s a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form! Join the live taping of Bullseye with Jesse Thorn with a stacked line-up of special guests. Join us for a night of conversation and comedy as we celebrate 25 years of the show with Adam Scott (Severance and Step Brothers), filmmaker and rapper Boots Riley(Sorry to Bother You and The Coup), podcast and television host Glynn Washington (Snap Judgement), comedian Scott Simpson, and special music guest The Mermen.

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn Website
info/tickets/questions: bullseyelive@maximimfun.org

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