Lael Neale brings her new record to the Crepe Place in February

With her first self-released album due Nov. 20, the songwriter plays Santa Cruz's 100-capacity Soquel Avenue room on Saturday, Feb. 13.

The Crepe Place holds about a hundred people, which is roughly the right number for a Lael Neale song. Her music works best when the room is quiet enough to hear the hum underneath it, and on a Saturday night in February, Santa Cruz gets that room.

Lael Neale plays the Crepe Place on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2027, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $23.60 through TicketWeb, in a show presented by Folkyeah. It was announced Oct. 14. With a capacity of about 100, it is the kind of ticket that disappears quietly, so do not wait for a reminder.

The timing makes this more than a winter club date. Neale has a new album, *As Killers Do*, due Nov. 20, and it marks a turn for her. After three records on Sub Pop, she is putting this one out herself, on her new imprint, Consensual Sound, according to Our Culture. The Line of Best Fit called it her first self-released album when the news broke in August, alongside the single "Slip Away." The record runs ten songs in twenty-eight minutes, a length that says something about how she works: nothing stays longer than it needs to.

It is also a quick follow-up. Her last album, *Altogether Stranger*, came out on Sub Pop in 2025, so by the time she reaches Santa Cruz she will be carrying two recent records' worth of songs and a few months of playing the new ones live. February is close enough to the release that the material will still feel fresh to her and far enough out that the audience will have had time to live with it.

Her music works best when the room is quiet enough to hear the hum underneath it.

The room is part of the draw. The Crepe Place at 1134 Soquel Ave. was co-founded in 1973 and became a regular live-music spot after new owners took over in 2007, according to Good Times, which has written about the place's mix of crepes and "stellar music." City on a Hill Press put its limit at about 100 people. It is a restaurant and bar first in its layout, not a purpose-built club, and that is exactly why it has become one of the town's go-to rooms for touring indie and folk songwriters: you are never more than a few tables from the performer, and the crowd that books ahead for a show like this tends to listen.

That matters for Neale, whose records have always rewarded close attention. A 7 p.m. start also means the night stays civilized, with time to eat beforehand on the Eastside or walk down Soquel after.

There will be bigger rooms on this tour. There probably will not be a better one for hearing what she is up to now.

Sources: Folkyeah presents Lael Neale at the Crepe Place – TicketWeb (ticketmaster.evyy.net); Lael Neale at Crepe Place – JamBase (jambase.com); Lael Neale Announces New Album 'As Killers Do' – Our Culture (ourculturemag.com); Lael Neale details new album As Killers Do – The Line of Best Fit (thelineofbestfit.com); Lael Neale – As Killers Do – Spin Dizzy Records (spindizzyrecords.com); Lael Neale announces new album Altogether Stranger – Sub Pop (subpop.com); The Crepe Place Continues to Rock Tasty Crepes with a Side of Stellar Music – Good Times (goodtimes.sc); City on a Hill Press – Crepe Place (cityonahillpress.com)