Amigo the Devil comes back to Ventura, three years after a Halloween night at the Majestic

The murderfolk songwriter plays Ventura Music Hall on Friday, Dec. 18 — his first Santa Barbara–Ventura date since Oct. 31, 2023.

The last time Amigo the Devil played this stretch of coast, it was Halloween. On Oct. 31, 2023, Danny Kiranos brought his songs about killers, lovers and bad decisions to The Majestic Ventura Theater, which is about as perfect a calendar fit as a songwriter in his line of work could ask for. It has been more than three years since. That gap closes a week before Christmas.

Amigo the Devil plays Ventura Music Hall on Friday, Dec. 18, with Nate Bergman opening. The show starts at 8 p.m., and tickets run $10–$52 through Tixr. The date was announced Oct. 21, and at 635 capacity the room is small enough that a fan base this devoted can fill it without much warning, so it is worth not sitting on it.

A lot has happened to Kiranos between the two Ventura nights. In October 2023 he had just announced *Yours Until the War Is Over*, which came out in February 2024 and followed 2021's *Born Against*. Singles like "The Mechanic" and "Once Upon a Time at Texaco (Pt. 1)" set up that record with the mix of gallows humor and genuine tenderness that has always been his trick: a banjo, a baritone and a story that turns darker than you expected, then somehow sadder than that.

The harder chapter came after. According to mxdwn, Kiranos survived a devastating house fire, and the first song he released afterward was "New Kind of Lonely," a standalone single put out through his own Liar's Club Records, per Ghost Cult. He has said the song reflects where his head was when he wrote it, and that listeners can take from it whatever they need. It is a quieter thing than some of his signature numbers, and it is a fair bet the December set will make room for it.

He has kept the road under him, too. This summer he announced a fall North American headlining tour, and a December stop in Ventura extends a year spent mostly in front of crowds. That matters for a performer whose shows lean so hard on the room: half the fun of an Amigo the Devil night is a few hundred people singing along to a chorus about a body in a trunk, and then going completely silent for the ballad.

Half the fun is a few hundred people singing along to a chorus about a body in a trunk, then going silent for the ballad.

Ventura Music Hall is a good fit for that. It is a step down in size from the Majestic, which means closer quarters and a crowd that can actually hear the guitar between the shouts. For Santa Barbara folks, it is the usual 101 drive south; for Ventura and Oxnard, it is a Friday night downtown.

Nate Bergman gets the opening slot, and it is worth showing up for the whole bill rather than timing your arrival to the headliner.

It has been three years and a lot of living since Halloween at the Majestic. Bring a friend who has never heard him, and watch their face during the first murder ballad.

Sources: Amigo the Devil at Ventura Music Hall – Tixr (tixr.com); Amigo the Devil at Ventura Music Hall – JamBase (jambase.com); Amigo The Devil Releases First New Song Since Surviving a House Fire – mxdwn (music.mxdwn.com); Amigo The Devil Shares a New Single – Ghost Cult (ghostcultmag.com); Amigo the Devil announces new album Yours Until the War Is Over – mxdwn (music.mxdwn.com); Dark Americana star Amigo the Devil: Born Against – Planet Mosh (planetmosh.com); Amigo the Devil shares new single The Mechanic – mxdwn (music.mxdwn.com); Amigo the Devil unveils Once Upon a Time at Texaco Pt. 1 – mxdwn (music.mxdwn.com); Amigo the Devil announces fall North American headlining tour – Ground News (ground.news); Murderfolk – Kerrang! (kerrang.com)