With the present-day iteration of the Beach Boys sidelined this summer due to undisclosed health issues with which frontman Mike Love is contending, fellow co-founder of America’s Band, Al Jardine, splendidly assisted by members of the late Brian Wilson’s group, has an exclusive lock on the Beach Boys’ touring legacy for the foreseeable future. And they do not disappoint.  

At their August 6, 2026, concert, Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band kicked off an ample, 33-song set with “California Girls,” its grand, orchestral introduction, as arranged by Brian in 1965, having served as a show opener for decades. The first third of the program largely echoed the track list of Endless Summer, the multi-million-selling hits compilation from the mid-’70s that restored the Beach Boys’ popularity, elevated them to a stadium-filling act and, as some would argue, locked them into the status of a touring oldies act—forever amber, so to speak.

But the 11-piece ensemble, including Jardine, peeled through the classics from their surf and hot rod era with a vibrant, authentic re-creation of the original records that elevated the set beyond nostalgia. As the night’s venue, Annapolis, Maryland’s Maryland Hall, opened as Annapolis High School in 1932—pre-dating the Beach Boys’ origin by a mere 30 years—“Be True to Your School” was ironically absent from the set!

For decades, Al’s son, Matt Jardine, has been replicating Brian Wilson’s trademark falsetto in the vocal lineups of the Beach Boys, Wilson’s band and numerous configurations of his father’s touring act, and on this night, he was in exceptionally fine voice, particularly on showcase numbers “Surfer Girl” and “Don’t Worry Baby.”

While Al handles lead vocals on many songs originally sung by his former bandmates, as well as the hits he helmed way back when, he’s generous in sharing the spotlight with members of the band, notably Darian Sahanaja, keyboardist and the band’s musical director, who served in a similar capacity with Brian Wilson, and helped shepherd the legendary SMiLE album project from its mythic unreleased status into record stores. In Jardine’s introduction of Sahanaja’s turn at the mic, he said, “Here’s a song that he sings even better than Carl Wilson!” Revered as Carl is—he passed away in 1998—that comment elicited an audible gasp from the audience, perhaps even from Sahanaja. But his take on “Darlin’,” which he’s been singing in concert since the Beach Boys’ 50th Anniversary Tour, is indeed stellar, and Carl himself would have given him a thumb’s up.

Between Matt Jadine and Sahanaja, the tenor parts originated by brothers Brian and Carl were covered commendably. Also taking a lead vocal was Brian’s son-in-law—the husband of Brian’s daughter Carnie Wilson—guitarist Rob Bonfiglio, who tackled the ’70s FM staple “Sail on Sailor” admirably. Bonfiglio’s own solo works merit exploration.

Once a sampling of the obvious hits had been plumbed, phase two in the trawl of the Beach Boys’ catalog focused on highlights of 1977’s Love You album. A commercial failure at the time, but a fan favorite today, the crowd was receptive to the LP’s seven tracks presented on this evening, including Al’s standout cut, “Honkin’ Down the Highway,” Brian’s sincere, yet tongue-in-cheek salute to “Johnny Carson,” and the once-obscure, now cult favorite, “Ding Dang.” Percussionist Jim Laspesa, sounding strikingly like mid-’70s Brian Wilson, took the lead on “Solar System.”

The Love You album, which had quickly been relegated to discount cutout bins within a year or two of release, got a boost of reappraisal when much of it was spotlighted in last year’s Beach Boys boxed set, We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years. The Beach Boys never did more than two of the LP’s tracks in their live sets, but Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band have now given the album its most credible acknowledgment on stage.

As 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of the Beach Boys’ most celebrated album, Pet Sounds, Jardine and company’s final third of the show cast a light on what was, arguably, Brian Wilson’s magnum opus. Kicking things off, guitarist Emeen Zarookian delivered a note-perfect re-creation of the LP’s instrumental title track. Segueing to “I Know There’s an Answer,” Al took the liberty of incorporating lyrics from the song’s earlier incarnation, “Hang on to Your Ego,” making the musical hybrid, as he called it, “a two-for-one.”

Further deep cuts followed, wrapping up the retrospective with the Pet Sounds trifecta of hits, “God Only Knows,” “Sloop John B” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Drummer Mike D’Amico, Paul Von Mertens on baritone sax and flute, and bassist Bob Lizik fleshed out the album’s orchestrations as Brian imagined them 60 years prior.

Not surprisingly, a more than credible “Good Vibrations” closed out the set. Even less surprisingly, the audience-mandated encore featured Al Jardine’s signature tune, “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Surfin’ USA” and the show-closer, “Fun, Fun, Fun.”

Kudos must also be extended to keyboard player Gary Griffin, a veteran sideman of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson’s band, who handled the baritone vocal parts in the mix deftly. And keyboardist/vocalist Debbie Shair, long a supporting player in Heart and Brian Wilson’s and Jardine’s outfits? There has never been a happier, more exuberant musician on a concert stage. Her spontaneous choreography behind the keys was reminiscent of Toni Basil’s video for the 1982 hit, “Mickey.”

Vocally and instrumentally, the Pet Sounds Band executed what is truly a tribute to the music of Brian Wilson flawlessly. Elevating the group from that of cover band are the aforementioned pedigrees of its musicians and a frontman who co-founded the Beach Boys. Just weeks before his 84th birthday, Alan Jardine is hale and hearty with a voice undiminished by time.

Related: Our interview with Al Jardine about Pet Sounds

To be clear, the vocal blend—the collective timbre—of the three Wilson brothers, Jardine and Mike Love can never be duplicated, just as Don or Phil Everly singing harmony with another partner wasn’t the Everly Brothers. But there’s duplication and there’s replication. And this ensemble that Al Jardine has assembled comes closer to reaching the rapturous sound of those five original Beach Boys than any prior configuration. The frontline of the two Jardines, Sahanaja, Griffin and Bonfiglio, supported selectively by the three other singers in the band, is as close as you’re going to get to a Beach Boys performance circa 1966, while the current onstage instrumental support outstrips anything possible back then.

Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band are now the in-concert standard-bearers of the Beach Boys’ musical legacy. Tickets to upcoming shows are available here.

Watch Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band perform “Help Me, Rhonda” earlier in the tour

Beach Boys recordings are available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.

Set List

California Girls
Do It Again
Catch A Wave
Hawaii
Surfer Girl
Don’t Worry Baby
Little Deuce Coupe
I Get Around
In My Room
Darlin’
Sail On Sailor
I Can Hear Music
Heroes & Villains
Let Us Go On This Way
Roller Skating Child
Johnny Carson
Solar System
Honkin’ Down The Highway
Ding Dang
Airplane
Pet Sounds
I Know There’s An Answer/Hang On To Your Ego
You Still Believe In Me
I’m Waiting For The Day
Caroline, No
Here Today
God Only Knows
Sloop John B
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
Good Vibrations
Help Me, Rhonda
Surfin’ USA
Fun, Fun, Fun

Watch a full two-hour show by the band from earlier in 2026