Wednesday night at Bottom of the Hill marks the live return of Santa Rosa’s The Velvet Teen, one of our longtime favorite local groups. Since forming in 1999, they’ve released a number of excellent albums showcasing a continually evolving indie pop sound, including the symphonic Elysium in 2004 and last year’s synth-propelled Cum Laude, both on Slowdance Records.

The band’s future seemed a little uncertain following the announcement earlier this year that longtime member Josh Staples was leaving to dedicate himself to his other project The New Trust, but fonding member Judah Nagler has put together a band and is heading out on tour. Joining Nagler this time around are guitarist Matthew Izen, also of The Polar Bears and formerly of The New Trust, and drummer Casey Deitz. Deitz performed on Cum Laude and has toured with the group since the late Logan Whitehurst withdrew from The Velvet Teen after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

The show kicks off a month-long national tour for the band alongside Say Hi (formerly Say Hi to Your Mom) and The A-Sides. You can find all of the dates at The Velvet Teen’s MySpace page and web site.

Wednesday’s show starts at 9pm and is $12. Advance tickets can be purchased here.