S.D. Arts and Culture Newsletter: Need nostalgia for July 4th? Check out ‘American Graffiti’ on Netflix By David L. Coddon July 4, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. Good morning, and welcome to the U-T Arts & Culture Newsletter. I’m David L. Coddon,...
Music and Concerts | Concert review: blink-182 performs act of magic at Petco Park San Diego homecoming show By George Varga July 2, 2024 at 6:14 a.m. The sold-out show, which also featured San Diego's Pierce The Veil and England's Hot Milk,...
Music and Concerts | Why these 10 American anthems deserve a spot on your Fourth of July playlist By Charlie Vargas July 1, 2024 at 4:10 p.m. Most of these songs are ubiquitous at patriotic parties, but do you know their backstories?
Music and Concerts | Concert Review: San Diego Symphony summer opener a crowd-pleaser with conductor Gemma New By Christian Hertzog July 1, 2024 at 3:23 p.m. Russian pianist Olga Kern an impressive soloist in Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 3
Video games and ancient Greece fuse at Opera Nero’s summer festival By Beth Wood June 30, 2024 at 6:02 a.m. The San Diego company will conclude its 13th season with performances in Balboa Park and...
Things to do | San Diego Street Scene: Our readers share their favorite memories of the homegrown music festival By George Varga June 30, 2024 at 6:01 a.m. The festival, which ran from 1984 to 2009, featured everyone from James Brown, Sheryl Crow...
Music and Concerts | Is 1974 the third-best year ever for great albums? From Bob Marley to Joni Mitchell, you tell us! By George Varga June 30, 2024 at 10:52 a.m. Best albums from 1974 include discs by King Crimson, Gram Parsons, Randy Newman, Ann Peebles,...
Music and Concerts | Appreciation: Kinky Friedman, dead at 79. ‘You have to be miserable to write a good song’ he told us. By George Varga June 28, 2024 at 11:53 a.m. San Diego's Mojo Nixon was a close friend and collaborator of Freidman. So were Willie...
Music and Concerts | 15 things to know if you are going to blink-182’s Petco Park concert Sunday By George Varga June 27, 2024 at 7:04 p.m. Tips on parking, public transit, tickets and more at Sunday's blink-182 concert
S.D. Arts and Culture Newsletter: ‘Paradise’ musical comedy defies explanation By David L. Coddon June 27, 2024 at 6:01 a.m. Looking for things to see, do, watch and enjoy around San Diego and beyond over...
Music and Concerts | San Diego concerts you absolutely won't want to miss this week By George Varga June 27, 2024 at 10:58 a.m. Our picks include the San Diego Black Arts + Culture Music Festival, Audra McDonald and...
Review: Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival shines in two La Jolla venues By Christian Hertzog June 27, 2024 at 2:20 p.m. Music Director Michael Francis leads thrilling performances at an outdoor amphitheater and indoor concert hall
Things to do | Tom Jones and Andre 3000 announce San Diego concerts as part of their new tours By George Varga June 25, 2024 at 1:26 p.m. Two music legends, the Welsh singer and Atlanta rapper-turned-flutist, have announced their 2024 concert tours
Music and Concerts | Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Davis and Bodhi Tree announce 2026 world premiere of bilingual ‘Pancho Rabbit’ opera By George Varga June 24, 2024 at 7:07 p.m. The production, which will premiere in both San Diego and Tijuana, will be sung in...
Lauryn Hill and The Fugees re-set anniversary tour; here are all the dates, including San Diego By George Varga June 24, 2024 at 1:25 p.m. Multiple Grammy Award-winners Lauryn Hill and The Fugees have announced a major 2024 concert tour...
Things to do | ArtPower’s 21st season at UC San Diego will feature Fran Leibovitz, Aofie O’Donovan, Ocean Vuong and more By George Varga June 24, 2024 at 5:24 p.m. UC San Diego’s ArtPower will offer an outdoor bonus before kicking off its 21st season...
These are the San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week By George Varga June 21, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. Gregory Porter at the 6th annual San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival At 6 feet 4...
Check out these classical, world music and art exhibits in the coming week By Pam Kragen June 21, 2024 at 6:01 a.m. Mainly Mozart and Jewish Arts festivals are under way, and Music en la Calle returns...
Arts and Culture Newsletter: 'Women Work Together' in new exhibit By David L. Coddon June 20, 2024 at 6:01 a.m. Good morning, and welcome to the U-T Arts & Culture Newsletter. I’m David L. Coddon,...
Things to do | Andra Day sets 2024 tour, including San Diego concert at Humphreys. Here are all the dates By George Varga June 18, 2024 at 2:27 p.m. Tickets for will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time to the general...
Putting down roots: Mainly Mozart to open All-Star festival at its new artistic home in La Jolla By Beth Wood June 19, 2024 at 9:48 a.m. After four years of pivots in Del Mar, this year's edition will be held entirely...
Arts and Culture Newsletter: Local filmmaker brings award-winning film home By David L. Coddon June 13, 2024 at 2:02 p.m. Good morning, and welcome to the U-T Arts & Culture Newsletter. I’m David L. Coddon,...
Things to do | Endless Sunsets one of five 2024 music festivals that will be held at San Diego’s Waterfront Park By George Varga June 14, 2024 at 4:39 p.m. The award-winning San Diego band Thee Sacred Souls will headline the debut edition of the...
Things to do | Switchfoot’s Bro-Am and two other San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss By George Varga June 14, 2024 at 4:40 p.m. There are few annual events more quintessentially Southern Californian than Switchfoot's annual Bro-Am.
Things to do | La Jolla Music Society’s 56th season will feature Emanuel Ax, Wynton Marsalis, Twyla Tharp, Terence Blanchard and other greats By George Varga June 9, 2024 at 7:22 p.m. How does a performing arts organization follow the most extensive, star-studded and well-attended season in...
Things to do | San Diego County Fair grandstand concert picks cover an array of styles By George Varga June 13, 2024 at 9:09 a.m. The Euphoria Brass Band may not be the hardest-working band in show business, at least...
Entertainment | The 2024 San Diego County Fair opens Wednesday. Here’s all you need to know By Pam Kragen June 13, 2024 at 6:54 a.m. Here are the details on tickets, dates, how to get there, new attractions, what not...
Things to do | Vampire Weekend did not make a ‘doom and gloom record’ By Contributed Content June 7, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. From the first seconds of Vampire Weekend’s new album, “Only God Was Above Us,” it’s...
Things to do | Caifanes love to perform. That’s why the band’s drummer hopes to die onstage By Holly Alvarado June 7, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Alfonso André, drummer of the famed rock en español group Caifanes, is on the phone...
Things to do | Soft Machine, led by guitar great John Etheridge, back in San Diego after 56 years By George Varga June 13, 2024 at 5:31 p.m. From Pat Metheny to former Police members Andy Summers and Sting, the musicians who hold...
Things to do | Brian Blade has drummed up magic with Joni Mitchell, Wayne Shorter, Bob Dylan, Chick Corea and his own band By George Varga June 13, 2024 at 5:09 p.m. Four-time Grammy Award-winner Brian Blade is a jazz great who also shines playing rock, funk,...
Things to do | Doug Ingle, voice of San Diego-bred band Iron Butterfly, dead at 78 By Alex Williams June 13, 2024 at 12:42 a.m. Doug Ingle, the lead singer and organist of Iron Butterfly, the San Diego-bred band that...
Things to do | ‘The Robots’ an opera with a fine libretto in search of a better score By Christian Hertzog June 5, 2024 at 4:05 p.m. When Karel Čapek wrote his play “Rossum’s Universal Robots” in 1920, the battle against machines...
Things to do | Ringo Starr, with new San Diego and L.A. concerts set, talks candidly: ‘I’m giving away all the secrets here!’ he says By George Varga June 4, 2024 at 4:48 p.m. Ringo Starr is on the phone from Las Vegas and he's got lots of fab...
Things to do | Raise a glass: These jazz, country and yacht rock stars are coming to Temecula Valley wineries By San Diego Union-Tribune June 3, 2024 at 4:53 p.m. Summer music season launched lastmonth in Temecula Valley with a concert at Thornton Winery by...
Things to do | Reflections on Street Scene: San Diego’s original music fest was vital precursor to Coachella, Wonderfront, CRSSD, KAABOO and more By George Varga June 4, 2024 at 3:56 p.m. A small start. A big impact. A far-reaching, if sometimes underappreciated, legacy.Coachella, Wonderfront, Gator by...
Things to do | Rady Shell’s 2024 summer concert season boasts four Rock & Roll Hall of Famers and rising stars alike By George Varga May 31, 2024 at 5:25 p.m. Having performed at the Hollywood Bowl, London's Royal Albert Hall and Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre,...
Entertainment | S.D. Arts & Culture Newsletter: San Diego’s 2024 Fringe festival winds down By David L. Coddon May 30, 2024 at 10:51 p.m. Good morning, and welcome to the U-T Arts & Culture Newsletter.I’m David L. Coddon, and here’s your...
Things to do | Jane’s Addiction’s San Diego-bound tour will reunite band’s classic lineup: Here are all the dates By George Varga May 28, 2024 at 8:17 p.m. The best-known lineup of Jane's Addiction is reuniting for its first tour together since 2010....
Things to do | Bill Walton was a passionate music fan who saw the Grateful Dead more than 850 times By George Varga May 29, 2024 at 2:18 a.m. Bill Walton's passion for basketball was rivaled only by his passion for rock 'n' roll,...
Things to do | Opera-singing robots? Absolutely, in Project BLANK’s new chamber opera By Beth Wood May 26, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Take two UC San Diego alums, a century-old sci-fi play and an adventurous theater/music company,...
Things to do | San Diego summer concert guide: 42 shows you won’t want to miss By George Varga May 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Year in and year out, the advent of summer in San Diego is predictable for...
Things to do | The Offspring look back on 40 years as a band and 30 years of ‘Smash’ By San Diego Union-Tribune May 24, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. As The Offspring played to a sea of fans who were screaming out the lyrics...
Entertainment | S.D. Arts & Culture Newsletter: Natalie Merchant to deliver more ‘Merch moments’ at Humphrey’s By David L. Coddon May 23, 2024 at 3:58 p.m. I call them my “Merch Moments,” musical memories of Natalie Merchant (that’s a lot of...
Things to do | Belly Up to celebrate its 50th anniversary with 50 concerts this summer By George Varga May 22, 2024 at 2:22 p.m. Jimmy Buffett, B.B. King, Burt Bacharach and Etta James are among the legends who have...
Things to do | Pianist and bestselling author Jeremy Denk eager for San Diego concert return By Beth Wood May 19, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. One of America’s top-tier classical pianists, Jeremy Denk has toured the world for almost three...
Things to do | L.J. Playhouse musical to tell the unvarnished story of country legends Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash By Pam Kragen May 20, 2024 at 4:09 p.m. Back in 2005, the feature film "Walk the Line" told the fiery, decades-long love story...
Things to do | Opera La Carte San Diego makes an impressive debut with well-sung ‘La boheme’ By Pam Kragen May 17, 2024 at 9:30 p.m. Most long-established American opera companies have struggled to rebuild their audiences post-pandemic so they have...
Entertainment | Arts & Culture Newsletter: Free music program for San Diego students hosts spring recital Wednesday By David L. Coddon May 16, 2024 at 12:31 p.m. Good morning, and welcome to the U-T Arts & Culture Newsletter.I’m David L. Coddon, and here’s your...
Things to do | Wonderfront festival concludes with a bang, thanks to The Roots, Beck and Steel Pulse By George Varga June 11, 2024 at 9:23 a.m. SAN DIEGO — Was the third time the charm for the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival, which...
Things to do | Sax great David Sanborn dead at 78. ‘I think people relate to a lyrical humanness in my playing,’ he said By George Varga June 13, 2024 at 12:42 a.m. David Sanborn, one of the most popular and influential saxophonists of the past 50 years,...
Things to do | Wonderfront festival delivered the hits Saturday on a night when the San Diego Padres went scoreless By George Varga June 11, 2024 at 9:27 a.m. Got hits? Attendees at the Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival Saturday night experienced significantly bigger...
Entertainment | Les Ballets Jazz Montreal sets the music of Leonard Cohen to dance By Marcia Luttrell May 12, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. The marriage of music and dance requires a careful collaboration, one that allows for both...
Things to do | Montreal Jazz Festival a treat for music fans of multiple genres – and a bargain, with 150-plus free concerts By Beth Wood May 12, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Parlez-vous free jazz?In almost any other French-language city in the world, this inquiry would translate...
Things to do | Gator by the Bay’s rousing tribute to zydeco-music giant Clifton Chenier a night to remember By George Varga May 12, 2024 at 12:03 a.m. Zydeco-music pioneer and Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award-winner Clifton Chenier's centennial was celebrated a year early...
Things to do | Wonderfront music festival has returned to kick off its next wave By George Varga May 12, 2024 at 1:04 a.m. SAN DIEGO — Reinvention is the mother of necessity for San Diego's Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival,...
Things to do | This weekend’s three don’t-miss San Diego-area concerts By George Varga May 9, 2024 at 1:58 p.m. The Isley BrothersRonald Isley is, at 82, the keeper of the flame for 1992 Rock...
Things to do | JACK Quartet concert combined 20th century moderns with 21st century eclectics By Christian Hertzog May 8, 2024 at 10:10 p.m. The 20th century was a time of musical revolutions and innovations. Composers searched for new...
Entertainment | Steve Albini, legendary producer for Nirvana, the Pixies and an alternative rock pioneer, dies at 61 By Maria Sherman May 8, 2024 at 8:48 p.m. Steve Albini, an alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through...
Things to do | San Diego Symphony announces 2024-25 season at newly renamed concert hall after $125 million redesign By George Varga May 8, 2024 at 3:18 a.m. The curtain is ready to rise again for the San Diego Symphony at Jacobs Music...
Things to do | Wonderfront returning to San Diego this week as landscape for music festivals grows increasingly challenging By George Varga May 8, 2024 at 10:39 p.m. This week's return of San Diego's Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival, after a one-year hiatus,...
Things to do | San Diego Opera unveils 60th anniversary with season that will look back and ahead By Pam Kragen May 5, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Fifty-nine years ago today, San Diego Opera was born. Launched on a shoestring budget by...
Things to do | Gator by the Bay will celebrate zydeco-music giant Clifton Chenier’s legacy with all-star lineup By George Varga May 3, 2024 at 3:49 p.m. San Diego's four-day Gator by the Bay festival will celebrate its 21st anniversary next Thursday...
Things to do | This week’s three San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss! By George Varga May 2, 2024 at 5:48 p.m. Lol Tolhurst & Budgie "live music set" and interview with Mike HalloranTwo drummers walk into...
Things to do | After 23 years, NEEDTOBREATHE bandmates are growing older, wiser and still evolving By Adrian Gomez May 2, 2024 at 3:18 p.m. Seth Bolt's life is full of change — and he's embracing each one.The member of...
Things to do | Live Nation ticket sale: $25 each for 117 San Diego concerts, including Janet Jackson, Santana, Iron Maiden By George Varga May 3, 2024 at 2:56 a.m. Live Nation, the world’s largest concert and live-events promoter, has announced the 10th anniversary edition...
Things to do | San Diego Music Awards: Top winners Sara Petite, Jonny Tarr each score two victories By George Varga May 1, 2024 at 11:14 p.m. SAN DIEGO — Americana troubadour Sara Petite and pop singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jonny Tarr were the...
Things to do | San Diego stores: Jimbo’s adds DoorDash, and one man’s digital nightmare leads to free jazz in May By Roxana Popescu May 1, 2024 at 8:50 p.m. On demand groceries, plus discount codesIf you shop at Jimbo's and Vallarta Supermarkets in San...
Things to do | San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival to debut, with seed money provided by Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs By George Varga May 8, 2024 at 7:01 p.m. Irwin Jacobs, the founding chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm, is giving nearly $400,000 in...
Things to do | All-star Junction Trio ‘a new-generation supergroup’ By Beth Wood April 28, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Why would three young classical musicians with successful solo touring careers form a trio as...
Things to do | Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, George Clinton: 2024 San Diego Music Awards honoree Stevie Salas has played with them all By George Varga April 28, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Three years before whiz kid guitarist Stevie Salas moved from Carlsbad to Los Angeles in...
Things to do | Roger Daltrey, at 80, readying for life after The Who: ‘Every dog has its day, and it was a wonderful ride’ By George Varga April 27, 2024 at 12:44 a.m. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"Considering that he has devoted much of the...
Entertainment | Step inside San Diego’s luxurious new supper clubs By Pam Kragen April 26, 2024 at 4:17 p.m. From the 1930s to the 1950s, supper clubs were all the rage. Socially active couples...
Things to do | Neil Young & Crazy Horse strike heart of gold at tour-opening San Diego concert By George Varga April 26, 2024 at 4:50 p.m. When Neil Young sang "rock and roll will never die" near the conclusion of his...
Things to do | San Diego band Electric Mud will open Rolling Stones’ May 7 Arizona concert By George Varga April 29, 2024 at 5:58 p.m. It's a dream never fully dreamed come true for Electric Mud. The award-winning San Diego...
Things to do | San Diego concert picks: Adams Avenue Unplugged with ‘Recordially Yours, Lou Curtiss’ screening; Luciana Souza and Mark Guiliana By George Varga April 24, 2024 at 6:24 p.m. Adams Avenue Unplugged festival and 'Recordially Yours, Lou Curtiss' film screening, concert and discussionLights! Action!...
Things to do | Willie Nelson’s San Diego concert defined, not defied, the passing of time. He turns 91 on April 29. By George Varga April 24, 2024 at 2:12 p.m. Willie Nelson was a young whippersnapper of 28 when he wrote "Funny How Time Slips...
Things to do | Pearl Jam, Neil Young with Crazy Horse top the 2024 Ohana Festival lineup By Holly Alvarado April 23, 2024 at 9:42 p.m. Ohana Festival curator and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has announced the lineup for the...
Things to do | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2024 inductees include Peter Frampton, Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J. Blige By George Varga April 22, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. After failing to even be nominated in previous years, Cher, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne...
Things to do | Twelfth Night ensemble giving fresh spin to centuries-old baroque music By Beth Wood April 21, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. The name “Twelfth Night” may at first conjure up Shakespeare’s festive and lively comic play,...
Things to do | San Diego Opera’s ‘Madama Butterfly’ star digs the emotional depths of her tragic characters By Pam Kragen April 23, 2024 at 1:56 p.m. The last time American soprano Corinne Winters sang with San Diego Opera in 2017, she...
Things to do | Spring and summer are busy for baroque and contemporary operas in San Diego By Pam Kragen April 21, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. San Diego Opera won't be announcing its next season until May, but two of the...
Things to do | Pianist Stephen Drury celebrates the sonatas of Charles Ives in mesmerizing recital By Christian Hertzog April 20, 2024 at 12:06 a.m. The music of Charles Ives is the headwater of the American experimental music tradition. Previously...
Things to do | Four San Diego concerts you certifiably won’t want to miss By George Varga April 18, 2024 at 1:31 p.m. Allison Adams Tucker's 15th annual Women in Jazz concertTalk about a great deal! Tickets for...
Entertainment | Solana Beach settles lawsuit over the KAABOO music festival’s return to Del Mar this year By Luke Harold April 18, 2024 at 2:49 p.m. SOLANA BEACH — The city of Solana Beach settled a lawsuit that it filed against the Del...
Things to do | International voices bring resonance to ‘Transborder Scenes’ concert at Bread & Salt By Luke Schulze April 16, 2024 at 11:40 p.m. The artistic personality of San Diego has always been enriched by our proximity to the...
Things to do | Billy Joel and Sting light up Petco Park on a cool, sometimes wet Saturday night By George Varga April 15, 2024 at 11:56 p.m. Take a bow, mother nature!Thanks to some uncharacteristically wet April weather during Billy Joel's sold-out...
Entertainment | JFest set to return in May with its first internationally renowned headliner: Mandy Patinkin By Pam Kragen April 14, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Ever since he founded the Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival in 1993, Todd...
Things to do | Faye Webster hates attention, but her songs keep getting bigger By Dani Blum April 14, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Faye Webster was trying to get out. She had just performed the second of two...
Things to do | Music legend Herbie Hancock dives into AI while his all-star album with Kendrick Lamar is revamped By George Varga April 15, 2024 at 5:19 a.m. Genre-leaping keyboard legend Herbie Hancock has an update for fans eagerly anticipating his new album...
Things to do | Two years into running the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, Charlie Beale is ready for a ‘Freak Out’ By Pam Kragen June 13, 2024 at 11:17 a.m. Two years ago this month, Charlie Beale started his new job as artistic director of...
Things to do | Drum giant Antonio Sanchez on ‘Birdman’ tour after album with Trent Reznor, Dave Matthews and Pat Metheny By George Varga April 12, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. How big an impact can a film that wins four Oscars have on someone who...
Things to do | 15 things to know if you are going to Billy Joel and Sting’s sold-out Petco Park concert Saturday By George Varga April 11, 2024 at 9:31 p.m. SAN DIEGO — You don't have to be in a New York state of mind for Saturday's...
Things to do | Peter Frampton bonus Q&A: ‘David Bowie reinvigorated my career incredibly’ By George Varga April 12, 2024 at 4:42 p.m. What happens a decade after you release what was — at the time — the...
Things to do | Peter Frampton rocks on despite potentially crippling disease: ‘I’m a fighter,’ says the 74-year-old guitar great By George Varga April 12, 2024 at 4:41 p.m. Peter Frampton made rock and roll history in the 1970s when his two-disc "Frampton Comes...
Things to do | Three San Diego concerts you shouldn’t miss this week: Pete Escovedo, Jeff Berkley and Jerry Bergonzi By George Varga April 10, 2024 at 7:32 p.m. Pete Escovedo San Diego farewell concert, with Myron McKinleyCompared to 88-year-old percussion master Pete Escovedo,...
Things to do | Lang Lang on Alicia Keys, Herbie Hancock, Disney and `Tom and Jerry’ cartoons By Beth Wood April 7, 2024 at 1:01 p.m. Lang Lang is a rarity. He is a classical-music superstar who counts Alicia Keys, Andra...
Things to do | Musical pals Billy Joel and Sting will team up Saturday at Petco Park By George Varga April 11, 2024 at 3:49 a.m. A distance of 3,177 miles separates New York, where Billy Joel was born in the...
Things to do | Three San Diego concerts you shouldn’t miss this week By George Varga April 4, 2024 at 3:25 p.m. Tequila & Taco Music Festival, featuring Shaggy, Ozomatli, Warren G and moreOzomatli gets around! Since...
Things to do | CCAE Theatricals’ expanded ‘Motown’ concerts deliver big sound,great singing By Pam Kragen April 4, 2024 at 3:16 p.m. CCAE Theatricals is best known for its high-quality musical theater productions that have won multiple...