Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, June 5-Wednesday, June 11, 2025: Sunflower Bean | Brand New | Fruition | CIVIC | Trombone Shorty | Margo Cilker | Sun Kil Moon | James McMurtry | Pip Lewis Residency |

Sunday is World Oceans Day. This is Allua at Seaworld. (Taken 11.19.24)

I have been loving the weather this week. And while I haven't caught a concert in a minute, I did get to catch the opening night of The Mountaintop at New Village Arts. It is a really beautiful and moving show, with just a two person cast for a "poetic reimagining of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final night." I was especially excited to see that the female lead, Taylor Renee Henderson, was in this performance, because she was amazing in The Color Purple, which was part of the last season at New Village Arts. If you enjoy theatre (but feel priced out of the arts), their forthcoming season is on sale now and will include Rent and Hairspray among others. In the meantime, The Mountaintop runs through June 22 and feels especially relevant today. 

As for shows this week, Sunflower Bean is always great, and Sun Kil Moon is at House of Blues Voodoo Room on Sunday, which is certainly an incredible small room for that show. CIVIC is at Soda Bar on Saturday, and if you know Soda Bar bartender Dave, you should get there early as his band The Sines is one of the openers on the shows. I'll be there unless I can snag a campsite this weekend, because I've definitely felt the itch. 

Other things: the San Diego County Fair starts next week. I missed a couple of the media events, but I'm hoping to make it at least a couple times this summer, especially with their partnership this year with San Diego Humane Society. Lots of fun events featuring domestic pets (but no, you can't bring your own.) Also, I asked if anyone knew what was going on with Navajo, but I finally just clicked through their site and realized it has changed ownership and is now an Irish Steampunk-inspired Speakeasy? or something like that. It's called  McGuffie's Live and I know I was slow on the uptake there, but at least I figured it out.  

Anyway, I hope everyone has a really great week. I'm so happy to be done with these listings. Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.  

Music News: Courtney Barnett Here And There Festival | Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins Dies | Wonderfront Announces Dates & Preliminary Lineup | SD County Fair Concert Series |

Wet Leg at Music Box (Taken 3.24.22)

There has been a lot of music news this week so I thought I'd bust out another post instead of tacking it all on the listings. Wonderfront is back, Courtney Barnett has a new traveling festival, San Diego County Fair announced their summer concert series, and sadly, we all learned yesterday of the death of Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters. It's a lot to take in. 

Stay safe out there.

CoViD-19: State Poised to Expand Vaccine Eligibility To All 16+; Expands Orange Tier Activities | Home Casino Busts | San Diego County Fair Announces Home*Grown*Fun |

 

Hummingbird Pollinating at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 4.13.21)

My cousin is a crazy successful fashion buyer in LA and her company was getting ready for a sample sale, but she hooked me up with some of the stuff. It's super high-end designer stuff...one of the tags for a blouse is $398! My sister visited her over the weekend, so she was dropping off the stuff after my nieces' soccer practice, so we surprised her with a cake for her birthday, which is tomorrow. It's so infrequent we have visitors that it it really is a nice treat to have them over. Plus, who doesn't love cake and an excuse to eat it?

That was pretty much the whole day. We had this gnarly smell emanating from the kitchen so Darren pretty much turned the kitchen upside down trying to find where it was coming from. Turns out it was a jar of spent butter that had been used to cook shrimp. Nasty, but glad he was finally able to figure that out. 

Today's media briefings were interesting. Today's Psaki-bomb was when she shut down the guy from some Catholic newspaper who always asks the same questions about why pro-life people should pay for abortions in other countries. After shutting that down, he tried to ask again. "I think I've answered your question." She is such a badass. Fletcher shut down KUSI much in the same way. There are definitely some ding-dongs in media. 

Today was an interesting news day. I started listening to a podcast about Kristin Smart just yesterday, and today her suspected murderer was arrested. President Biden announced that the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will happen on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. SDPD had some crazy bust of "gambling dens" all over City Heights which had my jaw on the floor because who even knew such a thing existed? There was one like two blocks from my house! Anyway, I think I'm done laptopping for the night. Stay safe out there. 

CoViD-19: Governor Lays Out Plan To 'Reopen' CA | No Mass Gatherings Anytime Soon | 2020 County Fair Canceled | Crazy Driving

San Diego Zoo (Taken January 2020)

We have some exciting Casbah news in the next couple days and there are tons of things to but today has been a busy news day so I'm just gonna get to it. Literally just got the email canceling the 2020 San Diego County Fair. (They're calling it postponed, but until 2021 is basically a cancellation, just keeping the same theme.) Anyway, lots of news after the jump. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Tuesday, June 4-Monday, June 10, 2019

I had kind of a weird week. I had gone to that Lemonheads show a couple Saturdays ago and went out after and nothing was out of the ordinary. I went to a Memorial Day Party, and then on Memorial Day we went to Safari Park, and then late that night, my body just quit. I got super sick and still had to work and I was miserable. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't breathe at night, and I was downing fluids, allergy pills, CBD, cold medicine, hot tea, honey, and anything else that I thought might work. I even motivated to make my own homemade chicken soup. So I didn't do much of anything. I took Nova to soccer on Wednesday which meant I still got some fresh air at La Jolla Cove with my sea lions, but that was kinda it. I also slept. A lot. By Friday I was feeling much better and worked at The Irenic for the Gnash show, and Saturday Nova had a little soccer tournament, but I was still relatively reclusive. On Sunday morning, Nova and I decided to walk part of the Rock n Roll Marathon course and ended up walking to the Zoo, and Sunday I decided to do the listings so I could carve out my Monday for the Wonderfront announcement event. They had these amazing blackberry margaritas and I realized I hadn't had an adult beverage since The Lemonheads show 8 days prior. Woah. So I promise I will get back out. I can't remember the last time I went more than a week without a show (or a drink, let's be honest.) So this week I'm gonna get out a little more. I'm hoping to make at least one of the Toad shows, am working on a photo pass to FJM, and will probably check out Sebadoh. In the meantime, have you ever seen seagull chicks??? I hadn't until Monday, when Darren and I went to the Cove during Nova's soccer, so here's to the beach-bag-opening, Dorito-and-Cheeto-stealing gulls of the future. I worked my ass off to update the music venue page (still a dozen or more to add), so check it out, and full listings are after the jump.

San Diego County Fair Announces Live Music Lineup

This week, San Diego County Fair announced the full San Diego County Fair concert lineup. This year's fair runs May 31-July 4 (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in June) Check out the full press release after the jump. 

San Diego County Fair Performer Applications Open

I got this a few days ago and thought I'd pass it along from the people at the San Diego County Fair.

THE SPOTLIGHT IS ON YOU! APPLY NOW TO SHOW OFF YOUR TALENT ON STAGE

DEL MAR, Ca. (Feb. 16, 2018) ­– Hey San Diego – we know you’ve got talent! You have until March 13 to apply to perform at the 2018 San Diego County Fair, presented by Albertsons|Vons. This year’s Fair runs June 1-July 4 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Each year, the San Diego County Fair showcases the talent of local entertainers on eight stages throughout the Fair. It’s a chance for you to show off what you do best and perform family-friendly entertainment that will spread Fair-time cheer. Whether you are part of a dance group, band, Latin group, or a soloist, the Fair offers a perfect spot to showcase your talent.

March 13 is the deadline to apply to be considered to perform at the 2018 San Diego County Fair. After that date, you will be put on a waitlist. Don’t delay – apply today!

Entertainer applications are available online at www.sdfair.com/perform

San Diego County Fair Talent Contests Announced

Here's some info from our friends at the San Diego County Fair, where they've added some new talent competitions for the 2013 Fair:

The San Diego County Fair presented by Albertsons/Sav-On is once again bringing in new talent to compete through song, dance, and acting. This year's hot new talent will compete for cash prizes while spreading the word about their showcased performance skills. The Fair's yearly performance contests are back! 

In its first year "The Ultimate Triple Threat" brings competitors (youth and teen) together to compete in not one, but three talents! Highlighting the competitor's skills in acting, singing and dancing this new competition is sure to test the versatility of the individual's well rounded artistic talent. The grand prize winner will be awarded $1,200, one dance and fitness pack from the Academy of Performing Arts, a one year subscription to Backstage.com as well as a one hour photo shoot with First and Orange. Deadline to enter is April 28, 2013.

The Fair is taking San Diego's best Hip-Hop dancers to center stage for "Southern California's Best Dance Crew"! Amateur and professional groups of five members or more may compete. Most of the dancing must be performed in a Hip-Hop style. Cash prizes will be awarded in two divisions: Youth/ Teen and Adult. The grand prize winner will be awarded $1,000. Deadline to enter is April 28, 2013.

Returning to the Fair is the "Singer/ Songwriter" competition. This is a search for the best performances by a solo singer and showcase for original writing. The grand prize is $3,000, five hours of studio time from Recording Arts and Technology and one Taylor guitar. All performers must be 18 or older. The deadline to enter is April 28, 2013.
For its second year, the Fair welcomes back the "Cantautor Latino" contest. Featuring the best solo performance of an original song in Spanish, this contest offers singers/songwriters the opportunity to share their personally written songs with the Fair's audience at the chance of winning a grand prize of $3,000, four hours to Track Star Studios and one Taylor guitar. Deadline to enter is April 14, 2013.

For complete information on all of the Fair's talent competitions, go to: www.sdfair.com and click on "Contests"

The San Diego County Fair Is Here!!

You may have noticed from the recent additions to the listings that the San Diego County Fair is back! It opened on June 8 and runs through July 4 (closed Mondays except 7/2). This year's theme is Out Of This World, exploring "the wonder of the universe" and the fun of science fiction. A couple weeks ago, I got to tag along with Tim Pyles for a media preview night, where we got to sample free food from many of the food vendors and some of the fair entertainment. The Caveman Leg was not part of our sampling, but I'm not sure I really need a two pound turkey leg wrapped in a full pound of bacon. We did sample the corn (delicious), lobster (delicious, but duh), chocolate dipped frozen cheesecake (my longtime favorite), cinnamon rolls, Hot Dog On A Stick (try their new cream cheese on a stick), Icees, Tasti Chips with cheese, and ice cream. I skipped out on Chicken Charlie's because deep fried Trix and chicken kebabs just aren't my thing, but I do regret not trying the shrimp over rice in a carved out pineapple.

 This year, Tim, Bart Mendoza, and I will be judging the Musicpalooza contest, which takes place this Saturday at the Paddock Stage from Noon-3pm. Come on out and support local music and say hi!

2012 Finalists

(in performance order):

Pleasure Fix

So Long Davey

Pullman Standard

Hestyn

Trouble in the Wind

Prizes:

First place: $5,000.00

Second place: $2,500.00

Third place: $1,000.00

All three places will receive a Taylor SolidBody electric guitar, donated by Taylor Guitars.

SD Fair official site

Here's an at-a-glance calendar of live music

 See a map of all the food vendors here.

Here's a rundown of this year's new food vendors.

Get on up to Del Mar and enjoy the tradition or make a new one. (Unless you're vegan in which case you might wanna stay really, really far away from the fair.)  Check out THIS PAGE for fair discounts and promotions.

San Diego County Fair Concerts Announced/ On Sale 3.21

From The San Diego County Fair Newsletter:

Twelve of the 22 shows in the Fair's Summer Concert Series will go on sale Saturday, March 21 , through Ticketmaster and at the Fairgrounds.

The shows are:
Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Sunday, June 14
The Guess Who with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Tuesday, June 23 (dinner package available)
Comedian Bill Engvall, Wednesday, June 24 (dinner package available)
The B-52s , Thursday, June 25 (dinner package available)
Switchfoot, Friday, June 26
5th Annual Gospel Festival: Israel & New Breed with Tonex and more, Saturday, June 27
Intocable with Patrulla 81 , Sunday, June 28
Clint Black , Monday, June 29 (dinner package available)
Creedence Clearwater Revisted , Tuesday, June 30 (dinner package available)
KC & the Sunshine Band , Wednesday, July 1 (dinner package available)
The Music of ABBA, Thursday, July 2 (dinner package available)
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with the finals of the Musicpalooza contest, Friday, July 3

Each of these shows is free with Fair admission for unreserved seats. But you can buy a ticket to reserve a great seat and enjoy the Fair right up until concert time. Ticket prices include reserved seats and Fair admission.

San Diego County Fair: Calling All Bands

It's true that I've never been a big fan of "Battle of The Band" style competitions, but with the growing pool of talent in San Diego, if the Fair wants to hand out $25,000, then how can I not encourage musicians to participate? Anyway, here's the e-mail:

It’s “Music Mania” this year at the San Diego County Fair! To celebrate that theme, we’re looking for the best musical talent in America, and we’re going to give them $25,000!

The Musicpalooza contest will determine the best band of three or more members, and the best solo singer. The winners of each division will take home $25,000! The judging committee consists of high-profile music industry professionals, so you’ll get some great exposure to the right people.

Do you have the talent, but you just need a break to make it big? Enter now through March 31, make it through the first rounds of judging, and you may be performing live on the Fair’s Grandstand Stage on July 3 as the opening act for a major recording star.

Spread the word! Forward this message to your cousin in Colorado, your friend in Florida or your nephew in Nebraska. The contest is open to all musicians in the U.S. and Baja California.

Get all the details at www.sdfair.com/musicpalooza.

Rah-Rah Activities for Independence Day

There is no way I'm listing out all of the 4th of July happenings around town because they are very well covered, but in case you can't make up your mind, there is quite a comprehensive list here. There are also plenty of July events that I don't typically cover (fun runs, etc.) here.

Also, it's the last weekend of the San Diego County Fair, so last chance to get your deep fried Spam and deep fried Coke. Well, and deep fried everything else you can imagine.

I don't know what the weekend has in store for me, but I do know that I will live up my three day weekend for sure.

Want To Play At the County Fair?

This is direct from the County Fair e-mail:

Want to perform at the San Diego County Fair?
Better hurry! The application deadline is Monday, April 7

All the world is a stage, but in the world of the San Diego County Fair, there are eight stages just waiting for your talent!

Go to the Fair's Web site to download the Entertainer Handbook and Application. From the home page at www.sdfair.com/fair, look on the left side of the page for a blue link called "Be A Part of the Fair: Performers."

Applications must be postmarked by Monday, April 7.

Also available from the Fair's Web site is information about the performance contests such as San Diego County Fair SuperStar, Hip Hop Dance Competition, San Diego A Cappella Festival, Battle of the Bands and Oratorical Competition. From the left side of the home page, click on "Contests and Competitive Exhibits."

Del Mar Fair Tickets Onsale 3.19.08

Yeah, I know, it's supposed to be the San Diego County Fair, but I'm old school.
Anyway, their summer line-up has been announced and they've sent an e-mail to their subscribers that there's some super top secret password to buy pre-sale tickets starting tomorrow on ticketmaster. Or, you can just read sd:dialed in and get the password for tickets. How about I'll give it to you in Spanish and you have to translate?
La palabra es "deportes".

June 14: Reggae Festival with Steel Pulse and Pato Banton
June 17: Grand Funk Railroad and The Guess Who (subject to Board approval; dinner package available)
June 20: Earth, Wind & Fire (paid show; dinner package available)
June 21: Doodlebops
June 26: B.B. King (paid show; dinner package available)
June 28: Fourth Annual Gospel Festival with Tye Tribbett
June 29: Intocable and Horóscopos de Durango (subject to Board approval)
June 30: "Weird Al" Yankovic (dinner package available)
July 1: Sugarland (paid show; dinner package available)
July 2: Little Big Town
July 4: KC and the Sunshine Band with fireworks following the show.

San Diego County Fair (The fair formerly known as the Del Mar Fair)

This is my going to be my only real post for San Diego County Fair. For the remainder of the Fair, if you want info, you can find it here. If you want to follow the music, you can find Grandstand information here or a general "entertainment at a glance" here. I might occasionally list the bands in my "Things to Do" listings, but seriously, don't count on me as your info source. Still, the fair starts tomorrow, so go get your deep fried cokes and twinkies, barf on the rides, and try to win me a cross-eyed teddy bear.

The 2007 San Diego County Fair is back again for another great year! As always, Opening Day is Dollar Day! Head to a Ralphs market in San Diego County or southern Riverside County, buy $10 worth of groceries, and get Fair admission for just one dollar. Regular adult admission is $12; regular senior and child admission is $6, so what a deal! The tickets are not sold at the Fairgrounds, so don't miss out!

Also, I had no idea about all this until I was looking for the "no gun" policy, but did you know you can take your own food and drinks to the fair? Not booze, of course (be sneaky!!), but I had no idea.

"Fair food" is a big reason why people visit the Fair, but if you have dietary or other reasons for wanting to bring your own food or beverages, please do. Alcohol, glass containers and metal knives and forks are prohibited. Please consume your food at one of the six designated picnic areas, which are marked on the Fairgrounds map in the daily program.

We provide complimentary cooler check-in at Guest Services, or you can check it at the stroller and wheelchair rental locations at the entrance gates. Your cooler will be searched as you enter the grounds; please do not pack alcohol, glass containers or metal knives.

Have fun at the fair.

Late Newsy Bits:

From San Diego County Fair:

Singers Paul Anka and Engelbert Humperdinck, hip hop group Gym Class Heroes and Banda stars La Banda Machos are the latest entertainers to be added to the San Diego County Fair's Summer Concert Series, presented by Harrah's Rincon Casino & Resort San Diego North on the Grandstand Stage. Tickets for these shows and more are on sale now.

Way to lock it in, guys. This has got to be close to the worst. music. year. ever. for the fair. Guess my 'best show ever' for the fair is solidly locked in with Juanes. Who was your favorite headliner?
*****
Andrea felt I was being dismissive by not posting this concert announcement, but as I told her, I watched Kelly Clarkson on Letterman last night over Feist on Leno, so while I might not be racing out to buy her CDs, it actually makes me happy when Gabe Vega throws on "Since You've Been Gone" at the Beauty Bar.

Kelly Clarkson is hitting the road to support her latest album My December. She'll be making a stop at the San Diego Sports Arena on Friday, September 21, 2007 and she's bringing her friend Mat Kearney. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, May 12 @10 am

I'll take one media/photo pass, thank you very much.

Street Scene: The Deal Ain't Sealed

According to today's Union Trib, while Rob Hagey has joined with LiveNation with the intent of putting Street Scene on at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the Fairground Board has yet to approve the event.

...Fairgrounds general manager Tim Finnell said
yesterday that negotiations were running smoothly and that the pairing of the
fairgrounds and Live Nation would be a “perfect marriage.”...

...Finnell has briefed fair board members, as
well as the cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach, on the negotiation process. The
fair board will consider the contract at its May 8 meeting...

Everyone seemed to be really upset when Street Scene moved outta downtown, but the festival was such a nightmare once the East Village was developed, I don't know what anyone was holding on to. Plenty of people complained about "Parking Lot Scene", but I, for one, could give a shit if I'm on a parking lot downtown or a parking lot at Qualcomm...both are close to home and thus a cheap cab fare. The division of stages, the drinking areas vs non drinking areas, the quantity of port-a-potties, and of course, enough bands appearing to make the cost of the ticket worthwhile...these are the things that at the end of the day make a festival experience for me. With a possible move to fairgrounds my number one concern is driving/traffic, because one, if I go, I will be drinking and two, if you've ever sat in traffic for a 4 o'clock Friday, you have some idea what the traffic for Street Scene will be like. Comparing it to regular fair traffic is quite inaccurate because people go to the Del Mar Fair (sorry, "San Diego County Fair") at all times throughout the day, take in their fill, and leave...where most people attending Street Scene arrive within the first couple hours of the festival and most stay till the end or leave during the final headliners to attempt to beat traffic. That, to me, spells clusterfuck, and I don't like it one bit. We can pretty much bet that the Fair board will approve Street Scene, but it remains to be seen if I'll find a way to deal. And first person who tells me I can take the Coaster can suck my big toe. We all know that is not a comparable alternative.

Del Mar (San Diego County) Fair announces more bands.

Still yawn.

Earth, Wind & Fire- June 26
REO Speedwagon- June 16
Joan Jett- June 22
Switchfoot- July 3
¡Viva El Mariachi! Festival© - June 24

Monday Newsy Bits:

Local music controversy or just shit talking? As Lost Companion points out here and here, lots of people are not very happy with some music reviews done in last week's CityBeat, specifically ones by Seth Combs. Did he get stuck reviewing all the shitty bands or does he just really like to talk shit? Here are some of Seth's reviews for you to decide for yourself...

"Ever have to fart really bad and you force it out and end up shitting your pants? That feeling is similar to listening to xxx's CD. It's like Captain Beefheart trying to do minimalist electronica only to find out that in order for said electronica to sound good, this time you have to keep a beat."

"There's got to be more to your music than screaming in unison over rehashed Metal 101 riffs. Somewhere in space, there's a tear in Lemmy's whiskey. "

"The XXX guitarist used to be in Rust, who were briefly signed to a major label and toured with Tool and the Meat Puppets. They weren't that good. Neither is XXX."

"Schmaltzy, barf-inducing wuss-rock with lyrics like “We'll find land with no direction/ Or I'll be swimming 'til I die." Waah, she doesn't love me. Waah, she's fucking another guy. Grow some balls and get some real problems. "

"Remember The Cranberries? Yeah, me neither. "

Read here for more...
*****
Is your band interested in playing the San Diego County Fair? There is a Battle of The Bands competition happening. Go to Fox6.com or the Fair site for info. The winning band will receive a $1,000 cash prize and priority in booking a performance on the Coors Light Rock On Stage on a high-traffic day. Submit your music by May 12.
*****
Just wanted to let everyone know my updates might be more sporatic this week because I'm going on vacation with my family. I'll update if and when I can.