Classical Corner and More Entertainment Matters

Santa Barbara Symphony’s annual Season Kickoff Celebration returns to the Lobero Theatre, located just a few blocks from its home at the Granada, where the esteemed ensemble will launch its seven-concert series next month. The afternoon program on Thursday, September 24, begins at 4:30 pm on the promenade with a no-host reception, where patrons can mix and mingle, play musical instruments from the Music Van program, and speak with staff about donor and volunteer opportunities. Then Music & Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti takes the stage inside at 5 pm to share his vision and inspiration for the 2026-27 season, with details on each concert including behind-the-scenes perspectives on the repertoire and guest artists and fascinating musical highlights. Brief live performances are also part of the attraction. 

Sounds on the Sea: Yacht Rock on a… Yacht?

Santa Barbara folk-rock singer-songwriter David Segall has one final performance of the season – in this case summer, which is not technically over for another day – on Sunday, September 20, aboard the Condor Express, the vessel that is technically not a yacht at all — but a 75-foot high-speed commercial passenger catamaran used primarily for whale-watching and other tourist-y adventures. But it’s a great venue and a good excuse for Segall and his band Deja Vida to play some of their favorite songs from the ‘70s and ‘80s (Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, Bill Withers, Hall & Oates) to bop along to on the Condor’s dance floor while enjoying the swells. Segall’s regular reggae-infused stuff will also be a part of the set, including originals and Bob Marley tunes. 

Visit www.condorexpress.com/reggaeandrockcruise

Meanwhile, Segall is also ready to launch a new season of Sail and a Song, his video and podcast series about how music, songs and stories on the ocean enrich our lives and inspire future generations to continue creating, sharing their gifts and being mindful of the ocean. 

Subscribe and see earlier videos at www.youtube.com/@sailandasong.

Sold Out Show of the Week: Addicted to Ambisonic 

Canada’s alt.country/folk-rock band Cowboy Junkies have got to be one of the greatest sibling musical acts in pop history. Songwriter-guitarist Michael Timmins, vocalist Margo Timmins, and drummer Peter Timmins formed the band in 1985 with bassist Alan Anton, and “burst” on the scene three years later with their album The Trinity Session. Recorded in Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity with a single ambisonic microphone, the moody but quiet record cut through the era’s bombast and big hair to sell more than a million copies. Somehow still together over trials, tribulations, and triumphs over the years, the Cowboy Junkies are out on a 40th anniversary tour – including a September 20 date at the Lobero – performing a career-spanning show from their cover of “Sweet Jane” to material from their most recent album, Such Ferocious Beauty. 

Visit www.lobero.org

The Season Kickoff Celebration also marks the launch of the new online Symphony Swag Store, offering branded apparel and gear to wear the music proudly and spread the word about the ensemble’s ever-increasing excellence. Attendees can get a first look at select items in person on September 24, with limited merchandise available for purchase. 

Visit www.thesymphony.org. 

‘Radiance’ Reaches Miraflores 

Korean-born San Diego-based classical pianist Jeeyoon Kim is bringing her solo concert experience to Hahn Hall for a Monday evening show on September 28. Radiance opens with works in a variety of styles from Handel, Chopin, Schubert, Gershwin and Piazzolla
in the first half before Kim takes on Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” Played here in its original format as a 10-movement suite for solo piano that was inspired by a memorial exhibition of works by the composer’s close friend, artist, and architect Viktor Hartmann, the performance will be accompanied by contemporary artworks paired with each movement and projected onto a screen behind the pianist. 

Visit https://tinyurl.com/Kim-Hahn-Radiance-2026 

Farewell to Favorites? 

Live Oak Music Festival (LOMF) was (is) the KCBX weekend concert and community gathering that brought Strawberry Music Festival-caliber performers, workshops, and opportunities for local groups to play to large audiences. LOMF spent nearly 30 years at Live Oak Camp near Lake Cachuma on HWY 154 before relocating to San Luis Obispo in 2019. Last week, word came that the last LOMF in June might actually be the last ever, as KCBX has announced the cancellation of the 2027 festival. They’re evaluating options for a different iteration of LOMF in the future. KCBX is soliciting audience advice; get in touch, especially if you favor a return to the Live Oak Santa Barbara site. Visit www.liveoakfest.org

Closer to town, the rumor I heard two weeks ago about Restaurant Roy possibly closing because owner Roy Gandy was considering moving to Texas to be closer to family sadly proves to be true. The Buffalo-born proprietor, chef, backgammon king (we’ll leave that part private), and die-hard Bills fan (I shared his pain prior to the Red Sox World Series win in 2004) made his eatery/bar into an exquisitely intimate downtown music club that has hosted far outsized acts over its 35 years. Jack Johnson and Glenn Phillips played there, Cafe R&B had an ongoing residency, every local singer-songwriter worth mentioning hit the stage that faced inward from the street, and more recently Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric shared a gig as part of the inaugural Santa Barbara Literary Festival. For the last few years, Zach Madden has hosted a weekly gig/open mic, which attracts newcomers and long-timers trying out new stuff. (Not to mention that Roy in the pre-streaming days of the 1990s boasted a 400-CD player behind the bar that on random play provided a lot of tunes I’d never heard before, including memorably “Smoke ‘Em” by Fun Lovin’ Criminals.) The planned swan song comes at year’s end, unless someone steps up to take over the joint in one way or another. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?