Author spotlight: Steven Libowitz

Steven has reported on the arts and entertainment for more than 30 years. He has published his work in daily and weekly newspapers in New Jersey and California, as well as in Santa Barbara Magazine and a nationally syndicated news service. When not at his computer or out on the town, you’ll often find him playing volleyball at East Beach, just a short jog from Montecito’s famous Butterfly Beach.

Sounds Around Town 
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 8, 2023

After a bit of a mid-summer lull, the Santa Barbara Bowl is back in action, and exudes eclecticism in its quartet of concerts this week. The August 4 show is a conglomeration of its own as co-headliners Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Ziggy Marley are supported by Mavis Staples and the Robert Randolph Band […]

The Rise of Watson
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 8, 2023

Don’t confuse Samuel Watson with the speed climbing champion of the same name, a teenager who holds the U.S. records and international gold medals in the new Olympic sport, although Sam Watson the Music Academy fellow has also made a meteoric rise.  The 20-year-old contrabassoonist can’t scale an indoor wall in five seconds, but his […]

The Fund for Santa Barbara
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 1, 2023

The Fund for Santa Barbara’s Development and Communications Manager – Alina Rey Keswani – is understandably proud that Bread & Roses, the organization’s major annual fundraiser, is marking its 30th anniversary this fall. The benefit event that has long been a staple on the social calendar of many in the community has survived massive growth, […]

The Life of a Collaborative Pianist
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 1, 2023

Take a look at the photo in the online calendar promoting the Duo Competition taking place on July 31. The violinist is brightly lit, his facial features and instrument fully visible, while the pianist is in the background, comparatively dark and blurry with even her hair blending into the background, and no piano keys visible.  […]

Organic Soup Kitchen
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 25, 2023

Organic Soup Kitchen (OSK) provides nutrition and food security to cancer patients, chronically ill, and low-income individuals throughout Santa Barbara County. The nonprofit organization has served more than a million bowls of nutrient-dense SoupMeals since its founding in 2009.  It all sounds pretty straightforward and simple. After all, like Campbell’s claimed in a long-running ad […]

The Summer on Stage
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 25, 2023

Guys and Dolls garnered a standing ovation in its glorious opening night at SBCC’s Garvin Theatre last Friday in a production that deserves kudos not only for its smartly-matched and crisply-directly 25-member cast – with plenty of chemistry in the two main couples – but also for its impressive full-scale set, terrific live orchestra, and […]

A Bohemian Occupation
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 18, 2023

Mo Zhou wasn’t sure what the Academy’s new vocal program directors Sasha Cooke and John Churchwell had in mind when they asked her to helm this summer’s production of La bohème. A traditional take with period costumes and mid-19th century mannerisms? Something more modern?  Instead, they asked Zhou, who had assistant directed three previous productions […]

NatureTrack
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 18, 2023

The NatureTrack Film Festival was created as an extension of the NatureTrack Foundation, the nonprofit that combats “Nature-Deficit Disorder” by transporting county students outside via a variety of no-charge field trips from the seashore to the inland oak woodlands to engage curiosity and instill appreciation and awe of nature. The festival had a fine first […]

The Winds of Change
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 18, 2023

If Anikka Abbott’s career had taken a different turn, she might be about to sing a soprano role at the Granada in the Music Academy’s opera in Santa Barbara this weekend.  As what happens in life, there’s been a bit of a detour, including serving as first runner-up to Miss Washington in the Miss America […]

Hoofin’ and Heroes in the Valley
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 18, 2023

It’s not necessary to be a big fan of bluegrass music to enjoy PCPA Theaterfest’s Bright Star, the Tony-nominated musical created by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell playing at Solvang Festival Theater through July 23. But it sure helps. Based on real events in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the show has a gentle pace, with […]

Laugh it Up 
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 18, 2023

Santa Barbara Comedy Hideaway – which went on hiatus even before the pandemic after a decade of delivering funny stuff despite having to periodically de-camp for different digs – is back in action. Hideaway begins hunkering down adjacent to new partner Benchmark Eatery on State Street with a preview show on Friday, July 14, featuring […]

A Oui Focus on Film
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 18, 2023

Also making its post-pandemic return is SBIFF’s French Wave Film Festival, which takes over SBIFF’s Riviera Theatre July 14-20 to feature 11 new examples of contemporary French cinema – nearly all winners or nominees for César Awards (the French Oscars) or selections at Cannes. Details, screening times, and passes at https://sbiffriviera.com/wave.  

The Rise of Parnther
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 11, 2023

Anthony Parnther never picked up a musical instrument until eighth grade, and even then, only because he discovered it could be an avenue to free admission at a Virginia amusement park.  “I was sitting in math class and I heard the announcement over the intercom that the students who were part of the middle school […]

Legal Aid Foundation
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 4, 2023

You might wonder how a chowder festival has anything to do with providing free, high-quality legal services to low-income and other vulnerable residents in order to ensure equal access to justice. The answer is, not much, except that prior to the pandemic, the decade-old Santa Barbara Chowder Fest had become the single largest fundraiser for […]

Osmo Goes Cosmos
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 4, 2023

Osmo Vänskä made his Music Academy debut back in 2005, when the Finnish-born and Grammy Award-winning longtime conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra coaxed the fellows-powered Academy Festival Orchestra (AFO) into delivering a marvelous Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5.” That would be the same 70-minute work that served as the musical centerpiece of Tár, the 2022 multi-Oscar […]

Summer in Santa Barbara Al Fresco Adventures Abound
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 4, 2023

Santa Barbara is by no means unique in taking advantage of the warmer temperature and sunny weather to bring music and movie entertainment to the masses in the great outdoors. But, at least for our size, we sure do have a plethora of places to put up performances, each with its own flavor. Read on […]

Getting to Know Hillside
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 27, 2023

Big plans are in store for Hillside, the residential facility for 59 people with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy. Hillside’s Community Project will transform its model of care by creating a new, integrated, mixed-abilities neighborhood on its 24-acre property in Hidden Valley featuring homes, townhomes, and apartments for seniors and […]

Theaterfest is Back!
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 27, 2023

PCPA Theaterfest kicks off its 2023 summer season on June 22 at the Solvang Festival Theater with Emma in the West Coast premiere of Joseph Hanreddy’s latest adaptation of a beloved Jane Austen novel. Opting to direct the playwright’s new piece was an easy choice for Polly Firestone Walker, a veteran PCPA resident artist (and […]

Seared’ Extends Savory Run 
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 27, 2023

Emotions ran high on opening night for Seared – the kitchen comedy sans kitsch that closes out Ensemble Theatre’s current season as well as artistic director Jonathan Fox’s career at the company. It came from both the smartly cast quartet of actors in the play about art-vs.-commerce and power struggles, but also the audience who […]

What’s Cooke-ing at the Academy
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 27, 2023

Two-time Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke didn’t hold back in describing her single summer as a vocal fellow at the Music Academy back in 2002. “It changed my life,” she said last week. “Part of it had to do with Marilyn Horne and the incredible faculty, including John Churchwell, but a big part was also that […]

The Return of the Writers
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 20, 2023

Grace Rachow started her Santa Barbara Writers Conference (SBWC) journey as a student and budding scribe back in 1992, and soon became involved in its administration later in the decade before taking over as director in 2016. So she’s as thrilled as anyone to have the word-lover’s institution returning to an in-person gathering for the […]

UCSB Arts & Lectures
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 20, 2023

From DakhaBrakha and The Linda Lindas to Lang Lang and Ballet Preljocaj, UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2022-2023 season included a luminous lineup of both world-renowned and up-and-coming musicians in a variety of genres, dance companies of far-reaching dimensions, and a full slate of forward-thinking and timely speakers and spoken word artists.  The season was a […]

The Amazing Martinez
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 20, 2023

As part of its ever-expanding efforts to simultaneously raise the level of artistry for its summer festival while also deeply engaging the local Santa Barbara community, the Music Academy is making its first real foray into reaching the Latino population in the area by bringing in soprano Ana María Martínez as a Mosher Guest Artist. […]

Bloomsday is Back
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 20, 2023

Bloomsday is the commemoration and celebration of the life and literary output of Irish writer James Joyce, and particularly his epic Ulysses, held annually on June 16, the single day span featured in the book and named after its protagonist Leopold Bloom. Santa Barbara joined the Bloomsday community last year on the 100th anniversary of […]

New Beginnings
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 13, 2023

When New Beginnings began serving Santa Barbara as a nonprofit half a century ago, providing confidential, therapeutic psychological testing, assessment, and counseling to low-income individuals and families in the greater Santa Barbara area was its core mission. Experienced masters-and-doctoral-level counselors support clients exploring life transitions, relationship issues, and any number of other concerns – including […]

Adversarial and Amusing Aromatic Adventure ‘Seared’ Arrives at New Vic
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 13, 2023

It’s likely that Jonathan Fox’s tenure at Ensemble Theatre Company will be seared into the local theater community’s collective memory for many years to come. ETC’s artistic director is departing after 17 years at the helm, a period that saw the company move from the quaint Alhecama Theater to the gleamingly refurbished New Vic, and […]

A Melding of Strings and Styles at Ojai Music Festival
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 13, 2023

If the Music Academy’s eight-week summer festival (see separate feature) is the main course on the current classical calendar, the equally venerable Ojai Music Festival is a savory and sumptuous appetizer as the already contemporary boundary-pushing fest takes a further step afield with the highly-decorated roots music superstar Rhiannon Giddens as 2023’s musical director and […]

Summer Festival 76 Starts Strong
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 13, 2023

After 75 years of having the Music Academy (née “of the West”) in our backyard – marked last summer by a celebratory return to fully in-person programming – it can be easy to take the institute’s summer festival for granted. But the truth is, the Academy not only keeps the classical music scene afloat during […]

Community Environmental Council
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 6, 2023

Santa Barbara nonprofit Community Environmental Council has long been on the forefront of the environmental movement ever since its founding more than 50 years ago. Among its groundbreaking accomplishments in those early decades, CEC founded one of the nation’s first ecology centers, as well as the first learning and research community gardens. CEC was instrumental […]

Asleep at the Wheel: Ray Benson Still Driving Western Swing band’s Sound
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 6, 2023

Asleep at the Wheel was just a country western band playing regular mountain music when Ray Benson co-founded the group in Paw Paw, West Virginia, back in 1970 – but after discovering Western Swing pioneer Bob Wills a few years later, the band never looked back.  “I was 19 when we started out, but as […]

Pop Around Town 
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 6, 2023

We’re hearing hints that suggest SB Acoustic might be moving on after the pair of shows at SOhO this weekend. Whether that’s relocating, retreating, reworking or reconfiguring we don’t know, but John Jorgenson and Carl Verheyen should provide a doubly delightful denouement. Guitarist Jorgenson is appearing with his J2B2 quartet, aka The John Jorgenson Bluegrass […]

Book ‘em 
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 6, 2023

Chaucer’s has booked a whopping four in-store signings at its Loreto Plaza location this week, starting with No. 1 New York Times bestselling Young Adult author P. C. Cast on Sunday afternoon, June 4. Cast, whose novels count more than 20 million copies in print in over 40 countries, had the last installment of herTales […]

Rona Barrett Foundation
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 30, 2023

Rona Barrett is most famous for her long career as a pioneering journalist, columnist, broadcaster, and producer who covered the entertainment industry for decades. The trailblazer interviewed a huge swath of superstars, including Raquel Welch and Tom Cruise, broke countless stories from the world of Hollywood, and became the public’s trusted insider – documenting the […]

Climbing Out of Isolation, Aerial Dance Company Flies Again
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 30, 2023

Credit Covid as an uninvited collaborator for Ninette Paloma in creating her new evening-length aerial dance work making its debut this weekend. That’s because La Escalada (The Climb) grew out of both the restrictions and the sense of isolation engendered by the pandemic – as well as Paloma’s Santa Barbara Centre for Aerial Dance’s new […]

Trial by Theater
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 30, 2023

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, the allegorical play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy), already turns typical storytelling on its ear as it involves a courtroom trial over the ultimate fate of perhaps the most famous sinner in the story of the Bible. To examine existing understandings of heaven, […]

I Madonnari meets Michelangelo at the Mission 
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 30, 2023

The ephemeral meets the everlasting in the world of arts at the Old Mission Santa Barbara this Memorial Day weekend. I Madonnari – the annual chalk drawing that turns the pavement in front of the Santa Barbara Mission into a huge series of asphalt canvases for artists of all ages – celebrates its 37th edition […]

Write On
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 30, 2023

The Mission Poetry Series closes out its current season, which was curated by 2022-23 Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Emma Trelles, with an event simply titled “Three Poets in Spring.” The free event offers readings and a meet and greet with the poets Catherine Esposito Prescott, Gabriel Ibarra, and Florencia Milito at 1 pm on Saturday, […]

Check(er) Mate Sill Twisting
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 23, 2023

It’s startling to realize that while the Lobero Theatre has been a beacon for the arts in Santa Barbara for 150 years, Chubby Checker has been around for more than half of those years, and is still going strong. As part of the Lobero’s year-long Ovation celebration, the now-81-year-old 1960s rocker who propelled “The Twist” […]

Sounds Around Town: Live Music for the Ages 
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 23, 2023

If you have the inclination and the stamina, you can catch live performances from some of the oldest members of the musical community and several of its youngest on a single Saturday this weekend. The Prime Time Band, a group of amateur musicians whose ages span from 40 to 90-plus but definitely skews toward the […]

Arts Alive: Westmont, Waterhouse, and Walking Tour
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 23, 2023

Local artists are the focus of “Mixed Up,” the new exhibit at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The annual Tri-County Juried Exhibition was curated this year by Rae Dunn, popular Bay Area-based ceramic artist, designer, author, and illustrator most recognized for her line of household wares, who will also display a small exhibition of […]