Tag archives: music
Santa Barbara Symphony, under bubbly guest maestro Bob Bernhardt, conductor of the Louisville Orchestra for 41 years, played its annual fun-filled New Year’s Eve Pop concert at the Granada with the music of James Bond, the Beatles, John Williams, Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyd-Webber while guests donned party hats and quaffed Champagne. Bernhardt, who missed last […]
Early career singer-songwriter Makena Tate attributes her confidence on stage to her Santa Barbara upbringing. The Crane School alumna says: “Being at Crane really gave me this great foundation for what I love now. It felt like there was no judgment, that everyone there wanted you to succeed. But having supportive teachers like Shana Arthurs […]
Back in 2020, the Santa Barbara Symphony canceled its annual New Year’s Eve pop concert due to the pandemic in its pre-vaccine stage. But everyone got to return to the Granada last December 31 to hear the orchestra play movie themes, pop songs, celebratory symphonic favorites and, of course, join in on the sing-along of […]
When Jennifer Kloetzel steps on stage at Lehmann Hall to perform as part of the Music Academy’s All-Star Cello Choir in the final concert of the new Mariposa series on December 17, it will be the first time the cellist has appeared on campus under the Academy’s aegis since she was a second-time summer student […]
It wasn’t the COVID pandemic that caused Trinity Backstage Coffeehouse to come to a close after a Christmastime holiday show in 2019. The underground listening-room series that spent nearly 20 years bringing some of the finest, if often unheralded, acoustic singer-songwriters to Santa Barbara had already scaled back from monthly shows to quarterly concerts for […]
In the last several years, Santa Barbara composer and artist Grace Fisher has accumulated a number of admirable accomplishments. She’s written music for symphonies and scores for short films, the latter claiming awards at film festivals. She also created a few animation shorts as well as several paintings, been a part of two locally-created documentaries, […]
The full arsenal of Westmont College’s musical talent was on display at the Granada for the 18th annual Christmas Festival. Always a great start to Yuletide, the concert “Prince of Peace” was the second year at the venerable State Street theater after years at the First Presbyterian Church. Ruth Lin, chair of the music department, […]
It was music to everyone’s ears when the Santa Barbara Symphony hosted a fundraising bash at the State Street eatery, The Red Piano, with syndicated radio host Jim Brickman, who has two Grammy nominations and 21 Number One albums, tickling the ivories magnificently for two hours as part of his 28-stop A Very Merry Christmas […]
This spellbinding evening combines stories and observations from Stephen Jenkinson that were sparked and inspired by his years of work in palliative care with original songs and sonics from Canadian recording artist Gregory Hoskins and band. Jenkinson is the Harvard master’s in theology and social work, educated internationally, acclaimed author, poet, and culture worker best […]
The Mother Hips, one of Chico State’s great gifts to the world of pop, are not only still going strong more than three decades since forming on the college campus, co-founders Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono have another new album about to be released. When We Disappear, due January 27, comes hot on the heels […]
Two admirably accomplished acoustic guitar concerts are also arriving at SOhO this week, starting with Latin Grammy winner Diego Garcia of Twanguero fame, the Spanish songwriter famous for his impeccable fingerpicking style that earned him a moniker of a “fire-breathing guitar hero.” The December 4 show, which closes SBAcoustic’s fall season, will focus on his […]
The Arlington Theatre, our town’s largest indoor venue, hosts Santa Barbara’s first-ever Mariachi holiday concert produced by a local organization, in this case UCSB Arts & Lectures. The incomparable José Hernández will lead Mariachi Sol de México in a festive musical tribute to Mexico’s Christmas traditions, offering holiday favorites in a December 7 performance that […]
It was back to nature for Camerata Pacifica when it hosted its monthly concert at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History rather than its usual venue at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall, which is undergoing renovation. But the dynamic duo of percussionist Ji Hye Jung and pianist Soyeon Kate Lee were both in fine […]
Santa Barbara’s regular traditional holiday shows such as The Nutcracker and Christmas Revels will be arriving next month, along with sing-along Messiahs and holiday parties. But the highlight of the season just might be taking place even before the calendar flips to December as American Theatre Guild’s Broadway in Santa Barbara series presents A Magical […]
The first time Sean and Sara Watkins brought the Watkins Family Hour (WFH) to Santa Barbara was back in March of 2014 in a Sings Like Hell show at the Lobero. The monthly gig at L.A.’s famed Largo anchored by the brother and sister (guitar and fiddle, respectively), who represented two-thirds of the Grammy-winning bluegrass […]
The threat of imminent development of the western parcel of the San Marcos Foothills Preserve 18 months ago not only triggered an astonishingly speedy and successful campaign to purchase the land as a nature preserve in perpetuity, it also synchronistically spawned a sensational new piece of music from a Santa Barbara native: Cody Westheimer’s Wisdom […]
Reggae on the Mountain (ROTM) was a charming hometown festival for its Topanga Canyon co-founders before relocating to an expansive site in the Malibu hills for its 10th anniversary. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, ROTM is on the move again, taking up residency at Live Oak Camp at the top of San […]
If all you know about the Doublewide Kings is their name, you might think the band is all about trailer park tailgating. That idea goes out the window, though, in favor of thinking this might be a vanity band when you realize the Kings were formed by Palmer Jackson, Jr., whose famous family members are […]
Exuberance and energy were the order of the night when the 20-year-old three-time Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir sang at a concert at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, part of the popular Arts & Lectures program. The singers, long associated with late South African president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, impressed with a variety of South African […]
After another discordant election season, it’s time to heal the rifts and find ways to live together in loving community. As simple as it may sound, singing together helps us come together. To explore this further, I recently sat down with therapist and singer-songwriter Marilee Gordon to ask about her experience using music as an […]
