Tag archives: music
It’s not accurate to term the new film series at UCSB’s Pollock Theater “#MeToo at the Movies”, but there’s also no denying that the increased attention on women in Hollywood played a part in the Carsey-Wolf Center’s “Women in Comedy” screenings that get underway this week. Five different films will be shown during the series, […]
Former Montecito beekeeper Rick Sawyer is waxing poetic. Rick, 66, who created the Hollister Ranch and Santa Barbara honey companies in the mid-1970s, has re-launched Within The Shells, a 210-page book he originally published in 1973 as a limited 100 copy leather-bound version. “It is the first of three poetry books I plan to complete,” […]
Emma’s Revolution‘s latest album, Revolution Now, which came out last July, features the activist duo’s protest song take on a wide range of issues from reproductive justice to refugees, LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, and the women’s movement. The album also features “Sing People Sing”, a loving tribute to the late folksinger icon Pete Seeger, who […]
Returning to the live performing circuit but no stranger to it, Jonathan McEuen performed an “Americana Showcase” in Carpinteria on March 24. With him were Mark Corradetti [Nashville] on lead bass, Phil Salazar fiddle [Ventura], Alvino M. Bennett drums [Chicago/Burbank], Sean Ingoldsby [Ojai] bass, and Mark Searcy acoustic guitar [Ventura]. The opening set show-cased 11 […]
Jeff Elliott has been running the Santa Barbara jazz jam at SOhO even before it was at SOhO, or at least before it was located where SOhO is now. The trumpeter/keyboardist/singer has led the house band/rhythm section backing up any and all musicians – professional and decidedly otherwise – who desired the chance to sit […]
The Westmont College Choir and Orchestra will host its Masterworks Concert tour performing Handel’s Messiah (parts 2 and 3) beginning in Santa Barbara on Friday, April 6, at 7 pm at First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St. Admission is $10, students are free. For more information, contact the music department at (805) 565-6040. […]
Critics have been tripping over themselves to find fresh metaphors and more to describe soprano Julia Bullock‘s considerable gifts and her depth of emotional delivery. Discerning local song lovers have already had the pleasure of experiencing her extended talents in person twice in the last couple of years, as she sang “Somewhere” with the New […]
More than 55 years since The Beatles booked their first gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, and nearly half a century since John, Paul, George, and Ringo played their famous last concert together on the roof of Apple Records in London, Beatlemania shows no signs of disappearing. There are Beatles tribute bands all over […]
Buddy Guy gave an over-the-top, full-on performance at the Granada Theater on March 16 to a sold-out crowd, as part of the UCSB Arts and Lectures program. At 81, with the energy of an 18-year-old, he shared his passion and music genius with a non-stop, 2-hour gig. Here in our midst was a wise respected […]
To the Bluewater Grill, the buzzing new seafood eatery just a tiara’s toss from Stearns Wharf. The restaurant, formerly Rusty’s Pizza Lighthouse and the Castagnola Lobster House, has been in business for 21 years after being established in Newport Beach by partners Rick Staunton and Jim Ulcickas, and now has branches in Redondo Beach, Coronado, […]
On March 8, young singer/songwriter Jade Hendrix held a family affair concert to raise funds for our community and those affected by the Thomas Fire and Montecito Mudslide. There were 70 lucky people who bought an advance ticket to see the performance in person in the living room of her mom’s designer house. The concert […]
Greg Spencer, Westmont professor of communication studies, hopes that his new book, Reframing the Soul: How Words Transform Our Faith, will help members of the local community as they remember the challenging events of this past winter. On the night after the massive January 9 debris flow, Spencer said his last thought before going to […]
Social gridlock reigned at the venerable Granada for a 20/10 celebration, marking the 20th anniversary of the first Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts board meeting and the 10th anniversary of the iconic theater’s grand re-opening with founding, former, and current board members. The McCune Founders Room was packed as Hal Conklin, Frank Goss, […]
Violinist Bryan Kaleta, a senior at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, earned top honors at the sixth annual Music Guild Competition on March 3, where seven high school seniors competed for Westmont music scholarships. He received the $10,000 Music Guild scholarship (up to $40,000 over four years), plus awards for private music instruction and […]
Rather than decomposing, the four musicians featured in Camerata Pacifica’s latest concert at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall were very much alive and well. Normally, the classical music troupe’s monthly repertoire includes one or more famous past composers, but Irish founder Adrian Spence decided a more contemporary program was needed with a […]
On March 3, the SBBS celebrated its 41st anniversary with an all-star gig at the Carrillo Rec Center. Packing in the all-generational blues fans and band groupies, the celebration was SRO with the peeps dancing in the aisles to the balcony. There were 20 volunteers meetin’, greetin’, and servin’ barbecue and cake. It is the […]
Gaby Moreno moved from Guatemala to Los Angeles at 18 to pursue a career in music, and really never looked back. Not even musically, at least not for almost a decade. The singer-songwriter who blends blues, jazz, ’60s rock ‘n’ roll, and Latin American influences into something she calls “Spanish folk-soul” fell in love with […]
Montecito mega philanthropist Leslie Ridley-Tree is a rock star. The Spirit of Entrepreneurship Foundation has declared Leslie, the CEO of Pacific Air Industries in Los Angeles, its new Rock Star: Life Achievement Award recipient. Leslie, who has given millions to innumerable local organizations, including Cottage Hospital, the Granada, and All Saints by the Sea Episcopal […]
What’s that cliché? “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.” And that’s what this year’s winner of Teen Star singing contest did. Seventeen-year-old Daniel Geiger from Pioneer Valley High School won the title Teen Star after his third try. Judges loved the confidence that he had acquired over the years and his songs […]
More than 1,000 people turned out to the upper village February 24, for a day of shopping, music, food, and reconnecting with business owners whose shops and eateries were closed for multiple weeks in December and January. Organized by a group of volunteers, the day included kid-friendly craft activities, musical acts at multiple stages, food […]



