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Meet the latest and greatest local tastemakers in film, theater, books, visual arts, music and new cultural spaces
Melody Moulton runs a small shop filled with esoterica in the front of her South Park art gallery, Trash Lamb
Madeline Yang
The most recent mural to go up in national landmark Chicano Park pays tribute to a major cultural institution of Chicano life: the car club, and the lowriders who created rolling works of art. The five-story mural is dedicated to Brown Image, the shop in Barrio Logan where many clubs workshopped their cars. According to artist Henry Rodriguez, he funded the mural and sketched it out using photos from his family album.
The painting—which uses lowrider-art techniques like airbrushing and gold flakes—took 10 months to complete and involved over a dozen local artists, including well- known muralists Victor Ochoa and Roberto Posas. The artwork features dozens of faces Barrio locals will recognize and completely covers one of the massive pillars holding up the 5 Freeway that straddles the Chicano Park playground. Murals are a huge part of the Chicano artistic expression, but Rodriguez says few, if any, have depicted the iconic car clubs. “It’s art as education,” he says.
The binational art scene is alive and well, thanks in large part to San Ysidro’s Casa Familiar. The organization recently ran a paid apprenticeship for 17 emerging artists in the San Diego-Tijuana region, which resulted in an exhibition called New Native Narratives (Nuevas Narrativas Nativas) at The Front: Arte & Cultura. Ones to watch include Natalia Ventura, whose Arropada is almost like an embroidered veil or a map to a continuous, somewhat convoluted journey; Evan Lopez, who uses 32 ceramic letters made from Tijuana River Valley sediment in She Gives Us Water to display natural links between San Diego and Tijuana; Adrián Del Riego, whose sculpture of an antenna with plants evokes both the shared flora and radio waves of the border region; and Casiel Sanchez, a visual artist and one of San Diego Magazine’s designers.
Created during the pandemic, Melody Moulton’s Trash Lamb Gallery in South Park is a leap of faith into the realm of quirk and oddballism. She’s struck a chord and seems to be nourishing a section of San Diego’s bohemian soul. Trucker hats get a cheeky graphic update and eccentric posters pack a visual punch. But Trash Lamb isn’t just another source of radical low-brow tchotchkes. Moulton, a visual artist herself, is a talented curator with an eye for the interesting. She curates shows at the shop at least twice a month, featuring work from local and national artists.
Cornado’s Kendall Becerra won the highest award in the country for high school musical theater
Broadway San Diego
Local playwright Christian St. Croix grew up as a working-class kid and only ever expected writing to be a hobby. As a result, his plays feature brightly written, honest-job characters from Black and LGBTQ communities, set in situations where compassion and grace undergird their every move. “I like to give the working class and everyday queer joes—we exist—a sense of magic and possibility,” he says.
Hailed by American Theatre Magazine as a playwright to watch, he recently debuted plays in Seattle, and his work was a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwriting Conference. Locally, his award-winning play Monsters of the American Cinema (which debuted at the San Diego Fringe festival in 2019) will be staged in the upcoming season of the recently reopened Diversionary Theatre.
It’s no secret San Diego is a secret theater hotbed. Playwrights and actors come here to cut their teeth before venturing to NYC and nationally renown stages like La Jolla Playhouse encourage a strong crop of homegrown young actors. Every year, the Broadway San Diego Awards recognizes the top high school thespians, then sends them to the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmys) in New York. This year, they sent Kendall Becerra from Coronado School of the Arts and Ryan Sweeney from Canyon Crest Academy. Performing on a Broadway stage, Becerra took “Best Performance”—the highest award in the country for high school musical theater.
Lizz Huerta
Courtesy of Lizz Huerta
Earlier this year Lizz Huerta, a San Diego native with roots in Mexico and Puerto Rico, released her eagerly awaited YA novel, The Lost Dreamer. It’s a story of Mezo-America, female seers, and life among indigenous peoples. Huerta has been on a wide-ranging book tour where the audience is largely comprised of young Latinas.
“Representation is so important when you are trying to figure out who you are,” she says. “And there are very few models that speak to pre-[colonial] contact culture. I would have loved a book like this growing up.”
Formerly known as The Grove, The Book Catapult is giving South Park some percolating literary cred by luring notable authors for its reading series—like the aforementioned Ms. Huerta, as well as national best-selling author, L.A. Times columnist, and San Diegan Jean Guerrero.
Co-owners Jennifer Powell and Seth Marko revamped the shop and envisioned what Powell calls “a third space” where books one might not usually find come together with people to build a sense of curiosity and community.
They’re featuring a long-running mini-exhibit of graphic art, curated by Marko, the latest of which is a charming mural by local graphic artist Sara Gharemani.
Digital Gym
Movie theaters have taken a huge hit, especially indie film houses. One of the last standing in San Diego, North Park’s Media Arts Center, closed its doors during the pandemic. But the biggest arrival in downtown culture—UCSD Extension’s Park & Market—gave them a new home. Now called Digital Gym, the 58-person screening room must be heard to be appreciated. It has well-balanced surround sound, employing 5.1 Dolby, and a sensitive range that allows sounds like footfalls on grass and breathing to round out the viewing experience.
Earlier this year, it hosted a Sundance Film Festival showing. Exhibitions director Moises Esparza is actively curating the most noteworthy new films from Latin America and Europe. What was once the East County Performance Center in El Cajon is now The Magnolia—its manifestation after an extensive $8 million renovation.
The 1,200-seat venue has improved sightlines, more legroom, better seats, VIP lounge, bars, and all-new modern stage lighting and sound. Live Nation is booking, so the venue will have pull. The debut season includes modern icons (Marcus Mumford, Andrew Bird with Iron & Wine), a strong Hispanic lineup (Mexican pop star Yuridia, Cafe Tacuba), heritage rockers (Pat Benetar), TV stars (Countess Luann), comedy (Kathleen Madigan), and something called Wardruna (a dirge-laden, melodic Norse language prog folk band born out of black metal—yes, you read that correctly).
The crew from Dice Roller Radio records a podcast episode at Imperial Co-Lab in Sherman Heights.
Madeline Yang
Every American is now given a podcast at birth, but that doesn’t stop us from loving them. Like Dice Roller Radio, a fun-as-hell pod hosted by a crew of San Diego and South Bay creatives focused on street art culture—recorded at Downtown’s iconic cocktail den, El Dorado. With over 65 episodes, the show spotlights local musicians, artists, and fashion designers, and now a monthly live show called Memoirs Mondays with live performances.
They also host parties, clothing drops, and other recording events at Imperial Co-Lab in Sherman Heights, an all-in-one coffee shop-boutique-salon-taco-joint-gallery-event-and-co-working space that’s owned by the same folks as Por Vida just down the road in Barrio Logan. Recent features include pop art-inspired fashion line Makeout Club, as well as dance, hip-hop, and electronic artist RyRy.
PARTNER CONTENT
Multi-hyphenate musician Jesus Gonzalez has an ear for the eclectic and an eye for the beautiful. For his latest project, Tour of Enchantment, he created site-specific soundscapes (looping beats, poetry, naturalist lyrics) at various locations across San Diego like Villa Montezuma, Jacumba Hot Springs, and the Fleet Science Center. Gonzalez says he wants to show people, especially locals, what he thinks are the “hidden gems” of the region. So if you’re’ at one of these spots, take a moment and listen. It’s one of the city’s more creative musicians translating your current experience into a soundtrack.
IYKYK: It’s an apt acronym for the mauve behemoth of a building now called Pink Haus. Sounding like an offbeat German hostel, it’s actually an unpretentious, underground venue that has become the codeword for local music cool. Modest music happenings grew through word-of-mouth and a bit of social media sleuthing (one has to DM them for the address). Hidden in a backyard shed, the tiny concert hall is equal parts Andy Warhol’s Factory (silver-lined walls) and college dorm (comfy couches and all-ages). Three years after curator Gonzalo Meza decided to form this little art commune, it’s furtively become the hub for a rotating roster of emerging artists and musicians. Several bands are on Pink Haus’ own record label, Egg Records. Next underground thing is September 3. Happy sleuthing.
On view at Mingei International Museum now through October 18, Thompson's basketry invites viewers to notice the seemingly mundane
When was the last time you really looked at your fridge? Not for milk or ketchup or that takeout you hope is still good, but really looked at it. Considered it. Its texture. Its shape. Its role in your life. “Never” is probably your answer here. But once you’ve seen India Thompson’s life-size fridge made of reed, you’ll probably pause the next time you’re in your kitchen.
Thompson’s new Looks Like Home exhibit on view at Mingei International Museum takes everyday items that most of us use on a daily basis—the things that usually make our lives faster and more convenient—and renders them useless but beautiful as intricately woven reed sculptures.
The museum’s name comes from the philosophy of Yanagi Sōetsu, who wrote in the essay “The Beauty of Miscellaneous Things” that “when one becomes too familiar with a sight, one loses the ability to truly see it. Habit robs us of the power to perceive anew, much less the power to be moved.”
Thompson joins artists who use material transformation to remake the familiar, like Katarina Kamprani who redesigns everyday objects in ways that render them physically unusable, or Do Ho Suh who recreates domestic spaces through labor-intensive processes. Thompson’s approach is quieter, more tender: She doesn’t distort. She weaves.
Seeing her work for the first time brought up emotions I hadn’t felt since I was a kid watching The Brave Little Toaster, the movie that taught me to hold space for the invisible servants that make up our homes. Thompson’s collection encourages a kind of reckoning with what it means to ignore the essential. It asks you to reconsider what “home” means in an era where so few can afford to buy one. Her sculptures are like a challenge to pause where you usually press on. Being close to her work is like taking a breath and not realizing how long you’ve been holding it.
Thompson was born in Los Angeles and is now a multidisciplinary artist based in San Diego. While ceramic is her primary artistic medium, this exhibition highlights her exploration of basketry—a thousand-year-old, time-consuming process and an art form she describes as one of “care and memory-keeping.”
Thompson also happens to 9-to-5 as Mingei’s studio program specialist. Assistant Curator Ariana Torres didn’t know about Thompson’s basketry work until she saw Thompson post a picture of her woven toilet paper on Instagram. Then came a woven microwave.
“It seemed really poignant and uncanny,” Torres says. “It was mundane, but it was also kind of quiet … something you wouldn’t think anybody would focus on.”
Thompson began making art five years ago in her college ceramic class called Handbuilding, and she immediately fell in love. The first art she ever shared with others were her ceramic figurines: round, red-clayed pot-like sculptures with minimalist, barely-there faces in a variety of expressions. Some look surprised. Some look very concerned. Some look like they spend Friday nights at a Star Wars cantina. She calls them “Moots.”
The definition of the English word moot, in verb form, is “to gather and discuss an important topic,” as Thompson explains. “They look so serious … like they’ve wriggled through the earth to talk to each other.”
Thompson found her way to basketry three years ago and learned by watching YouTube videos.
“It’s something you can do at home,” she says. “And I love a repetitive process.”
The toilet paper roll came to her while making a cylinder that she thought looked like a roll of Charmin. Then she thought maybe she should make one on purpose. “I just thought it would be funny and really challenging, too,” she says. “Because there’s no tutorial for that. Why would there be, right?”
She figured it out and shared it on Instagram. People loved it. It received more than double the amount of likes and comments she usually got, but what really struck her was how many people came up to her in person to talk about how they connected with it. That, to her, was even more meaningful than the online response.
So she kept going and chose to make a microwave next.
“[It’s an] object we all own and we all need,” she says. “Yet no one really cares about a microwave.”
She started the collection during a time when her landlord was coming into her apartment constantly with a crew of people, making notes of what they were going to remodel without ever acknowledging her in the room.
“It was such a weird fishbowl moment,” she says. “I technically don’t own my apartment, but I still consider it home. I live here and I pay to live here, but this isn’t mine. We live in this space and I call it my apartment. I call it my refrigerator. But it could be taken away at any moment.”
It dawned on her how much we depend on things we don’t own, how little we notice the things we rely on every day, and how temporal the word “my” can be.
The woven refrigerator is the largest in Thompson’s collection at Mingei, and inside it you can find additional woven items like a ranch bottle, a Brita filter, and a sandwich on a plate. You can’t open the freezer door, but if you look carefully between the gaps of woven reed, you might be able to see a few other things Thompson made and placed inside.
“If you really look closely,” she explains, “you’ll be rewarded.”
From jazz concerts to devouring fried foods at the fair, here are all the best things to do this month in San Diego
June Gloom isn’t stopping San Diegans from making the most out of the month. There’s something for every music lover, from swaying to smooth jazz at The Rady Shell to rocking out at Slightly Stoopid’s Field of Dreamz Festival. Art enthusiasts can visit the Mingei for an exhibit showcasing Native American and Pacific Rim heritage, while foodies can try the latest fried fad at the San Diego County Fair. Whatever your interests, it’s time to text the group chat and make some plans. Here are all the best things to do in San Diego this month:
Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do
World-class jazz musicians are returning to The Rady Shell for the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival.
“If you build it, they will come,” and so they shall to Slightly Stoopid’s inaugural Field of Dreamz Festival. The OB-native rock band will share the lineup with Stephen Marley, Sublime, Pepper, and more at Petco Park.
Khalid is headlining his first tour since 2019—this time for the R&B and pop showstopper After the Sun Goes Down—and he’s ready to dance through Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre.
With a beat that can’t be stopped, New Village Arts will revive the joyful musical Hairspray, a fusion of teen pop stardom and racial integration in Civil Rights–era Baltimore.
Cat Gunn poignantly examines the impact of forced separation from ancestral lineage through If Only by the Light of a New Moon, their solo museum debut at ICA Central.
See lasting visions of cultural heritage via Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass, a traveling showcase for Native American and Pacific Rim glassmakers at Mingei International Museum.
Proceed to Pride Month with the Out & Abt Festival, featuring a carnival-themed playground at The Soap Factory, an afterparty hosted by Gossip Grill, and the next day, a sapphic poolside bash at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Imagine and experience your favorite fairytale ending during the San Diego County Fair, which returns this summer with a new theme: Once Upon a Fair.
The return of the Switchfoot Bro-Am means two things: an elegant seaside fundraiser in North County and a free bash at Moonlight Beach full of sun, surf competitions, and live music.
For the first time, NASCAR will start its engines in San Diego. Naval Base Coronado will host this one-of-a-kind racing spectacle to commemorate the U.S. Navy’s semiquincentennial.
Itadakimasu! In other words: Let’s eat! Sample, then rank, the best Pan-Asian dishes from local eateries at Julep Venue during SD Mag’s 21+ Omakase Open, done to support the Convoy District.
If you ever needed a reason to eat ice cream and gelato, here’s a charitable one. Raise money—one waffle cone at a time—for Feeding San Diego during this year’s Scoop San Diego festival.
Ryan Hardison is a freelance arts and entertainment writer and recent graduate of San Diego State. When he's not staring at his laptop, he's likely eating an adobada burrito or getting sunburnt at the beach.
Hear The Inaudible Ocean, see the San Diego Ballet in action, and eat your fill of fruit at the Vista Strawberry Festival
Summer may technically be a month away, but San Diegans can tap into the summertime spirit as soon as this weekend. Outdoor explorations include the return of Summertime Spectacular at SeaWorld San Diego, along with another monthly edition of Fit Yoga at The Rady Shell. Those looking for full-day fun can try the Vista Strawberry Festival or the Santee Street Fair & Craft Beer Festival, both of which offer free admission and a full slate of activities. Or, plan a day at the ballpark to cheer on the Padres and hopefully see Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his first home run of the season (manifesting this one).
Food & Drink | Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do
As evidenced by the To Catch a Fish exhibition at Mingei International Museum, fishing is a significant element of culture, cuisine and everyday life on a global scale. For Thursday’s ARTIFACT at Night dinner, the 36th edition of the monthly series, seafood is all over the four-course menu, including roasted blue barramundi and squid stuffed with spicy Calabrian sausage. Reservations are $95 per person and come with optional beverage pairings. Seatings available are from 5-8:30 p.m.; menu modifications will not be accommodated.
1439 El Prado, Balboa Park
Spend the day shopping, watching live entertainment, and tasting locally-made brews during the free Santee Street Fair & Craft Beer Festival. This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., check out over three hundred vendors, complimentary workshops, live music, dance and street performances, a kids zone and the event’s inaugural classic car show at Trolley Square. As for the suds, 21+ attendees can purchase discounted pours and bring their dogs along too. Pre-sale drink tokens (five 16 oz. pours for $30) are available to purchase online.
Town Center Parkway & Riverview Parkway, Santee
Every May, Downtown Vista unearths the seeds of its bygone berry heritage. This Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the free annual Vista Strawberry Festival will offer much more than just a chance to eat fresh fruit and decadent strawberry desserts—though both are certainly encouraged. The festival will feature over 450 vendors, live music, a youth film festival, a 5K race and kids runs (one mile and ¼ mile), and several contests, including prizes for those with the best strawberry couture and the biggest appetites for strawberry pies and sundaes.
Main Street, Vista
Oceans cover more than two-thirds of the Earth, and their watery depths preserve much more than just marine creatures and aquatic mysteries. To composer Lei Liang and oceanographer Joshua Jones, the most fascinating thing concealed is the range of sounds, many of which are imperceptible to humans. Through The Inaudible Ocean, premiering this Wednesday at 7 p.m. at UC San Diego’s Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, audiences will be treated to the oft-hidden magic of underwater frequencies via a chamber music trio. General admission is $20 for this concert.
9410 Russell Lane, La Jolla
Like all genres, country music is far from monolithic, and Russell Dickerson is a prime example of its versatility. Dickerson’s musical persona is that of a kind and reminiscent soul, musing on good times and crafting hard-to-forget hooks, like on his newest single “Boots” with Fetty Wap. Plus, when he hits the road, Dickerson embraces his lifelong love for wrestling, meaning fans will get to see him in full WWE garb during his RussellMania show this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Gallagher Square. Country pop crooner and prolific songwriter-for-hire Niko Moon will open the show. Tickets start at $54 for this concert.
899 J Street, Downtown
For nearly two decades, it looked as if American Football would be a one-album wonder, since the emo rock pioneers never reconvened for a follow-up. But since reuniting in 2014, the band has produced three new self-titled albums, and though they nearly broke up again in the making of their most recent offering, LP4, their music is still as sharp and emotionally devastating as ever. This Sunday at 8 p.m., they’ll play at The Observatory North Park with opener Mei Semones, a tonally opposite artist whose music explores J-pop, jazz and blissful indie rock. Tickets start at $35 for this concert; $1 from every ticket sold will go towards the artist nonprofit PLUS1.
2891 University Avenue, North Park
Ryan Hardison is a freelance arts and entertainment writer and recent graduate of San Diego State. When he's not staring at his laptop, he's likely eating an adobada burrito or getting sunburnt at the beach.
The annual event honors middle market companies creating jobs, scaling up, and investing in the region
San Diego is known for its startup culture and innovation economy, but what happens when the company moves beyond its early-stage years? The San Diego Business Impact Awards aim to answer that question, spotlighting the middle market businesses helping drive the region’s economy.
Hosted by San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and JPMorganChase, the second annual awards celebration takes place on Thursday, July 23, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Scripps Research Auditorium. More than 200 executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders are expected to attend the networking and cocktail event honoring some of San Diego County’s fastest-growing companies.
Businesses headquartered in San Diego County that have operated for at least two years are encouraged to submit their nomination by Thursday, June 18 at 4 p.m. Companies across industries—from technology and life sciences to tourism and consumer products, as well as pre-revenue startups—are eligible for recognition.
For EDC President and CEO Mark Cafferty, the event is as much about building connections as celebrating success. “We’ve had a longtime partnership with JPMorganChase; their work aligns with our efforts to support underserved communities and drive talent development,” says Cafferty. “And the networking was invaluable last year. I’m still in touch with people I met at last year’s awards.”
EDC is an independently-funded nonprofit that works directly with San Diego companies to help them grow the local economy, make the region as a whole more competitive, and attract and retain top-tier talent with quality jobs. Through EDC, companies can get help starting or expanding their business with support for things like site selection, permit navigation, and regulatory guidance, plus connections to local resources and potential business collaborators.
The San Diego Business Impact Awards began as an idea with one of EDC’s longtime strategic partners, JPMorganChase. The two organizations share a commitment to San Diego and are dedicated to bolstering middle market businesses.
“We’re blessed with a robust innovation economy and startup community,” says Aaron Ryan, San Diego Region Manager for JPMorgan’s Commercial and Investment Bank and vice chair of the firm’s’ San Diego Market Leadership Team. “But one of the segments of the business community we felt was overlooked was emerging middle market companies—the businesses that are no longer small but not yet large.”
Ryan says supporting those companies is critical as they scale and decide where to invest, hire, and grow.
San Diego’s high cost of living remains one of the region’s biggest business challenges, making talent recruitment and retention increasingly competitive. But local leaders point to the region’s quality of life, climate, and collaborative business community as advantages that continue to attract employers and workers.
“In order to support thriving households, there has to be enough high-quality jobs for people to be able to afford to live here,” Cafferty says. “Once a company grows and excels past that middle market point in their growth cycle, they become much more likely to pay higher wages and compete globally.”
Both Cafferty and Ryan proudly tout the unique collaboration that exists among San Diego County businesses. Bringing together top universities producing high-quality talent, cutting-edge research institutions, a robust military and defense presence, leading ocean science and environmental organizations, and a binational, cross-border identity creates a distinct business ecosystem that defines and strengthens the San Diego region.
Last year’s San Diego Business Impact Awards celebrated nearly 60 honorees from 49 industries, representing a total of 8,232 jobs across eight sectors, including: software and technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer goods, professional services, finance, construction and manufacturing, defense, and hospitality and tourism. On average, honoree companies doubled their revenues over the previous year, employed more than 145 San Diegans each, and offered an average annual compensation of $192,415.
Top honorees included defense contractor Innoflight, environmental consulting firm Bancroft Construction Services, life sciences startup Element Biosciences, defense technology contractor GALT Aerospace, organic grocery store chain Jimbo’s, and biopharmaceutical company LENZ Therapeutics. During the event, Innoflight Founder and CEO Jeff Janicik held a fireside chat offering his insights on investing in the community and embracing San Diego culture.
This year, organizers hope to continue highlighting the middle market players driving economic impact across the region. Nominations are now open through June 18 at 4 p.m. Get your tickets to the San Diego Business Impact Awards celebration to enjoy drinks by Snake Oil Cocktail Co., light bites, live music, and networking.
Join the La Jolla Secret Garden Tour, sample the Cheese & Libation Expo, and see P!nk perform for charity at Petco Park.
Sightsee, savor and catch a wide range of live entertainment this weekend in San Diego. Take advantage of the La Jolla Half Marathon and the La Jolla Historical Society’s Secret Garden Tour, each offering a scenic trip through the coastal community. Wine and dine with bottomless portions at the Cheese & Libation Expo, the 35th annual Mama’s Day and the return of the Over the Line Craft BeerFest. Plus, whether your heart lies in the theater (Purpose, Kim’s Convenience), the concert crowd (P!nk, MGK) or the unpredictable stage of the San Diego International Fringe Festival, there are numerous ways to be wowed.
Food & Drink | Concerts & Festivals | Theater & Art Exhibits | More Fun Things to Do
Treat yourself to a curated assortment of cheese, trinkets and bubbly beverages throughout the three-day Cheese & Libation Expo at BRICK Liberty Station. The expo will kick off Friday from 5-8 p.m. with an industry preview night and continue Saturday from 1-5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with boutique shopping, an all-you-can-eat (and drink) menu and goodie bags for attendees. Ticket options include individual session tickets ($82-$109), single-day kid’s tickets ($13) weekend passes ($162) and preview night entry ($135).
2863 Historic Decatur Road, Point Loma
Spend your Saturday on the beach with a local beer in hand during Old Mission Beach Athletic Club’s yearly Over the Line Craft BeerFest & OTL Tournament. Newbies, regulars and seasoned aficionados will go to bat this Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Mariner’s Point Park, with the BeerFest featuring live music, food trucks and unlimited pours from twenty craft breweries from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ticket options include all-ages general admission ($6), 21+ BeerFest admission ($45) and tournament entry ($162), which comes with three festival wristbands.
1215 Mariners Way, Mission Bay
Mama’s Kitchen knows the importance of home cooking, which is why the nonprofit’s signature event serves a dual purpose: celebrating the city’s gastronomy and ensuring San Diegans experiencing chronic illness continue to receive home-delivered meals. This Saturday from 5:30-9:30 p.m., Mama’s Kitchen will hold its 35th annual Mama’s Day, a 21+ fundraiser with live entertainment, opportunity drawings and unlimited tastings from local chefs and eateries at Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Ticket options include general admission ($200) and VIP admission ($300), which includes entry to an exclusive drinks and hors d’oeuvres reception from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
1 Park Boulevard, Embarcadero
“Raise a Glass” to cutting-edge adult and pediatric cancer research this Friday (8 p.m.) during Curebound’s annual Concert for Cures. After Sir Elton John rocked Petco Park last May, this year’s headlining superstar will be P!nk, whose shows combine powerful vocals, nostalgic crowd pleasers and Cirque du Soleil-style theatrics for a scintillating experience. Tickets start at $56 for this concert; proceeds from this performance will go towards Curebound.
100 Park Boulevard, Downtown
See a plethora of live music across a trio of free festivals this weekend. This Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Goldenpalooza returns to Golden Hill Recreation Center with live dance and musical performances, local food vendors and an array of free and paid activities; paid activity tickets ($5-$20) are available online. Then, several community bands will hit the Old Poway Park stage for the Community Band Festival this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Finally, on Sunday from noon to midnight, see student-run performances ranging from acoustic sets to after-hours DJ sets during The Arcades at UC San Diego’s Conrad Prebys Music Center.
The Arcades: 9410 Russell Lane, La Jolla | Goldenpalooza: 2600 Golf Course Drive, Golden Hill | Community Band Festival: 14132 Midland Road, Poway
Despite the two-middle-fingers-up approach that powers his bad boy persona, the artist MGK, formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly, longs for understanding. His decade-plus journey from hip-hop phenom to punk convert to revelatory pop rocker has led to Lost Americana, the latest chapter in MGK’s rebellious undertaking and a search for the freedom he’s always desired. This Sunday at 7 p.m., MGK will perform at the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre with special guests Wiz Khalifa and Beauty School Dropout. Tickets start at $35 for this concert.
2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista
Ryan Hardison is a freelance arts and entertainment writer and recent graduate of San Diego State. When he's not staring at his laptop, he's likely eating an adobada burrito or getting sunburnt at the beach.
The San Diego musician drew on lived experience—including his time on NBC’s The Voice—to pen his debut album
The year was 2020. Venues were silent, stage lights off. Covid had gutted the music industry.
“Musicians and creatives were all asking, ‘Okay, what do we do now?’” recalls San Diego musician Durell Anthony, a talented vocalist and songwriter. Anthony found one stage that was still open and even designed with built-in social distancing: Stage 12 at Universal Studios, the set for NBC’s massive TV show The Voice.
“I just wanted to go in there and show them who I was,” he says.
He stepped onto the show’s octagonal stage before the judges—Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Nick Jonas—and a Jumbotron-sized audience of fans on Zoom. In the seconds before your national TV debut in front of four of the world’s most famous musicians, the potential for a panic attack is pretty high. But Anthony sat down at the piano and found his calm.
He laid out the first iconic E-sharp of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” which, in an empty auditorium, resonated like the only sound in the world. With their chairs facing the empty stands, the judges couldn’t see Anthony, but they could hear him (the whole idea of The Voice is that the pop legends on the panel only turn their chairs if the “voice” alone moves them enough).
As Anthony laid out his first breathy croon of Gaye’s heart-wrenching plea for amity—an especially powerful song choice considering the state of the world at the time—Legend’s eyebrows rose immediately.
Legend was first to turn his chair around. At the last moment, Clarkson turned, too. The two judges battled for their chance to help hone Anthony’s falsetto. He chose Legend to be his mentor for the remainder of the show, not least because he’s a huge fan. His audition video reached nearly two million views across YouTube and TikTok.
Anthony’s time on the show was short-lived (he lost his first “battle round,” which took place directly after the audition), but “I walked away with a new confidence,” he says. “Being recognized and validated definitely elevated my songwriting during a dark time.”
He dropped his first full-length album, Lovenotes, last October. Anchored by his San Diego Music Award–nominated single “One More Night”—another piano-backed ballad—the project blends his velvety vocals with warm, honest lyrics about love, growth, and the life he’s built in Southern California.
Anthony grew up in the small town of Atchison, Kansas, raised on church hymns and radio. Like a lot of kids in “the middle of nowhere,” he learned to sing in the pews. His high-toned voice turned a few heads at mass, and he got a vocal scholarship from Benedictine College in Atchison.
After graduating, Anthony moved to La Jolla to work at a now-shuttered children’s summer camp. It’s where he met Kimberly, his wife of 13 years. Having found his songwriting muse, he joined several local bands across San Diego and became an overqualified wedding singer. His moment on The Voice wouldn’t come for a decade, but he kept course for the same reason his music connected with Legend: his deep optimism.
“When I look at artists I love, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, there’s an underlying thread: authenticity,” he says. “I want people to know that love exists, hope exists.”
An R&B album to its core, Lovenotes is filled with piano slow jams layered beneath Anthony’s sweet falsetto. Some songs are pure imagination, but more than a few are inspired by Kimberly and their kids.
“I pulled from real emotion,” he explains. “Those early years of being with Kim taught me vulnerability, maturity, sacrifice, trust. From facing my fear of commitment in ‘Be With U,’ to the countless apologies behind ‘One More Night,’ to reminiscing on the birth of our firstborn in ‘Speechless,’ my songwriting on this album is shaped by all of these lived experiences.”
Scripps study shows that some patients may be able to taper their dose and maintain results
While glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agents have been used to treat Type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, their recent emergence as weight-loss wonder drugs marked a new frontier in medicine. But their effectiveness has left some patients wondering what to do once they’ve reached their goal. Stopping the medication could mean regaining some, if not all, of the weight. A Scripps Clinic internal medicine physician recently conducted a small study of whether GLP-1 patients who had reached their goal weight could maintain that weight by taking their regularly prescribed injection every other week instead of weekly. Spoiler alert: 30 of 34 patients did. Read more about the study here and what that may mean as pharmaceutical companies roll out oral GLP-1s.
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