As the longtime honcho of Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, Richard Bartell is understandably proud that San Diego’s oldest independently owned and operated live-music series will celebrate its 44th anniversary this year. The 58-show lineup includes such venue favorites as America, Chris Isaak, Little River Band and Boz Scaggs, along with the Humphreys debuts of such rising young acts as Samara Joy, MJ Lenderman, G Flip and Hiatus Kaiyote.
But Bartell is just as quick to acknowledge his surprise that the concert series at this intimate, 1,450-seat outdoor venue has endured, and thrived, for so long. His family’s company, Bartell Hotels, acquired Humphreys in late 1984 when it bought the Half Moon Inn and — with it — the then-3-year-old concert series, which was held on the hotel’s bayside lawn. The venue’s popularity increased exponentially year by year, so much so that, in the 1990s, the hotel was renamed Humphreys Half Moon Inn.
“I had not been in the concert business before and I didn’t even know the hotel property included Humphreys when we bought the Half Moon Inn,” Bartell said. “I had no clue the series would have this kind of longevity. Had anyone told me back in 1984 that Humphreys would still be going 40 years later, I probably would have reacted with disbelief.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it either!” said Mission Valley resident Adele Turgen, who estimates she has attended nearly 400 concerts at Humphreys since the mid-1980s. “But I’ve been going to concerts there now for almost half my life. It has great music, great food and the ambience is delightful. I really look forward to Humphreys every year.”
So do Mission Beach residents Nick and Connie Alston, who before getting married 12 years ago went on dates at the venue. Like Turgen, they opt for the dinner package which includes seating in the first seven rows for concerts and a pre-show meal at the adjacent Humphreys Restaurant.
“The food is so good and you can’t beat the intimate setting. Where else can you hear major acts in such a small venue?” said Nick Alston, who has been attending shows at the venue since the 1980s.
“We go to at least five concerts there each year and we’ve already bought tickets for this year’s Humphreys concerts by Pink Martini and Diana Krall. I’ve seen Boz Scaggs there four times and I hope they bring him back.”
The 2025 Humphreys season lineup is being announced today. It includes Scaggs, Pink Martini, Diana Krall and Mary Chapin Carpenter, whose first performance at the venue was back in 1998.
The 2025 roster also boasts a slew of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, including Krall’s husband Elvis Costello as well as Jackson Browne, Little Anthony, the current editions of The Temptations and The Four Tops, and Frankie Valli, who — at 90 — is the oldest performer in this year’s lineup.
Debuts and ‘perennial favorites’
Nearly 20 of the headliners and opening acts this year will be playing the venue for the first time. They include Drew & Ellie Holcomb, who will open the season on April 6, and former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes. Missouri country singer-songwriter Sam Barber, who turns 22 on April 15, appears to be this year’s youngest headlining act.
“Each year we bring in artists who have never played here before, as well as the perennial Humphreys favorites like America, Boz Scaggs and Frankie Valli,” Bartell said.
America will be making its 35th appearance at Humphreys this season. That number puts them in close contention with B.B. King, Ray Charles and some of the other artists who began performing at the venue more than four decades ago.
Some acts have played at Humphreys every decade since the venue opened in 1981, when the 16-show inaugural season included concerts by Average White Band, Warren Zevon, Eagles co-founder Randy Meisner and such jazz luminaries as Chick Corea, Jimmy Smith and Maynard Ferguson.
“Humphreys is very meaningful to us because when we first played there, they didn’t even have a stage!” said Average White Band co-founder Alan Gorrie, whose group’s farewell tour included a show at the venue last November.
Average White Band bidding farewell after 52 years: ‘It’s bittersweet’ says co-founder Alan Gorrie
“We were lucky to play at Humphreys eight or nine times over the years, sometimes on double-bills with Tower Of Power or Hall & Oates,” Gorrie continued. “It’s a really special place for us — one of our favorites of all time — and it’s fitting that we (did) one of the last shows of our career there.”
Gorrie chuckled.
“I love that the venue has hotel rooms you can stay in that face the stage,” he said. One of the greatest nights I have had at Humphreys was watching Ray Charles from my room — which was right behind the (audio) mixing board — perform on the night before we played there.”
Keeping prices down
Bartell, who is the president of Bartell Hotels and the chairman of the San Diego Tourism Marketing District, attributes the extended success of Humphreys to a concise plan.
“Our fundamental goals are to always have a mix of new and established performers, and to keep ticket prices down,” he said. “Every year, we have to on booking some major acts because we feel the ticket price would be too high.”
In 2024, the average national ticket price for concerts in the United States in 2024 was a record $135.92. That’s a significant jump from 2019, when the average price was $96.17, but Humphreys has worked hard to keep a handle on its prices. Only five of this year’s shows are priced over $100, including those by Rock Hall of Famers Costello and Browne. The majority of the bayside Shelter Island venue’s 2025 concerts have ticket prices between $37.50 and $70.
“We do our best to keep them as low as we can,” said Humphreys Concerts Vice President Bobbi Brieske, who has been with the series since 1986. “We are always gauging how the economy is doing and have to price our concerts carefully, so that people can afford them.”
The national surge in ticket prices occurred after the pandemic shutdown, which saw most venues go dark in 2020 and for much of 2021. Humphreys rebounded dramatically in 2022 when it stretched its season from March to November, presented a record 88 concerts and drew a record 100,000 concertgoers.
The venue’s 2024 season drew 78,580 concertgoers to 65 shows. That’s 7 more than have been announced for this season so far. But Bartell and veteran Humphreys talent buyer John Wojas expect to add between 10 and 15 more concerts to this year’s lineup.
“Starting with last year’s season, it felt like things were back to pre-pandemic normal,” said Wojas, who has exclusively booked shows at the venue since 2007. “I don’t think we’ll ever see a year like that again where we do 88 shows.”
Since 2022, there has been a continuing profusion of national concert tours. That has come as both good and bad news for promoters and audiences alike.
“Having more acts touring is a double-edged sword,” said Wojas, who is the San Diego vice president of concert-industry powerhouse AEG/Goldenvoice.
“We need acts to fill our season. But too many acts are touring and there are 10 to 15 new tours being announced every week. People only have so much money to spend on concerts, so you have to be careful with what tours you book.”
‘Always competitive’
When Humphreys debuted in the early 1980s, San Diego was a much smaller concert market than it is now and there were far fewer venues. The growth of the San Diego market has been especially pronounced in recent years.
Since 2021, no fewer than four major new concert venues have opened here, starting with the San Diego Symphony’s Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in 2021. It was followed by UC San Diego’s Epstein Family Amphitheater in 2022, The Sound in Del Mar in 2023 and FrontWave Arena in Oceanside just last fall.
“It’s always been a competitive industry and we’ve always had to compete with other venues,” Bartell acknowledged.
“Of the new venues, The Shell has been the most competitive with us for some of the same acts. The Shell is outdoors on the bay, and so is Humphreys. But we are more intimate and we’ve been here for more than 40 years.”
The Shell’s 4,500-seat capacity for most concerts makes it slightly more than three times as large as the 1,450 capacity at Humphreys.
Some acts that previously performed almost annually at Humphreys, such as the Beach Boys and Gipsy Kings, have played several times at The Shell since it opened four years ago. Conversely, Costello and Pink Martini are returning to Humphreys this season after doing their most recent San Diego concerts at The Shell.
“Sometimes I’ll get shows for Humphreys, sometimes I’ll lose them to another venue, but you still have to put your season together,” Wojas said. “I used to compete with Humphreys, back when I booked the Viejas Concerts in the Park series in Alpine. We took a lot of acts that were traditional Humphreys acts, like Jackson Browne, Kenny G and Bill Cosby, and paid them more to play (at Viejas)”
Over the years, Bartell has seen a number of short-lived venues spring up and offer higher fees to lure acts away from Humphreys, including (briefly in the 1980s) the neighboring Kona Kai hotel on Shelter Island. Of the seven concerts currently d for the Viejas Concerts in the Park series that Wojas used to exclusively book, only one — Cheap Trick — has previously performed at Humphreys.
“With all the concert tours that come here, there is — to some extent — the potential for venues to cannibalize each other,” Bartell said.
“When there are so many acts playing here at different venues in pretty much the same time period, the consumer will be more discerning and only go to the shows that really matter to them. That’s inevitable when a concert market becomes so saturated. So, the key for us each year is to have a truly diverse lineup that has something for everybody. And I think we do.”
Humphreys Concerts by the Bay 2025 schedule
All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. and are reserved seating unless otherwise indicated. Concerts marked GA/SRO are general ission, standing room only. Tickets for concerts marked ** went on sale prior to today’s season announcement. Visit humphreysconcerts.com/.
Sunday, April 6: Drew & Ellie Holcomb, 8 p.m., $48.50**
Wednesday, April 9: Stereophonics, with Witches East (GA/SRO), $40**
Sunday, April 27: UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, $77.50**
Friday, May 9: Toro y Moi & Panda Bear, with Kassie Krut, (GA/SRO), $58.50**
Saturday, May 10: Ziggy Alberts, (GA/SRO), $37.50**
Tuesday, May 13: Diana Krall, 8 p.m., $115**
Wednesday, May 14: Warren Haynes Band, $58.50**
Thursday, May 15: Chris Isaak, with special guest Nicole Atkins, $108
Thursday, May 22: Three Dog Night, with TD Lind, $67.50
Friday, May 23: Thievery Corporation, $87.50**
Wednesday, May 28: Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, sold out
Tuesday, June 3: Trevor Hall, with Fruit Bats, (GA/SRO), $59**
Friday, June 6: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, 8 p.m., $47.50
Saturday, June 7: Stephen Marley, $60.50
Sunday, June 8: Boney James, $71.50
Thursday, June 12, and Friday, June 13: The California Honeydrops, with The Dip, (GA/SRO), 7 p.m., $55**
Thursday, June 19: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Brandy Clark, 7 p.m., $77.50**
Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21: Yacht Rock Revue, $44.50**
Monday, June 23: A.J. Croce, 8 p.m., $66**
Tuesday, June 24: Elvis Costello & The Imposters, featuring Charlie Sexton, $159.50**
Friday, July 11: “Happy Together” tour, featuring The Turtles, Jay & The Americans, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Vogues and The Cowsills, $67.50
Thursday, July 24: Fitz & The Tantrums, (GA/SRO), $46
Friday, July 25: “Invincible – A Glorious Michael Jackson Tribute,” 8 p.m., $51
Sunday, July 27: “The Fab Four – USA Meets The Beatles,” 8 p.m., $52.50
Friday, Aug. 1: Tom Papa, $54
Friday, Aug. 15: Keb’ Mo’ & Shawn Colvin, $70
Sunday, Aug. 17: Anjelah Johnson Reyes, 5 and 8:30 p.m. $57.50**
Monday, Aug. 18: Tennis, with Alice Phoebe Lou, (GA/SRO), $45**
Saturday, Aug. 23: Sam Barber, (GA/SRO), $42
Sunday, Aug. 24: Pink Martini, featuring China Forbes, 8 p.m., $72.50**
Tuesday, Aug. 26: Burton Cummings, $72 (on sale 10 a.m. Saturday)
Friday, Aug. 29: Dave Koz & Friends’ Summer Horns, $72.50
Sunday, Aug. 31: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, $62**
Monday, Sept. 1: Hiatus Kaiyote, $56
Thursday, Sept. 4: The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, with Bobby Rush, $72
Friday, Sept. 5: Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, 8 p.m., $117.50
Saturday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7: Jackson Browne, $141.50
Tuesday, Sept. 9: MJ Lenderman & The Wind, with Nap Eyes, (GA/SRO), $42.50**
Thursday, Sept. 11: Grand Funk Railroad, $57.50
Sunday, Sept. 14: Ani DiFranco, with Tune-Yards, $51
Saturday, Sept. 20: The Temptations and The Four Tops, $84
Friday, Sept. 26: “The Concert – A Tribute to Abba,” 8 p.m., $61
Wednesday, Oct. 1: Samara Joy, $47.50
Thursday, Oct. 2: “Rumours of Fleetwood Mac,” $44
Friday, Oct. 3: The Dandy Warhols, with Kula Shaker, (GA/SRO), $44
Sunday, Oct. 5: Air Supply, $96
Friday, Oct. 17: Pinback, $47.50
Sunday, Oct. 19: Keali’i Reichel, $66
Wednesday, Oct. 22: Boz Scaggs, $125
Saturday, Oct. 25: Oingo Boingo Former , Dramarama, and The Untouchables, 7 p.m. $94.50
Saturday, Nov. 1: G Flip, (GA/SRO), $37.50
Sunday, Nov. 2: Little River Band, $69
Wednesday, Nov. 5: Aly & AJ, (GA/SRO), $47
Saturday, Nov. 8: America, $120
All shows not marked ** go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 15 at the Humphreys Restaurant box office, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, or online at ticketmaster.com. For most of the concerts there will be a first-day sales limit of 12 tickets per show, per person, with a 10-show maximum. The exceptions are noted on the Ticketmaster website.
hotel and dinner packages are available through Ticketmaster and at the Humphreys Restaurant box office. The box office will be open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, and Sunday, March 16. After March 16, the box office will be open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The restaurant’s box office charges a $3-per-ticket service fee, but all Ticketmaster charges are waived. Ticket prices listed include a $2.50 facility fee.
