What are the best albums of 2024? Here are our picks.
Our picks for the best albums of 2024 come from Andra Day, Bilal, Willie Nelson, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Fontaines D.C., Laura Marling, St. Vincent and other gifted artists.
All Stories
What were the most memorable San Diego concerts of 2024? Here are 8 of our favorites
Our picks range from Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Mavis Staples and Bruce Springsteen to The Roots, Dominic Fike, Kingfish Ingram and Chris Stapleton
Rock of ages: 2024 was a banner year for music by artists in their 20s, 80s and beyond
Can Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan have the career longevity of Smokey Robinson, Patti LaBelle, the Rolling Stones and 91-year-old Willie Nelson? Time will tell.
The three San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week
It remains to be seen if playing up her sex appeal will benefit or hinder Connie Han's quest for major jazz stardom. But there is no doubt this virtuoso pianist...
San Diego’s Wonderfront music festival to expand after acquisition by La Jolla’s Events.com
San Diego's Wonderfront music festival has been acquired by Events.com, which will expand and enhance the event
James Taylor’s 2025 tour includes two San Diego shows. Here are all the dates.
The storied singer-songwriter and his All-Star Band will perform 8 California concerts, including two at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.
The San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week, including the return of Will Smith
How many Grammy-winning-rappers-turned-TV-sitcom-stars-turned-Oscar-winning-superstars are set to perform at San Diego's 1,000-capacity North Park Observatory? Take a bow, Will Smith.
‘The Energy Curfew Music Hour’ a labor of love for married creators Chris Thile and Claire Coffee
The endearingly quirky new online series features James Taylor, Norah Jones, Jon Batiste and other musical pals, plus a vision of a down-to-earth, old-fashioned future.
Judy Collins, a happy workaholic at 85, talks music, sobriety and testifying at 1968’s Chicago 7 trial
Judy Collins, now 85. is at work on a Broadway musical, a new album and several new books. "You keep getting up in the morning with bright eyes and new...
Four San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week
Our picks include Greyboy Allstars at Belly Up, Leslie Odom Jr. at Jacobs Music Center, Acid Cole Trio at Tio Leo's, and 2z at Brick by Brick
Billy Childs scores high in jazz, classical and more: ‘It doesn’t matter what genre it is.’
The veteran keyboardist and composer credits Keith Emerson of prog-rock pioneers Emerson, Lake & Palmer as a major inspiration
Review: Cyndi Lauper let her true colors shine as she bopped time after time at her San Diego farewell concert
Cyndi Lauper is just eight concerts away from concluding the U.S. leg of her "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour." But this 71-year-old Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winning vocal...
Three San Diego concerts you definitely don’t want to miss this weekend
“A Tribute to Ella, Billie and Sarah” Years before mononyms became standard fare for the likes of Elvis, Bono and Beyonce, vocal giants Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan...
Rock, pop, jazz, Latin and country acts will bring sounds of the season
Artists set to perform around San Diego County include Leslie Odom Jr., Joyce DiDonato, Jake Shimabukuro and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Average White Band bidding farewell after 52 years: ‘It’s bittersweet’ says co-founder Alan Gorrie
Retiring after 52 years is "bittersweet" for Average White Band co-founder Alan Gorrie. But he is adamant that the chart=topping soul and funk band from Scotland is stopping at the...
Award-winning San Diego singer-songwriter Paul Kamanski dies at 68
Crafting vivid stories with his music was an enduring ions for San Carlos native Paul Kamanski, whose best-known songs were recorded and popularized on albums by the globe-trotting San Diego...
Four San Diego concerts you absolutely don’t want to miss this week
Our picks include Patti Labelle, Charles Mherson, Sara Petite and the Pat Bianchi Organ Trio
Review: Sabrina Carpenter gets fizzy with it at her flirty San Diego concert
Buoyed by the seven Grammy Award nominations she received last week, Sabrina Carpenter's sold-out Sunday show earned deafening cheers from the sold-out crowd of 11,000.
2025 Grammy nominees include La Jolla’s Alicia Keys, Oceanside’s Shemekia Copeland and other San Diegans
Also nominated are former San Diegans Eddie Vedder, Gregory Porter and Anoushka Shankar and the Broadway soundtrack for La Jolla Playhouse-born "The Outsiders"
Grammys 2025: Top nominees include Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift
Beyonce or Taylor Swift? The Beatles or the Rolling Stones? Kendrick Lamar or Post Malone? Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Roan? Dolly Parton or former president Jimmy Carter? Friday morning's announcement...
Quincy Jones bonded with me over a shared trait: Neither of us knew how to drive
Music legend Quincy Jones, who died Sunday at the age of 91, was a lifelong pedestrian. He was delighted to learn, during a 1996 interview, that his non-driver status was...
Appreciation: Quincy Jones, dead at 91, knew no musical boundaries
The Grammy Award-winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and multimedia powerhouse ed away Nov. 3 at his Los Angeles home
The 2024 San Diego Music Hall of Fame inductees cover many bases. Here are their stories
The 2024 San Diego Music Hall of Fame inductees include Peter Sprague, Cathryn Beeks, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Electric Waste Band, Jim Plank, and, posthumously, Tomcat Courtney and Daniel Jackson. They...
San Diego band As I Lay Dying rocked by more controversy as four abruptly quit
The future of Grammy-nominated San Diego metalcore band As I Lay Dying is in doubt after four abruptly quit. The group made international headlines in 2013 when its lead...
Harry Partch’s priceless musical instruments return to San Diego after 33-year odyssey
The unconventional composer, who died here in 1974, hand-built dozens of one-of-a-kind instruments designed specifically to play his unique, other-worldly music. Tom Wats and Paul Simon are longtime irers of...
Review: San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival kicks off with borders-blurring verve
The debut edition of the San Diego Tijuana international Jazz Festival opened with performances by Cindy Blackman Santana, the Gilbert Castellanos All-Star Band, Gerald Clayton and Magos Herrera.It is billed...
The four most intriguing San Diego concerts of the week
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Eric Clapton, a source of controversy in recent years, performs at Pechanga Arena. Tom Jones will sing at SDSU.
Festival Internacional de Jazz de San Diego Tijuana: Aquí te contamos quiénes se presentarán, cuándo y dónde
Con un total de 11 presentaciones de ocho artistas que se llevarán a cabo a ambos lados de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México
Appreciation: Music great Kris Kristofferson, dead at 88: ‘I was a janitor for a couple of years.’
A music star who became a movie star, Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot and one of the finest singer-songwriters of his generation.
Music review: Green Day celebrated at its Petco Park concert in San Diego
Green Day and its fans happily looked back to the band's landmark 1904 and 2004 albums during the pop-punk band's Saturday concert at San Diego's Petco Park.
Cindy Blackman Santana delighted to headline San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival
Drum dynamo has collaborated with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Chris Stapleton to Snoop Dogg in her career
San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival: Here’s who is performing, and when and where.
Performers at the San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival will include Cindy Blackman Santana, Gerald Clayton, Magos Herrera, Gilbert Castellanos, Nortec Jazz Experience and more.
Green Day at Petco Park: 15 things to know if you’re going to Saturday’s concert
The lineup for the nearly sold-out show includes Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas
The San Diego concerts you definitely won’t want to miss this week and next
Our picks include Marquis Hill at UC San Diego, Kacey Musgraves, Nickel Creek and Father John Misty at Pechanga Arena.
Paul McCartney & Wings 1974 film to screen Saturday. These are the San Diego-area theaters where you can watch it.
"One Hand Clapping" will make its cinematic debut, 50 years late, on Saturday. It will screen in San Diego, Tijuana and Murrieta for just one night.
Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gaffigan announce 2025 arena tour that is headed to San Diego
The laughs won't come cheap. Ticket prices for their t Pechanga Arena San Diego performance range from $92.51 to $627.
This acoustician is transforming the San Diego Symphony’s sound. Here’s how.
Paul Scarbrough and the design and restoration company HGA worked together closely to reinvent the acoustics in Jacobs Music Center
The four San Diego concerts you absolutely won’t want to miss this week
Our picks include The Zeros at the 42nd annual Adams Avenue Street Fair, triple-Grammy-winner Samara Joy at CCAE, guitar wizard Julian Lage at the Belly Up and the Intrepid Jazz...
The Rolling Stones, Gregg Allman and Etta James are among the legends who performed at the Belly Up
More than 30 other Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees have played at the 600-seat venue, which turns 50 this month. Here's who else is on the list.
A hairdryer for Stevie Nicks? A running track for Mick Jagger? The Belly Up’s 50-year history transcends music
The 600-capacity music venue in San Diego's North County has hosted some of the world's biggest music acts.
The three San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week
Our picks include the U.S. debut concert by 18-year-old Irish blues and ragtime champion Muireann Bradley.
Pink and Sheryl Crow at Petco Park: 15 things to know if you go to their San Diego show Wednesday
Pink and Sheryl Crow head the lineup for Wednesday's Petco Park concert. Here's everything you should know before you go to the show.
Fall Arts Preview 2024: Ivan Trujillo trumpets jazz and music education in Ensenada, San Diego and beyond
The musician will perform with several bands and lead his student ensemble at the inaugural San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival
Fall Arts Preview 2024: Our top concert picks for the season
Choices abound, from Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges, Nickel Creek and Richard Thompson to the debut of the San Diego Tijuana International Jazz Festival
The 4 San Diego concerts you absolutely don’t want to miss this weekend
Now 84, Ringo Starr will open his 2024 fall concert tour with his All Starr Band with a Sept. 7 San Diego show at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
Will $85 million Frontwave Arena put Oceanside on map for concerts as well as sporting events?
Olympics gymnastics champion Simone Biles will open Frontwave Arena in Oceanside in mid-September. The $85 million venue is entirely privately owned.
Danlee Mitchell, a nationally acclaimed San Diego music treasure, is dead at 87
Danlee Mitchell stood out as the leader of the famed Harry Partch Ensemble, as a music professor at San Diego State University, and as a top percussionist with the San...
A playlist of songs to listen to at the beach, inspired by San Diego
From Imperial Beach to Oceanside, San Diego County's historic piers set the scene at local beaches, and this playlist sets the sound
The 5 San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week
Our picks include The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis at Soda Bar, Tower of Power at Humphreys,, Nathan and Noah East at the Jazz at the Creek festival, Sylvie Simmons...
Def Leppard, Journey, Steve Miller Band: 15 things to know if you are going to today’s Petco Park concert
Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Def Leppard, Journey and the Steve Miller Band are on tour and headed to San Diego's Petco Park. Here's everything you need to know...
Exclusive: San Diego Symphony set for new era, after $125 million-plus concert hall redesign
The orchestra returns next month to downtown's Jacobs Music Center, a 95-year-old venue that still looks historic but sounds brand new
San Diego Symphony’s season is most extensive in orchestra’s history
The orchestra's season at Jacobs Music Center includes Alisa Weilerstein, Emanuel Ax and Michael Tilson Thomas
Inside the San Diego Symphony’s eye-popping $125 million-plus concert hall redesign
A by-the-numbers inside look at what has gone into reimagining the soon-to-open Jacobs Music Center concert.
Steve Miller, after collaborating with Eminem, on tour with Journey and Def Leppard
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee is still going strong at 80
3 San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week
Gary Clark Jr. and Suzanne Santo at The Shell; Santana and Counting Crows in Chula Vista; and the free "Celebrate Ameri'Kana" festival at UCSD
The five San Diego concerts you definitely should not miss this week
Our picks include Dionne Warwick at Pechanga Resort Casino, Claudia Villela and Romero Lumbambo at Bread and Salt, Son Little at the Casbah. former Miles Davis keyboardist Kei Akagi at...
From Weezer tribute band to real-life Smash Mouth, singer Zach Goode rocks on
Smash Mouth's new singer, Zach Goode, spent years with such San Diego indie-rock bands as Ghoulspoon and Geezer
Woodstock retrospective: Our readers share their memories of the landmark 1969 music festival
Woodstock was "one of the most memorable experiences in my life," says one reader. The festival featured such rock icons as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin and Grateful Dead.
The three San Diego concerts you don’t want to miss this week
Our picks include Jason Marz and his Superband, with the San Diego Symphony, at The Shell, Mali's guitar-driven Tinariwen at the Music Box, and jazz pianist and computer programmer Dan...
Woodstock’s legacy: Reflections from musicians who played at the festival in 1969
Woodstock on their mind: Keith Richards, Jaan Baez, Chris Stapleton, Wynton Marsalis, Diamanda Galas, Carlos Santana and other artists tell us what Woodstock means to them. Billy Joel walked out...
Woodstock’s muddled legacy: Peace and love in 1969, riots in 1999
The festival debuted peacefully in 1969 and returned in 1994 as well as a violence-marred 1999 event
Foo Fighters at Petco Park: 15 things to know if you are going to tonight’s San Diego concert
A few hundred extra tickets went on sale Tuesday for what had previously been a sold-out show
Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’ is, at 65, a shape-shifting album that transcends time and genre
His legion of fans include Lana Del Rey, John Legend, Kendrick Lamar, Radiohead, Carlos Santana and more
The five San Diego concerts you definitely should not miss in the coming week
Our top picks include Mavis Staples, Norah Jones, Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys, all at The Shell; the Chase Morrin Trio at Tio Leo's; and Frank Zappa's oldest son,...
KAABOO’s latest stumble: Festival’s Del Mar return pushed back to next year
The upscale annual music marathon was held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds from 2015-2019. It has been dormant since then and mired in multiple lawsuits.
Review: Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan provide stellar night at San Diego concert
Their Outlaw Music Festival performance was a life-affirming musical delight by the two American music icons. John Mellencamp and Brittney Spencer also performed
The three San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week
Top San Diego concert picks this week include jazz sax great Charles Mherson's 85th birthday celebration, the Boston-bred band Lake Street Dive and disco-funk stalwarts KC & The Sunshine Band...
Appreciation: John Mayall, dead at 90, was pivotal in careers of Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac and more
John Mayall's death Monday at the age of 90 from undisclosed causes came less than three months before he was to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of...
San Diego Music Hall of Fame announces its 2024 inductees
The 2024 San Diego Music Hall of Fame inductees include Peter Sprague, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Cathryn Beeks, Jim Plank, Electric Waste Band and, posthumously, Tomcat Courtney and Daniel Jackson
Jewel shines anew as mental health care champion and multimedia artist
The Alaska-born troubadour is now on tour with Melissa Etheridge. Jewel credits her early days in San Diego as pivotal to her career. 'I've never been a critic's darling," she...
Melissa Etheridge craves challenges, be it singing in a prison or giving Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi a run for their money
Two-time Grammy Award-winner Melissa Etheridge, now on a t-tour with Jewel, bonded with five inmates at Topeka Correctional Facility in her native Kansas. She based her new song, "A Burning...
Appreciation: Bob Newhart, dead at 94. ‘Standup comedians are basically anarchists,’ he told us
Bob Newhart, the legendary comedian who died Thursday at 94, was clearly not the retiring type. The legendary comedian would have been out on the road touring in the spring...
The three San Diego concerts you shouldn’t miss this week
Our picks include: Barrington Levy at San Diego Bayfest, which is headlined by Sublime; jazz drum great Peter Erskine and his band at the Athenaeum; and acclaimed troubadours Dave Alvin...
Is 1974 the third-best year ever for albums? Our readers weigh in with their favorites
Your choices range from Joe Walsh, Phoebe Snow, David Bowie and Sparks to Joni Mitchell, Pharaoh Sanders, Santana, Leo Sayer, and much more.
Review: Rolling Stones defy, and define, rock of ages at life-affirming SoFi Stadium concert
The band, led by singer Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, both 80, performed a 20-song, two-hour show that seemed to transcend time. Jagger, who sang well and was constantly in...
Four San Diego concerts you surely won’t want to miss this week
This week's top San Diego concert picks include Marty Stuart at Sycuan, Alejandro Escovedo at the Belly Up, Jake Xerxes Fussell and Robin Holcomb at the Casbah, and Gene Perry...
The San Diego concerts you definitely don’t want to miss this week
Our picks include Harry Connick Jr. at The Shell, The Artistocrats at Ramona Mainstage, and the third anniversary weekend at The Jazz Lounge with Leonard Patton, Peter Sprague and Curtis...
Concert review: blink-182 performs act of magic at Petco Park San Diego homecoming show
The sold-out show, which also featured San Diego's Pierce The Veil and England's Hot Milk, was a welcome victory lap for the Poway-bred blink. The usually brash three-man band concluded...
San Diego Street Scene: Our readers share their favorite memories of the homegrown music festival
The festival, which ran from 1984 to 2009, featured everyone from James Brown, Sheryl Crow and R.E.M. to Buckwheat Zydeco, B.B. King and the Beat Farmers
Is 1974 the third-best year ever for great albums? From Bob Marley to Joni Mitchell, you tell us!
Best albums from 1974 include discs by King Crimson, Gram Parsons, Randy Newman, Ann Peebles, and dozens more.
Appreciation: Kinky Friedman, dead at 79. ‘You have to be miserable to write a good song’ he told us.
San Diego's Mojo Nixon was a close friend and collaborator of Freidman. So were Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan.
15 things to know if you are going to blink-182’s Petco Park concert Sunday
Tips on parking, public transit, tickets and more at Sunday's blink-182 concert
San Diego concerts you absolutely won't want to miss this week
Our picks include the San Diego Black Arts + Culture Music Festival, Audra McDonald and the Java Joe's Reunion Show
Tom Jones and Andre 3000 announce San Diego concerts as part of their new tours
Two music legends, the Welsh singer and Atlanta rapper-turned-flutist, have announced their 2024 concert tours
Pulitzer Prize-winner Anthony Davis and Bodhi Tree announce 2026 world premiere of bilingual ‘Pancho Rabbit’ opera
The production, which will premiere in both San Diego and Tijuana, will be sung in English, Spanish and border slang
Lauryn Hill and The Fugees re-set anniversary tour; here are all the dates, including San Diego
Multiple Grammy Award-winners Lauryn Hill and The Fugees have announced a major 2024 concert tour that will stop in three California cities, including San Diego
ArtPower’s 21st season at UC San Diego will feature Fran Leibovitz, Aofie O’Donovan, Ocean Vuong and more
UC San Diego’s ArtPower will offer an outdoor bonus before kicking off its 21st season with October concerts by rising jazz trumpeter Marquis Hill and a pairing of Grammy Award-winning...
These are the San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss this week
Gregory Porter at the 6th annual San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival At 6 feet 4 inches tall, Gregory Porter is a towering presence on and off stage. A gentle giant,...
Andra Day sets 2024 tour, including San Diego concert at Humphreys. Here are all the dates
Tickets for will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time to the general public for all the shows on Day’s tour
Endless Sunsets one of five 2024 music festivals that will be held at San Diego’s Waterfront Park
The award-winning San Diego band Thee Sacred Souls will headline the debut edition of the Endless Sunsets music festival at downtown’s Waterfront Park on Aug. 3. The lineup for the...
La Jolla Music Society’s 2024-25 season will feature music and dance luminaries in nearly 70-show schedule
How does a performing arts organization follow the most extensive and well-attended season in its 56-year history — a season that featured Pulitzer Prize winner Rhiannon Giddens, opera legend Renée...
Switchfoot’s Bro-Am and two other San Diego concerts you won’t want to miss
There are few annual events more quintessentially Southern Californian than Switchfoot's annual Bro-Am.
La Jolla Music Society’s 66th season will feature Emanuel Ax, Wynton Marsalis, Twyla Tharp, Terence Blanchard and other greats
How does a performing arts organization follow the most extensive, star-studded and well-attended season in its 56-year history? Is it even possible to top a 55th anniversary season that has...
La Jolla Music Society’s 66th season will feature Emanuel Ax, Wynton Marsalis, Twyla Tharp, Terence Blanchard and other greats
How does a performing arts organization follow the most extensive, star-studded and well-attended season in its 56-year history? Is it even possible to top a 55th anniversary season that has...
La Jolla Music Society’s 66th season will feature Emanuel Ax, Wynton Marsalis, Twyla Tharp, Terence Blanchard and other greats
How does a performing arts organization follow the most extensive, star-studded and well-attended season in its 56-year history? Is it even possible to top a 55th anniversary season that has...
La Jolla Music Society’s 56th season will feature Emanuel Ax, Wynton Marsalis, Twyla Tharp, Terence Blanchard and other greats
How does a performing arts organization follow the most extensive, star-studded and well-attended season in its 56-year history? Is it even possible to top a 55th anniversary season that has...
San Diego County Fair 2024 Grandstand Stage concert picks cover an array of styles
The Euphoria Brass Band may not be the hardest-working band in show business, at least not yet. But this rollicking group's 11 performances between Wednesday and July 5 at the...
San Diego County Fair 2024 Grandstand Stage concert picks cover an array of styles
The Euphoria Brass Band may not be the hardest-working band in show business, at least not yet. But this rollicking group's 11 performances between Wednesday and July 5 at the...
San Diego County Fair 2024 Grandstand Stage concert picks cover an array of styles
The Euphoria Brass Band may not be the hardest-working band in show business, at least not yet. But this rollicking group's 11 performances between Wednesday and July 5 at the...
San Diego County Fair grandstand concert picks cover an array of styles
The Euphoria Brass Band may not be the hardest-working band in show business, at least not yet. But this rollicking group's 11 performances between Wednesday and July 5 at the...