Adams Avenue Street Fair, Now 41 Years Old And Still Free, Tops Our ... - The San Diego Union-Tribune

September 28, 2023 Coach Sevyn

When the Adams Avenue Street Fair celebrates its 41st annual edition Saturday and Sunday, it will be more than twice as old as some of the musicians performing at the free weekend.
Happily, there are few signs of middle-age stasis in this year’s lineup at the street fair, whose previous editions have featured everyone from the young No Doubt and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Andy Summers of The Police to El Vez, Iron Butterfly and former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor.
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After being shelved in 2020 and 2021, the two-day event returns this weekend to the streets of Normal Heights. The lineup include the Beat Farmers, Sara Petite, Whitney Shay and 63 more
Sept. 21, 2022
Moreover, the 2023 street fair will be bigger than ever, literally. Where previous editions covered seven blocks of Adams Avenue in Normal Heights and an adjoining one on Mansfield Street, this year’s iteration will add two more blocks on Adams. That will provide more space for attendees at the event, which last year numbered a combined 85,000 over both days, according to its organizers.
Better yet, this weekend’s roster of performers — 47 Saturday, 27 Sunday — boasts some of the strongest acts the street fair has had in some time. With the forecast for both days calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, it’s a doubly alluring opportunity to enjoy performances on six outdoor stages (and another partially enclosed in the restaurant Vibe).
Moreover, the 2023 street fair will be bigger than ever, literally.
Where previous editions covered seven blocks of Adams Avenue in Normal Heights and an adjoining one on Mansfield Street, this year’s iteration will add on two more blocks on Adams. That will provide more room for attendees — last year’s edition of the street fair drew about 85,000 people over two days, according to Scott Kessler of the Adams Avenues Business Association, under whose auspices the fair is presented.
The family-friendly Fern Street Circus, returning to the Adams Avenue event for the first time in a decade or two, will perform adjacent to the carnival rides on the Adams Avenue Elementary School Recreation Field.
New to the otherwise free event is the 21-and-up Cannabis Row, which has a $5 admission fee. Featuring the wares of several dozen cannabis-related exhibitors, it will be held inside the 101-year-old Adams Avenue Theater.
In the first half of the 1980s, the recently refurbished venue was the site of concerts by everyone King Sunny Ade to The Psychedelic Furs. From 1986 to 2017, the theater housed a yarn and fabric store. It only reopened as a live events venue in December, 2022.
With or without any pot-related attractions, the music remains the street fair’s big draw. And this year’s lineup does not lack for firepower, with the aural offerings including an array of San Diego’s finest, plus some attractions from out of town.
Saturday’s lineup includes the soul-shaking Earl Thomas & The Gospel Ambassadors; the roots-rocking Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys; acid-jazz mainstays The Price of Dope; the Americana-championing Chloe Lou & The Liddells; and the ever-animated Lucy’s Fur Coat, which formed in 1990, broke up in 1999, and has since reunited periodically.
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His upcoming studio album, ‘Church Music,’ will be followed by a live gospel album that will be recorded in November at the 31st annual London Jazz Festival
Sept. 10, 2023
Also performing Saturday are punk veterans The Avengers, which in early 1978 was the opening act for the Sex Pistols final concert before the Pistols imploded. The current iteration of The Avengers featuring Zeros bassist Hector Peñalosa and Afflicted drummer Daryl Bach.
Sunday will feature twangy country songstress Sara Petite and her band; the genre-blurring Montablan Quintet; Sue Palmer & Her Motel Swing Orchestra and Latin-jazz favorites Quinteto Caballero.
Of particular interest Sunday is Miniaturized, an all-star San Diego group whose 2023 debut album would be a standout in any year. The band is led by Buckfast Superbee alum Timothy Joseph. Its drummer, Chris Prescott, will also perform Sunday with the Montabalan Quintet.
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Adams Avenue between 32nd Street and 37th Street. Free to all ages; craft beer tasting tickets (for attendees 21 and up) are $30; Cannabis Row tickets (also for attendees 21 and up) are $5. adamsavenuebusinessass.com/adams-avenue-street-fair/

It’s been a decade since Gayle Skidmore won the 2013 San Diego Music Award in the Best Singer-Songwriter category.
A classically trained pianist who has a degree in theology, she played no fewer than 20 instruments on her arresting debut album “Make Believe.”
Now based in the Netherlands — and with close to 3,000 original songs to her credit — Skidmore won’t lack for selections to choose from when she performs a homecoming gig here this weekend.
7:30 p.m. Sunday. The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. $12 (must be 21 or older to attend). casbahmusic.com

Standing out from the shadow cast by a famous musical parent is rarely easy, as Taylor McFerrin can no doubt attest.
The Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter is the daughter of vocal wizard Bobby McFerrin, whose 1988 hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” remains the only a cappella song to top the U.S. singles charts.
Taylor is now on tour to promote her debut album, “I Hope You Can Forgive Me.” It features an atmospheric blend of contemporary R&B, trip-hop, electro-pop, gospel and more.
What results suggests that, with more time to hone a distinctive style, she could establish herself as a force in her own right — just as her brother, fellow singer Taylor McFerrin — has been doing.
8 p.m. Thursday. The Loft at UC San Diego, 3500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. $30 (general admission), $40 (reserved seating). artpower.ucsd.edu
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