Pano: Strength of Strings in Santa Barbara’s Music Scene

Spring Has Sprung into One Long Music Festival

This edition of Pano was originally emailed to subscribers on March 23, 2022. To receive Charles Donelan’s arts newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

WORLDS COLLIDE

Spring 2022 is turning into one long music festival in Santa Barbara. With assistance from CAMA, the Music Academy of the West has captured the London Symphony for the better part of a week and three different concerts at the Granada between Thursday, March 24, and Sunday, March 27. The Santa Barbara Symphony just delivered a blow-away “Sonic Boom” with organist Cameron Carpenter over the weekend of March 19-20. Opera Santa Barbara puts a string quartet in the service of two exquisite voices in their production of As One, which will be at the Lobero on Friday, March 25, and Sunday, March 27.
Looking ahead to the first weekend in April, the Santa Barbara Bowl plays host to another kind of stringed instrument virtuoso, the young bluegrass phenomenon Billy Strings. Strings will play two nights, Saturday-Sunday, April 9-10, with his outstanding group. With two Grammy nominations to his name and the awards ceremony scheduled for April 3, you will have a chance to either cheer Strings on or cheer him up at what promises to be a memorable night.