ON Culture | Lizzo, Lil Nas X, and Literary Gumbo 2.0
This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on April 12, 2024. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.
ON The Walls
The annual jury competition Aquatic 2023 opens June 3 at Second Fridays Art at Santa Barbara Tennis Club. More than 40 artists will present a variety of creative works inspired by the theme of aquatic life, everything from marine environments and water sports to backyard pools, fish, and birds, as well as environmental issues. The opening reception and awards take place on June 9 from 4:30-6 p.m. at Santa Barbara Tennis Club, where the exhibition will remain up until July 5.
ON The Stage
I just got back from an amazing long weekend at Napa Valley’s BottleRock festival. By the time you read this, my story will be up at Independent.com. But meanwhile, here is a peek at some of the incredible acts I saw.
From the flowing arpeggios of Spanish guitar to the thrilling sounds of that gaita and the exciting rhythms of Andalusia, the music of Spain takes the spotlight at the Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara’s next performances, taking place Saturday and Sunday June 10-11. I was blown away by their Irish show in March and am looking forward to hearing what this lively gaggle of 30-plus musicians — all of whom are Santa Barbara–area community members — will have for us this time around. Reserve tickets here.
The Bowl concert announcements are still coming, including an October 14 date for indie rockers The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie. Electronic music artist and deejay Jimmy Tamborello (who also uses the name Dntel) of The Postal Service is a Santa Barbara native (from the San Marcos Class of ’92 — go Royals) and tickets are now on sale.
October really is going to be an incredible month for shows on the Central Coast. In addition to the Bowl’s previously announced Hozier (October 28), also now on sale are tickets for Ryan Adams & the Cardinals at The Arlington Theatre on October 7; the amazing guitarist Jesse Cook, back at the Lobero on October 18; and the Psychedelic Furs and Squeeze at Vina Robles Amphitheater on October 12.
ON The (Big) Screen
Jacob the Baker — a film based on the works of Noah benShea, the scholar, poet, philosopher, longtime Santa Barbara resident, and Pulitzer Prize–nominated author behind the Jacob books — was acquired for North American distribution by Buffalo 8, according to Deadline. The film, which was shot around the world by director Gev Miron, and which benShea appears in, follows the lives of people who are struggling with universal life issues, all of whom reach out to Jacob the Baker for help. It is currently in post-production.
ON The Air
Host Lisa Angle has a new podcast for writers that sounds promising. Literary Gumbo 2.0 takes a look at the world of writing, publishing, and book marketing. Her first episode is dedicated to the memory of the lovely gentleman Fred Klein (1923-2020) of Bantam Books fame, who was the host of the original Literary Gumbo TV. This premiere of the reboot launched on what would’ve been Fred’s 100th birthday, and Angle is joined by author and publisher Matt Pallamary as the first guest. You can also hear more from these two at their “Author Websites & Social Media” seminar at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
ON The Web
I was so traumatized by my childhood piano-lesson repetitions of endless scales, followed by “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” that when my son took guitar lessons in elementary school, I was amazed and impressed that they let him attempt Green Day music right off the bat. Now you can at least attempt to learn all kinds of music on the Internet, as a recent online survey by Ukulele World revealed. The most popular songs to attempt to learn on the ukelele are currently: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Riptide,” and good old “Jingle Bells.”
ON The Calendar
I have long been looking forward to Seared, the new Ensemble Theatre production about a brilliant, hot-headed chef. It opens June 8 and runs through June 25. Keep an eye out for Maggie Yates’s preview next week. Meanwhile, here are more details about the show.
For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events.
You must be logged in to post a comment.