ON Culture | Rockin’ Around the Holiday Season

---

This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on November 21, 2025. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

---

ON the Stage

Single tickets go on sale today for the Broadway in Santa Barbara series at the Granada, which kicks off next week with Kinky Boots (Dec. 9-10). I got to talk to Omari Collins, who stars as Lola, and can’t wait to see the show, which features music by Cyndi Lauper, (read here). Tickets are now available for Pilobolus: Other Worlds Collection, Hadestown, and Blue Man Group as well. See granadasb.org.

It’s early days yet, but the Santa Barbara Bowl season for 2026 is shaping up to be another fun one with Train and special guests Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson coming to town on August 22; Rainbow Kitten Surprise on July 19; and Jack Johnson doing two nights in town October 3 and 4. You can’t go wrong with a gift of concert tickets, and there are many more announcements to come. See sbbowl.org.

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) tickets are also a great gift. They’ve added a few things lately, including Sierra Hull, the mandolin virtuoso and roots rock star. The six-time Bluegrass Music Association Mandolin Player of the Year is nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2026 including Best American Roots Song and Best Bluegrass Album and will be in town on April 16. Also added to the A&L offerings are Blues legend Taj Mahal, winner of the 2025 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album, and Patty Griffin, two-time Grammy winner and Americana Lifetime Achievement honoree, for a night of roots music at its finest on February 17. 

See artsandlectures.ucsb.edu for both of these events and more.

Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus returns to the Lobero on December 9 for what promises to be a warm and heartfelt celebration of belonging, chosen family, and the magic of the holiday season that will delight audiences from all walks of life. With signature harmonies, humor, and heart, the Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus creates a one-night homecoming filled with warmth, laughter, and light. No Place Like Home is not just a concert; it is a reminder that home is not a place, but the people who welcome you in. Click here for details.

---

ON the Page

Crying in H Mart, by Japanese Breakfast lead singer Michelle Zauner, is UCSB Reads pick for the 2026 book and it’s a great choice. A series of personal essays, the book chronicles her coming of age and complex family dynamics, showing how she navigates the profound grief of a parent’s illness and death by embracing the traditions that define her as one of the few Asian-Americans in her Oregon hometown. Click here to read more about the book and here to read my interview with Zauner before her Santa Barbara Bowl show last summer. She’ll be back in town on May 7 to talk about the book (details here).

I love to read, but I’m also a big fan of audiobooks and am always curious to see what the most popular ones are. In my experience, a great read doesn’t always translate to a great audiobook experience, but it also works the other way. Sometimes books that are excellent on audio don’t stand up as well on the page.

According to Libro.fm the top 10 audiobooks of 2025 are:

1. Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green, narrated by John Green (Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group) (didn’t read but am curious)
2. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry, narrated by Julia Whelan (Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group) (listened to it and liked it)
3. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, narrated by Rebecca Soler, Teddy Hamilton, Justis Bolding, and Jasmin Walker (Recorded Books, Inc.)
   (didn’t read, romantacy isn’t really my jam, but I do keep trying from time to time since it’s so popular)
4. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, narrated by Jefferson White (Scholastic Inc.)
   (prequel to the Hunger Games, I will probably listen to it at some point)
5. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, narrated by Kristen DiMercurio, Julia Whelan, and Taylor Jenkins Reid (Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group) (read it and liked it, but not nearly as much as some of her other books)
6. Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab, narrated by Julia Whelan, Katie Leung, and Marisa Calin (Macmillan Audio) (didn’t read but am curious)
7. Katabasis by R. F. Kuang, narrated by Morag Sims and Will Watt (Harper Voyager)
   (fantasy book, not really my thing)
8. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, narrated by Sarah Wynn-Williams (Macmillan Audio)
   (memoir by a former director of public policy at Facebook, on my holds list at the library — I’m not a big nonfiction reader, but I find audiobooks a more compelling way to consume them)
9. My Friends by Fredrik Backman, narrated by Marin Ireland (Simon & Schuster Audio)
   (I read and loved this book — and pretty much everything Backman writes)
10. A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna, narrated by Samara MacLaren (Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group) (another one on my library holds list)
    

---

ON the Walls

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Artist Benjamin Kendall has a nostalgic collection of paintings representing some of Santa Barbara’s iconic spots on view at a pop-up gallery this month, from December 6 to December 30, at 3114 State Street. Titled The Place To Be, you can learn more about him at benkendall.com.

ON the Playlist

Chordify recently released a survey of America’s top Christmas songs and found there’s been a bit of a shakeup. Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” reclaimed the top spot from Mariah Carey across ten states. But José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” became the fastest-growing Christmas hit of the year, fueled by TikTok remixes, nostalgic playlists, and a new generation of guitar and piano players looking up “Feliz Navidad chords” and “how to play Feliz Navidad on guitar.”

My colleague and pal Joe Woodard just released his second solo guitar album, The Fine Art of Forgetting. He calls it “ambient dinner music” and a collection of compact guitar pieces both vintage and freshly-cooked, connected by a loosely spun theme of inspirations drawn from dreams and memory scapes. As is necessary these days, the album lives in both the digital (bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Soundcloud) and CD (Discogs, Amazon, Household Ink Products page) realms.

---

ON the Wish List

Looking for a special gift for a creative person in your life? Artist Baret Boisson’s newest “Art is Life” session is titled “Fairies and Mermaids and Magical Muses.” Taking place in her Carpinteria art studio on Monday, December 15, from 4:30-7:30 p.m., Baret says, “we will be calling on magical muses to awaken our sense of playful creativity. If Fairies and Mermaids and Magical Muses exist, they will be in the studio, inviting you to put away your logical brain and to instead call in the muses.To illustrate what I mean, I barely had a thought while creating my latest painting. Instead, something greater than myself alighted on the canvas through me and my brushes. When that happens, it really does feel like magic, and I think that this piece actually captures that magic.”

Meant to invite playfulness, curiosity and creativity, no painting experience is necessary to participate. A myriad of adornments, tasty beverages, organic wine, and dinner featuring organic salad and our favorite pizzas from Tina’s Pizza in Carpinteria are all included for this immersive, meditative, and playful experience. Click here for more information or to sign up.

---

ON the Web

For those of you who aren’t regular watchers of David Starkey’s TVSB show The Creative Community, he has a particularly funny recent episode with filmmaker Zak Klobucher (Z.A.K. a k a my husband) about the new film Doug by Z.A.K., the comedic story of a 50-something man who decides to become an influencer. I am somewhat biased, but it’s worth checking out at youtu.be/z9rc8KSxzb4?si=eA0HyQMqoV-cvmEF.

---

ON the Calendar

Mystery After Dark, a very special mystery book sale hosted by Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library, has a special evening coming on Friday, December 12, at Central Library, where your $25 ticket gains early access to a huge selection of mystery novels, from beloved classics to hidden gems, before the public sale opens the following day, Saturday, December 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also on view will be Art From the Pages*, a special exhibit celebrating creativity, sustainability, and the magic of books! Enjoy wine and light refreshments, browse freely, and support the Friends of the Library. Click here for details.

*Art From the Pages is a special exhibit celebrating creativity, sustainability, and the magic of books. The organizers are seeking artwork crafted from recycled book pages or other repurposed book materials — think paper wreaths, collages, folded book sculptures, trees, or papier-mâché creations. Let your imagination turn old stories into new works of art. See friends-sblibrary.org for more information about participating.

For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events/.