ON Culture: So Long to the Mistress of the Morning Mojo

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ON the Air

KTYD’s reigning queen of the airwaves, Lin Aubuchon, is hanging up her headphones today after more than 25 years of sharing her sparkling Morning Mojo at 99.9 on our radio dials (remember those). We’ll dearly miss Lin’s dulcet tones and great sense of humor during our morning drives. As she told the Independent after winning Best of Santa Barbara honors in 2024, “Somebody once said, ‘It’s not where you work, but who you work with that makes a job worth going to every day.’ That sums it up for all of us here. We love our tribe. THEY are the heart and soul of KTYD.”

Lin too, has been the heart and soul of KTYD for decades, and will be sorely missed.  Thankfully Zeb Norris will be around to kick things alive and kicking. Read about him in Joe Woodard’s profile here. 

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ON the Stage

I’m not quite sure what’s in the air, but the Lobero Theatre has been crushing it even more than usual with its programming lately. In addition to a whole bunch of great Music Academy of the West Summer Festival programming going on, among the shows I’m really looking forward to are Shawn Colvin on August 9, Roger Daltrey on September 1, The Cowboy Junkies on September 20, Judy Collins on September 27, Rickie Lee Jones on October 4, Toad the Wet Sprocket on October 6-7 (they just added that second night), The Wallflowers on October 14, Julian Lage Quartet on October 22 (Lage and his amazing electric guitar joined Bob Dylan onstage at the Bowl earlier this month), and Melissa Etheridge on October 23. And that’s just scratching the surface. Seelobero.orgfor the complete schedule. 

Bob Dylan is nothing if not an icon, so I was excited to be able to see him perform — for my very first time — at the Santa Barbara Bowl last week, even though our press requests were “politely declined.” Generally recognized as one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century, Dylan’s voice and performance quality are the subject of much debate, and as I was forewarned by many, he plays what he wants to play, and isn’t really concerned how anyone else feels about that. 

The fact that he played the entire show in almost complete darkness, perched pretty far back on the stage, not really moving or interacting with the excellent band, and wearing a black hoodie covering much of his face, did make me feel like it could have easily been Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, or some other actor up there at times. But the voice — which he used only to sing, never speaking to the audience for a single moment — was pure Dylan. Perhaps the secret to his still simmering star quality at age 85 is that he keeps the energy at a slow, steady burn and seems to be playing only for himself, despite the obvious adoration of much of the mostly older hippie crowd grooving right along with him. Phone use was strictly forbidden, and I didn’t even bother to try to take notes with such low lighting. Highlights from the setlist included “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven,” “ Under The Red Sky,” “All Along The Watchtower,” and my personal favorite, “I Shall Be Released.”

I’m a longtime X fan, so seeing the John Doe Folk Trio perform as the opener was one of the highlights of the evening for me. Their covers of  Fall Out Boy’s “Fourth of July” and “Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz were particularly epic. Lucinda Williams was the second opener before Dylan, and she’s still fiercely fighting for justice and “Rockin in the Free World,” despite some lingering effects of a stroke in 2020.

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ON the (Small) Screen

Big cheers and a tap of the toque to Chef Rhoda Magbitang — whose fabulous culinary talents served as executive chef at Mattei’s Tavern from 2021 till August of 2024 — she just won the most recent season of Top Chef. (Read my story about her last meal in town here.) In what’s been described as one of the most dramatic runs in the long history of the franchise, Rhoda was the first contestant to ever win the first two elimination challenges, setting her up for frontrunner status. Then she made a disastrous mistake that led to her shockingly early elimination. However, Rhoda (whose mentors include the legendary José Andrés) came back and did the Last Chance Kitchen competition, eliminating one chef after another and another — then got back to the full-time cast and WON the whole thing! 

Now living in Hawaiʻi and working as the executive chef of CanoeHouse at Mauna Lani (another Auberge property), Rhoda’s Instagram comment on her victory reflects that same tenacity that brought her the title: “Anything worth doing is worth doing well. I’m proud to represent Filipino chefs, women in the industry, and anyone who’s taken the long road to find their purpose. I’m taking this title home to Hawaiʻi with so much gratitude.”  Season 23 of Top Chef is currently streaming on Peacock and other streaming services. 

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ON the Walls

The charming Little Yellow House Studios are now open for business Thursday-Monday from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. in the Funk Zone. The adorable working art studio and gallery space is home to artists Erika Carter, Virginia McCracken, Liz Brady, and Donna Ayscough, with two retail shops — Jes MaHarry (whose art and jewelry is widely recognized from her years with the Sundance Catalogue) and The Huntress — open very soon in the back. 

Carter, who owns Dart Coffee Co. across the street with her family (they also have cool locales at Linden Square in Carpinteria, Godmother’s Books in Summerland, and at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum in the Harbor), says they’ll eventually have a new café spot on the lot and that their former Greenhouse Studios next door is becoming a florist. Follow @littleyellowhousestudiossb to get the latest scoop.

ON the Menu

The Independent’s second annual sandwich week runs through Wednesday, July 1, and if the two sandwiches I got to sample — from Fresco at the Marketplace and Norton’s Pastrami & Deli — are any indication, then we’ve got some delicious options out there for only $9. Given how expensive food is these days, the timing couldn’t be better. Pick up a copy of this week’s print issue or visitindependent.com to get the scoop on all 35 restaurants serving $9 sandwiches this week. 

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ON the Web

The nomination round is now open (through July 1) for the Best of Santa Barbara®, the Santa Barbara Independent‘s annual readers’ poll where you tell us who is the best across many categories. The ballot has a whopping 221 categories, grouped into 11 broader sections. If that sounds like a lot, imagine editing that whole thing! 

Once the nomination round is over, we will create the voting ballot directly based on your responses — so make sure to vote to make sure your favorite businesses don’t get left out. The number of final nominees in each category will vary based on the number of votes received in that category. And beware: There is no final submit button. Your nominations are recorded as you hit “nominate.” Click here to nominate your favorites.  

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ICYMI

The Black Keys proved themselves great for the golden years. 

Mister Romantic delivered laughs.

Salonen scored big at the Ojai Music Festival.

Sailing Away to Yacht Rock Heaven with Christopher Cross.

Santa Maria’s Presqu’ile Winery partners with LAND, and artist Cole Sternberg, to open a public art exhibit in the Valley.

A fairytale-style Frozen comes to the Solvang Festival Theatre.

HappySad Theatre Company production shows off undeniable acting chops with A Delicate Ship.

Montecito Club Lands a Role in Netflix’s Beef

Come From Away starts the summer out strong for PCPA in Solvang.

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ON the Calendar

Pretty in Pink — the John Hughes film starring Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy, as well as one of my all-time favorite movie soundtracks (listen here) — kicks off UCSB Arts & Lectures annual free cinema series under the stars on Friday, July 10, beginning at 8:30 p.m. at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens. They are even having a mixtape contest (remember those?), so if you really want to get into the spirit of things, create your own coming-of-age soundtrack — the winning setlist will provide the the soundtrack to kick off the film series. Submit a summer cinema-inspired mixtape playlist by July 5 to info@artsandlectures.ucsb.edu. Find the full list of contest rules and more details here. 

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