The Santa Barbara Independent

Redux Redo, Nerf Herder Style

Music By Josef Woodard

Famed Santa Barbara “geek rock” prankster band Nerf Herder celebrates 30th anniversary with acoustic version of debut and a big show at the Lobero Theatre.

Catching Up with Summercamp

Music By Anya Rose McCue

Alt-rock band from the ‘90s is at the Santa Barbara Lobero with Nerf Herder and Ridel High on April 18.

Trader Joe’s Named No. 1 Employer as Santa Barbara Workers Define Its Appeal

Business By Ella Heydenfeldt

Ranked atop ‘Forbes’s 2026 list, the Monrovia-based grocer draws a wide cross-section of Santa Barbara workers — many of whom say the job is as much community as it is paycheck.

A Formerly Emerging Piano Master’s Return

Music By Josef Woodard

Masterful pianist Yuja Wang pays another return visit to Santa Barbara, this time with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, at The Granada Theatre.

How the Light Gets In

Visual Arts By Josef Woodard

Lindsay Skutch’s weirdly luminous show “Pinhole Noir,” at the Architectural Foundation Gallery, revels in the pinhole camera tradition.

Classic Craftsman Homes

Heart of the Home By Keith Hamm

Traditional Craftsman home design has endured for more than a century — for good reason. The architectural style is known

Artist Shana Moulton to Speak at Humanities Decanted

Visual Arts By Debra Herrick, UCSB's 'The Current'

UC Santa Barbara Professor will discuss her work, including “Meta/Physical Therapy,” her 2024 The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York exhibition and performance series.

multimedia Stories

‘Welcome to Isla Vista’ Presents: Breaking Tunes

Isla Vista–based band The Bad Neighbors plays a private show at Indy HQ.

UCSB Arts & Lectures ‘Air Time’: Frederik Øland of the Danish String Quartet

Audio

A conversation with Charles Donelan.

Agents of Chaos: Border Patrol’s Year of Unchecked Force

Border Patrol agents have been roving from city to city over the last 15 months, far from their home bases

Emergency Podcast: The Trump Regime’s Shock Move to Ram Offshore Oil through S.B., and State’s 11th-Hour Bid to Stop It

Video

In a special ‘Newsmakers TV’ episode, ‘Independent’ columnist Nick Welsh reprises his exclusive reporting about the fast-moving Sable Oil story, as California faces off with Trump amid war with Iran.

Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Profiles Santa Barbara’s Hannah-Beth Jackson

Video

In her interview, Jackson describes her decades-long ambition to pass equal pay legislation and how Oscar-award winning Patricia Arquette “lit the match” under her efforts as a California state senator.

Goleta Punk Show Raises Money for Undocumented Families

Video

Desmadre Media hosted the event, which took place at Foundation Press in Old Town Goleta on February 28.

Shaping S.B. Response to Regime’s Deportation Raids: ‘Fear by Design: ICE Tactics, Impact, and What We Can Do About It”

Video

Next Monday, a special public forum convenes amid ongoing attacks by Trump’s masked paramilitary agents on local neighborhoods, families and those bearing witness, presented by Dem Women of S.B.

UCSB Arts & Lectures ‘Air Time’ | Tiler Peck: Curating the Jerome Robbins Festival

Audio

A conversation with Charles Donelan.

UCSB Arts & Lectures ‘Air Time’: Jon Cleary of Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen

Audio

A conversation with Charles Donelan.

Waves Crash over Santa Barbara Breakwater

Photo

Photographer Dave Everett captured the tall waves at the Santa Barbara Harbor Breakwater on the morning of February 17, as the surf and tides reach a peak with the new moon cycle. “Those who dared to take on the breakwater this morning … got wet,” Everett said.