Highlights from Days of Yore, aka 2024

The two theatrical performances that utterly rocked my world and riveted my attention came from UCSB Arts & Lectures dance offerings. Dorrance Dance’s inventive jazz-fueled take on The Nutcracker proved that the old Christmas chestnut can be changed into a charming and cutting-edge work. MOMIX’s Alice showed that the creative mind of artistic director Moses Pendleton remains a place of wonder, whimsy and sheer wow-ness, as delivered by his stunningly supple and lithe dancers.

In the classical corner, Patricia Kopatchinskaja’salternately blistering and introspective star turn in Shostakovich’s “Violin Concerto” – with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Granada – was both an astonishingly impressive feat from the shoeless performer and an emotional rollercoaster for the rest of us. The same venue also hosted the Music Academy’s Festival Orchestra with violin virtuoso Leila Josefowicz under David Robertson’s baton for a signature performance of John Adams’ captivating “Violin Concerto.”

In the pop world, any concert from Aimee Mann is a thing to savor, and the singer-songwriter’s first show in town in more than a decade did not disappoint. Her buoyant melodies married to tales of love lost and spurned were joined by a touch of modern humor in the AI-inspired mid-set duo work at the Lobero with opener Jonathan Coulton. Molly Tuttle, who played Campbell Hall in the fall, just keeps building on her progressive bluegrass base, adding a variety of sounds and approaches (and costumes) without losing the roots of the music. Another true treat was the debut of Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble at the Lobero, a Motown-focused marathon of incredible musicianship with plenty of soul. A shout out to Jackson Gillies, whose rendition of Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” at the Granada’s hometown heroes show is still ringing in my head.