Tag archives: Lobero Theatre

KT’s Coronavirus Compromise
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 20, 2020

Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall was all set to make her Santa Barbara debut at the Lobero Theatre on January 8, back when COVID-19 barely had a name, just the novel coronavirus that seemed to be contained in China. Then illness forced the show to be postponed and rescheduled for October. But the coronavirus crisis has […]

Conviction of the Heart: Singer Supports a Favorite Local Stage
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 25, 2020

What if they threw a concert and nobody came? That’s a situation famed Santa Barbara singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins will face when he performs at the venerable Lobero Theatre on Sunday, June 28 – with absolutely no one in the audience. Of course, the only reason the show wouldn’t fill the historic theater’s 600 seats is […]

Potter Tales: Genesis
By Hattie Beresford   |   May 21, 2020

When Jose Lobero expanded the old adobe Sebastopol schoolhouse and created his Opera House between 1871 and 1873, Chinatown was already established on the first block of East Canon Perdido street. At that time, the street was nothing more than a narrow dirt track and an article from November 1873 stated, “This narrow and disagreeable […]

Classical Corner: Opera Opportunities
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 16, 2020

Opera Santa Barbara’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, which ran at the Lobero Theatre in March, 2019, became much more poignant when Maestro Valéry Ryvkin passed away in February. OSB’s Artistic Director and Principal Conductor from 1999-2008 wielded the baton for a final time for the Tchaikovsky work, and this Tuesday, April 21, audiences can […]

Double Treble
By Richard Mineards   |   February 13, 2020

The Lobero Theatre Chamber Music Project, which launched with pianist Alessio Bax and violinist Benjamin Beilman last month, had the second performance of its triple feature with pianist Louis Schwizgebel at the weekend. The Swiss keyboardist was accompanied by violinists Beilman and Ida Kavafian – a teacher at the Curtis Institute –, cellist Clive Greensmith […]

His Brand of Recovery
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 6, 2020

“Russell Brand: Recovery Live” is a funny and profane exploration into personal development and wellness from the comedian who, after years of addiction and poor choices, has dedicated himself to spirituality “to avoid self-destruction.” Brand – who was married for 14 months in the early 2010s to Santa Barbara-raised pop star Katy Perry – leads […]

Back in the Chamber
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 6, 2020

The Lobero Theatre Chamber Music Project, which had a sneak preview concert early last month, mounts the first of a planned annual festival this weekend by pairing Artistic and Music Director Heiichiro Ohyama, the violist who previously helmed the now defunct Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, and violinist Benjamin Beilman, who Ohyama selected as Musical Advisor […]

Changing Sprockets: 3 Qs with Glen Phillips
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 30, 2020

We caught up with Glen Phillips, the lead singer-songwriter of Toad the Wet Sprocket, coincidentally just a few days after the death of Terry Jones, one of the stars of the seminal comedy group Monty Python. The Santa Barbara-born alternative rock band took its name from one of the troupe’s skits back when Phillips was […]

An Unexpected Discovery
By Nick Schou   |   January 2, 2020

The life and accomplishments of one of the most influential but least known Santa Barbara architects will be celebrated at the Lobero Theatre on January 5. LUTAH A Passion for Architecture: A Life of Design tells the story of Lutah Maria Riggs (1896-1984), a protégé of famed architect George Washington Smith, who, among other landmark local buildings […]

Tuning In on Tunstall
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 2, 2020

Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall scored with her first album back in 2004, which earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and spawned a worldwide hit with “Suddenly I See.” But the last half decade has seen a sea change for the already critically acclaimed artist who relocated in 2014 to Venice Beach and […]

Bach, Busoni, Grieg
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 2, 2020

Violinist Benjamin Beilman was slated to make his debut with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra in the 2017-18 season, but then the venerable ensemble closed operations after nearly 40 years. Now, barely more than two years later, Beilman has been booked for an even bigger role in the Lobero Theatre Chamber Music Project, a new collaboration with […]

Lobero Tea
By Lynda Millner   |   December 19, 2019

The Lobero Theatre is a much used venue, being booked 250 or more days a year. Among artists it’s beloved for the acoustics and is also a California Historic Landmark. Its humble beginning was as an opera house converted from an adobe school building by Jose Lobero in 1873. By the 1920s, being a bit […]

Brickman’s Christmas Celebration
By Richard Mineards   |   November 26, 2019

Jim Brickman’s new album is a Christmas record – what else? – the seventh in his career that actually name checks the holiday in its title. Christmas Celebration is just that, a joyous journey through the carols, both classic and composed by the modern romantic piano sensation, pretty much like most of its predecessors. “I […]

Lobero Associates and Steve Tyrell
By Lynda Millner   |   October 24, 2019

The Lobero Theatre Associates had their latest event to benefit the Lobero Theatre with “An Evening with Steve Tyrell.” It began in the tent-covered courtyard with a reception featuring unique pizzas from Oppi’Z. There was an unusual cheesecake that was savory instead of sweet topped with smoked salmon as well as the usual sweet ones. […]

Daytripping with Di Meola: from Berklee to the Beatles and Beyond
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 19, 2019

Guitarist Al Di Meola was merely fantasizing when he told a friend back in 1974 that he’d “give anything” to be able to play in Chick Corea’s Return To Forever jazz fusion band. After all, the Jersey City-bred Di Meola was only 19 and still studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston. But the […]

Charitable Gift Planners Bash
By Richard Mineards   |   August 22, 2019

Social gridlock reigned in the courtyard at the Lobero Theatre when the two-year-old Santa Barbara Council of Charitable Gift Planners, which helps increase community philanthropy through charitable gift giving, hosted its annual reception. Chapter president and Noozhawk columnist Rochelle Rose welcomed more than 50 guests, including Greg Gorga, Ellen Goodstein, Anais Pellegrini, Charles Caldwell, Karl […]

Venturing Off Campus
By Richard Mineards   |   July 4, 2019

It was all a case of location, location, location as the Music Academy of the West’s 72nd annual summer festival entered its second week. Having staged all concerts at Hahn Hall on the Miraflores campus with the fest’s kickoff, the Lobero and Granada were added into the mix this week. The Festival Artists Series at […]

Tribute to an Underground Hometown Hero
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 6, 2019

When Robinson Eikenberry passed away suddenly at age 47 on July 4, 2017, the Santa Barbara community lost one of its most influential musicians, although very few outside of his circle ever heard him perform. That’s because Eikenberry didn’t crave the spotlight, preferring instead to stay behind the scenes as a producer, engineer, songwriter and, […]

Robinson Redux
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 30, 2019

The Santa Barbara singer-songwriter community was devastated when the tirelessly eclectic producers, sound engineer, and songcrafter Robinson Eikenberry died unexpectedly on July 4, 2017. The 35-year local resident who graduated from Crane School in Montecito was honored soon after with a memorial concert at the Lobero Theatre, where many of the Santa Barbara artists he […]

Sing it Loud, Sing it Proud
By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2019

It was music to everyone’s ears when AHA!, which has brought social-emotional learning to more than 25,000 teachers, parents, and young people over the past 20 years, hosted its 16th annual Sing It Out at the Lobero. The sold-out event, which raised around $200,000 for the organization, was the culmination celebration of a 12-week spring […]