Tag archives: musicians

Annual January NAMM Roundup: Virtual Mode 2022
By Joanne A Calitri   |   February 1, 2022

One can hear it in the streets from Atlanta to L.A.: We miss NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants’ annual event held every January in Anaheim.  Fret not guitar freaks, Lugwig lovers, jamming DJs, audiophiles, technos, and recording rascals, for Shure due to an abundance of caution,the NAMM show moved to June 2022, with […]

Hawaiian Roots
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 25, 2022

Kulāiwi has only been together for less than two years, but the three Hawaiian musicians that make up the group – Lehua Kalima, Shawn Pimental, and Kawika Kahiapo – have been making music of the islands for decades. Between them they have claimed dozens of Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, which is considered Hawaii’s equivalent of […]

Finding the ‘Good in the Heart of Life’
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 25, 2022

The COVID pandemic has been an ongoing career if not a personal crisis for a lot of musicians around the world. But for Drew McManus, the shutdown actually afforded him a chance to slow down, regroup and, most importantly, reconnect with his roots in the mountains of Montana. Although he was born in the western […]

Punched-Up Tribute to Tony Rice
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 14, 2022

All of the five virtuoso string musicians who comprise the Grammy-winning folk-grass band Punch Brothers were fervent fans of Tony Rice. The Brothers – who are led by the MacArthur “Genius Grant’ Award fellow Chris Thile on mandolin and includes bassist Paul Kowert, guitarist Chris Eldridge, banjoist Noam Pikelny, and violinist Gabe Witcher – have […]

Folk Heroes
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 4, 2022

The popularity of Simon & Garfunkel, the most famous duo in folk music history, remains unabated more than a half-century since the pair first broke up over artistic differences and personal issues following the release of the groundbreaking album Bridge Over Troubled Water. Problems persisted each time Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel contemplated reuniting after […]

Quite the Quintet
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 4, 2022

Prior to November, you’d be hard-pressed to recall the last time John Jorgenson played in town. Best known for his inventive guitar work in Desert Rose, the mid-1980s California country-rock band he co-founded with former Byrd/Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman and country-bluegrass stalwart Herb Pedersen, Jorgenson also played in the guitar trio Hellecasters, toured for […]

Broussard’s Journey: Bayou to Lullabyes and Back
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 7, 2021

Singer-songwriter Marc Broussard made his stage debut before he reached first grade, belting out “Johnny B. Goode” at age 5 as a guest singer in his father, Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard’s, famous band The Boogie Kings. Swamp pop and blue-eyed soul runs through his veins and makes up his bones. But classic […]

Santa Barbara Records Debuts
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 26, 2021

When CaliAmericana becomes available online and in record stores on October 21, it won’t just mark another album release from a local musician on their own indie imprint. Instead, the compilation CD heralds the launch of Santa Barbara Records, the first independent label in the area that actually signs outside artists as its major thrust […]

‘Chance to Reflect’: Camerata Pacifica Finds Ways to Improve Despite Time Off
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 5, 2021

Prior to the pandemic, Camerata Pacifica wasn’t really looking for an excuse to do some tweaking to its approach. After all, the chamber music ensemble had grown over its 30 years from performing sporadic concerts at a single small stage in town to largely selling out an eight-show season at four venues from Santa Barbara […]

Peter Clark: A Man That Always Chose to Give Back
By Denice Spangler Adams   |   September 14, 2021

Peter Clark always chose good, and “quietly” did good, never publicly sharing his many good deeds for others. The Montecito Journal’s society tribute to Peter was excellent, however I feel compelled as his decades’ long “jazz mom friend” to add to this exceptional man’s legacy from observations and what he shared over coffee near his […]

Toad’s Evolving Comeback is ‘Starting Now’
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 2, 2021

The journey of Santa Barbara native singer-songwriter Glen Phillips from an ambitious 15-year-old forming a rock band with some friends in high school to the 50-year-old multi-faceted artist he is today is something to treasure. That band, Toad the Wet Sprocket, is one of the more successful to have emerged from Santa Barbara, having released […]

Summing up a MAW Summer
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 24, 2021

Despite the pandemic, the Music Academy of the West managed to complete what seemed a remarkably ambitious, largely in-person season that brought together 100 fellows – the vast majority of the virtual-only “student” participants from last year – a full complement of faculty members, and an audience eager to once again enjoy classical music from […]

Busy, Busy: Sitting Down with Two MAW Artists with Plenty on Their Plates
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 29, 2021

Juggling all the tasks and opportunities a fellow faces at the Music Academy of the West is a stiff if rewarding challenge in a normal summer, what with private lessons and sectional coaching, studying new pieces of repertoire, practicing as an individual and rehearsing for chamber, orchestra, and duo concerts, performing in master classes and […]

Silver Linings Play
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 18, 2020

UCSB Theater’s new show is generating historical perspective for the challenges of the pandemic UCSB Theater’s Generations, a new piece devised for Zoom and directed by Anne Torsiglieri, aims to make the best of the bad situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps finding the silver lining in the seemingly endless sequestering. Fashioned as an […]

Running into GSAC Championships
By Scott Craig   |   November 12, 2020

Westmont cross-country first-year students Caleb Mettler and Anneline Breytenbach, Golden State Athletic Conference Athletes of the Month for October, lead their teams into the GSAC Championship on Saturday, November 7, at William Jessup University in Rocklin. Mettler, a San Clemente High School graduate, claimed second place in race two of The Master’s Invitational on September […]

Girl Power
By Richard Mineards   |   November 12, 2020

The venerable Granada was socially gridlocked when the popular Danish String Quartet returned to Santa Barbara with the Danish National Girls’ Choir, under conductor Phillip Faber, putting on an entertaining UCSB Arts & Lectures concert. The Fab Four – violinists Rune Tonsgaard Sorensen and Frederik Oland, violist Asbjørn Norgaard, and cellist Fredrik Schoyen Sjolin – […]

Sundays With the Symphony
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 20, 2020

The next episode of the Santa Barbara Symphony’s live broadcast series takes place at 3:30 pm on August 23, when the Music-Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti will be joined by the symphony’s new Director of Music Education, Kristine Pacheco, to shine the spotlight on students of all levels from the youth program. The young musicians persevered […]

Sister City Support on Zoom
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 25, 2020

COVID-19 can’t conquer the community created by the Santa Barbara-Kotor Sister City Committee. While at this point nobody is able – or willing – to cross the ocean to meet and make music in person, the organization that fosters cooperation between our seaside city and the coastal town in Montenegro has booked a fundraising event […]

Santa Barbara Symphony, Under New Management, Segues to Streaming
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 28, 2020

Having your CEO depart in the middle of a pandemic that caused cancellation of the rest of the season’s concerts probably isn’t the best thing for building the confidence of the local classical music community. Fortunately, the Santa Barbara Symphony was able to announce its Interim CEO, Kathryn Martin, even before the then-current Executive Director/CEO […]

Virtual Virtuosos
By Richard Mineards   |   April 30, 2020

The Music Academy of the West, whose 73rd annual summer festival was due to kick off on June 15 until July 10, is launching the Music Academy Remote Learning Institute to connect with audiences online during the lockdown. “Our hope is to bring the faculty and fellows to Santa Barbara and enjoy music together with […]