Go Fetch: ‘Mean Girls’ comes to the Granada
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 7, 2025

It’s been 20 years since Mean Girls gave us a telling and hilarious glimpse at social cliques in high schools, gave us The Plastics, and made Lindsay Lohan a star. The musical version of the madness, adapted by Tina Fey from her script for the film, was nominated for 12 Tony awards in 2018, including […]

Going Greene with the Blue
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 24, 2024

If all you want for Christmas is some tasty blues rock with teeth, look no further than SOhO on Friday night, December 20. That’s when the veteran guitarist-singer-songwriter Alastair Greene will be throwing down at his old stomping grounds, taking to the stage in a reunion with his longtime SoCal based band mates Jim Rankin […]

 

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Ch-ch-ch-choices in Voices
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 17, 2024

If you want to take in all of the choral programs happening this weekend, you’d better figure out how to clone yourself quickly. By some quirk of fate, or quirky communication between them, seven different mostly choral concerts are taking place this week, including an astonishing five between Saturday and Sunday, four of them from […]

Opportunities Outside of the Weekend 
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 17, 2024

Those six shows will have to hold you ‘til Tuesday, when the 42nd annual Messiah Sing Along takes place at 7:30 pm in the First Presbyterian Church, a Santa Barbara holiday tradition that benefits Unity Shoppe. Phillip McLendon conducts a performance of Handel’s choral masterpiece – the Christmas portion plus the “Hallelujah” chorus and “Worthy […]

In the Pink: Portland-based “Little Orchestra”: Celebrates 30 years
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 17, 2024

If there were no Pee-wee Herman, there probably wouldn’t have been a Pink Martini.  The official story behind the campy, cosmopolitan, globe-trotting, multi-cultural jazz jubilee/baroque pop band is that founder Thomas Lauderdale, at the time a politico who planned to run for mayor of Portland, Oregon, created the ensemble after being annoyed at the vanilla […]

The Sweet ‘Cowboy Lullaby’
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 10, 2024

In a quirky coincidence, Rubicon Theatre is also opening a musical mashup this week, one that also takes place in a single setting. A Cowboy Lullaby, the latest original piece by the Ventura company veterans James O’Neil and Dan Wheetman, grew out of a jam session on closing night of a show based on the […]

‘Miracle’ on Carpinteria Avenue
By Steven Libowitz   |   December 10, 2024

Back in the category of regular December doings, the Alcazar Ensemble once again holds forth for the holidays in presenting the beloved holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street remounted for a fourth year. The timeless tale follows the journey of an elderly gentleman, Kris Kringle, who claims to be the real Santa Claus, and the […]

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  • Holiday Happenings: Granada Turns into Grace-land
    By Steven Libowitz   |   December 10, 2024

    Grace Fisher Foundation’s seventh annual Winter Music Showcase also marks the 10-year milestone since then-high school senior Fisher contracted a rare virus that suddenly spread to her spine, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. Confined to her wheelchair, Fisher quickly resumed her interest in art and music via specially-adapted devices, and less than three […]

    Mr. Livingston, I presume 
    By Steven Libowitz   |   December 3, 2024

    Livingston Taylor is just two years younger than his famous rock star brother James, and two years behind him in launching his solo singer-songwriter career. Both have written truly memorable songs, including early efforts about growing up in North Carolina, although both returned to their native Boston area early in adulthood and still maintain homes […]

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    Northern Exposure at the Lobero
    By Steven Libowitz   |   November 19, 2024

    Although retail shops on State Street may not agree, it’s no exaggeration to say the pandemic is squarely behind us, at least in terms of the Lobero Theatre, where a big percentage of pop concerts have drawn capacity audiences this year. Now, as we head into the holiday season, the trend is continuing, with three […]

    Hopefully Not the Kings’ & Symphony’s ‘Last Waltz’
    By Steven Libowitz   |   November 12, 2024

    It was pure serendipity when rock band Doublewide Kings co-founder Palmer Jackson, Jr., met Brett Strader at a social function in San Francisco just shy of two years ago. When Jackson mentioned that his band was planning a collaborative concert of Van Morrison songs with the Santa Barbara Symphony for the following November, Strader – […]

    Invigorating Music from Italy
    By Steven Libowitz   |   November 12, 2024

    Opera Santa Barbara launches its 2024-25 season with a classic in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci at the Lobero Theatre on November 8 and 10. The tale of lust, jealousy, and murder inside a traveling troop of comedians features the famous aria “Vesti la giubba”, which closes the first act. OSB’s new production of the dramatic thriller, set […]

    Community on Board: Music Academy Hearing at the BOS
    By Montecito Journal   |   November 5, 2024

    The Music Academy of the West will be in front of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors (BOS) on Tuesday, November 5th to review its request to update the Music Academy’s 2004 Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The key project changes being requested at this time include: 1. Eliminating the on-site retail shops and reintroducing […]

    State Street Shuffle: Ballet Blossoms Anew
    By Steven Libowitz   |   October 29, 2024

    The twist is decidedly not part of the ballet repertoire, but State Street Ballet has done some shakin’ for its 30th season, the first one to be entirely programmed without the supervising hand of founding director Rodney Gustafson. New artistic director Megan Philipp and executive director Cecily MacDougall – who worked with Gustafson for more […]

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