Ziggy Marley
Whether doing his own songs or classics by his legendary father, Bob Marley, it isn’t difficult for Ziggy Marley to cast a musical spell over his audiences. He’s a charismatic performer, a strong singer and a talented band leader who knows how to build musical momentum.
A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Marley was one of the producers of “One Love,” the 2024 biofilm about his iconic dad, who died of cancer in 1981 and is still the best-selling reggae artist of all time.
“My father’s music is my music, too,” Ziggy Marley said in a 2023 Union-Tribune interview.
But the younger Marley is not standing in the shadows of his illustrious dad.
Two of Ziggy Marley’s own songs, “True To Myself” and “Beach in Hawaii,” have each been streamed more than 100 million times, and his latest book for kids, “Music Is In Everything,” came out last fall. He most recently performed here last year at The Shell with his band and the San Diego Symphony.
Marley’s return appearance Saturday at the San Diego County Fair will be an orchestra-free affair. It will also be in very close proximity to The Sound, the fairgrounds’ indoor concert venue, which opened in 2023 with two sold-out shows by Marley and his 10-piece band.
7:30 Saturday.Toyota Summer Concert Series on the Corona Grandstand Stage, Del Mar Fairgrounds. $69.44-$117.60. sdfair.com
Earth, Wind & Fire will perform at The Shell Saturday. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Earth Wind & Fire
It’s been 54 years since Earth, Wind & Fire’s self-titled debut album was released and nine year’s since the death of its former leader, Maurice White, and this brassy Chicago-bred band is still going strong.
Headed by bass-guitar dynamo and EWF co-founder Verdine White, the current lineup also features two members — singer Philip Bailey and drummer Ralph Johnson — who both came on board in 1972.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the band’s classic 1975 album, the chart-topping “That’s The Way Of The World.”
This year also marks the 47th anniversary of Earth, Wind & Fire’s equally classic “September Song.”
It is the band’s only hit to be covered by such disparate artists as Taylor Swift, Kirk Franklin, John Tesh, DJ Speedo, Justin Timberlake, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Ginger Root and the late French jazz guitarist Sylvain Luc.
If Earth, Wind & Fire’s performance here Monday at The Shell matches its 2023 concert at the same venue, attendees can expect a memorable night.
7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 6. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. $71-$331. theshell.org
Led by singer Raul Malo, third from right, The Mavericks are now on an Oceanside-bound joint tour with Dwight Yoakam and Ben Haggard. (Courtesy David McClister)
Dwight Yoakam, The Mavericks, Ben Haggard
This may well be the most alluring triple-bill of the summer for fans of Bakersfield-styled country music and of Florida-bred country music with a zesty Latin twist.
Both Dwight Yoakam and The Mavericks rose to national prominence in the 1980s, thanks to their respective songwriting and well-honed stage chops.
Both are rock-solid performers with deep catalogs from which to draw. And both would be well worth hearing by themselves, making the opportunity to catch them back-to-back in one night especially appealing.
As an added enticement, the opening act is the talented singer and guitarist Ben Haggard, Now 32, he got his start as a teenager performing in The Strangers, the band led by his legendary father, Merle Haggard.
7 p.m. next Thursday, July 10. Oceanside FrontWave Arena, 3475 Hero Drive, Oceanside. $60.33-$113.41. axs.com