{"id":376113,"date":"2025-11-13T14:36:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/376113\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:36:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:36:18","slug":"the-three-san-diego-concerts-you-absolutely-dont-want-to-miss-this-week-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/376113\/","title":{"rendered":"The three San Diego concerts you absolutely don\u2019t want to miss this week \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Django Festival Allstars, with Veronica Swift<\/p>\n

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a music critic is the opportunity to expose listeners to artists and styles with which they may have little or no familiarity.<\/p>\n

In many instances, this is done by enthusiastically writing about a new recording or upcoming concert. In some cases, however, it is done in person when I invite very talented local musicians to accompany me to performances I think they will find especially enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Over the years, some of my concert guests have included pianist Joshua White, guitarist-singer Anna Troy, singer-songwriter Peter Boland, guitarist Eric Wesling and the late violinist Jamie Shadowlight.\n<\/p>\n

In 2016, I invited avocational North Park blues-rock guitarist Jim Vrakas to join me at the San Diego debut concert by France\u2019s all-acoustic Django Festival Allstars at Scripps Research Institute Auditorium.<\/p>\n

Jim was a newcomer to the \u201chot jazz\u201d legacy created in the 1930s by Belgian gypsy guitar fireball Django Reinhardt and French violin standout Stephane Grappelli, whose music the aptly named Allstars salute and extend. I had been a \u201chot jazz\u201d fan since first hearing a Grappelli concert in Germany when I was 18.<\/p>\n

But no matter.<\/p>\n

Jim was even more dazzled by the Allstars than I was. He repeatedly beamed and chuckled with delight throughout, especially when guitarist Samson Schmitt played exceptionally fleet lines and ingenious chordal sequences with joyous verve and improbable ease. \u201cWow!\u201d Jim said repeatedly. Wow, indeed.<\/p>\n

This time around, the Allstars will be joined by young American jazz vocal star Veronica Swift, who will presumably focus on selections from Reinhardt\u2019s little-heard \u201cDjango With Vocals\u201d album. Keeping up with the Allstars could be daunting for any singer, but the aptly named Swift should be up to the challenge.<\/p>\n

\n

Veronica Swift, a rising young jazz dynamo at 25, set for San Diego debut<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19. Athenaeum Jazz at Scripps Research Institute Auditorium, 10620 John Jay Hopkins Drive, La Jolla. $50-$55. ljathenaeum.org\/jazz<\/a><\/p>\n

\"JudyJudy Collins will perform with Tom Rush in Escondido on Saturday. (Sam Hough)
\nAn Evening with Judy Collins & Tom Rush<\/p>\n

Devoted road dogs don\u2019t come much more devoted than fellow singer-songwriters Judy Collin and Tom Rush, who are 86 and 84, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m never retiring! Not if I can help it,\u201d Collins told me in a late 2024 Union-Tribune interview.<\/p>\n

\n

Judy Collins, a happy workaholic at 85, talks music, sobriety and testifying at 1968\u2019s Chicago 7 trial<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

True to her word, the luminous-voiced troubadour is doing about 100 concerts this year. Her latest album, \u201cIn Concert: Wildflowers At The Town Hall NYC,\u201d came out in 2024, followed by a book of poetry.<\/p>\n

Last year also saw the release of Rush\u2019s most recent album, the charming \u201cGardens Old, Flowers New.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and Collins both sprang to the fore in the early 1960s as part of the same East Coast folk-music movement that produced Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin, Carolyn Hester, Dave Van Ronk, Fred Neil, Karen Dalton and Phil Ochs.<\/p>\n

That Rush and Collins are still going strong, six decades later, is a testament to their talent and tenacity. The chance to hear them here together is a welcome one.<\/p>\n

7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 North Escondido Blvd. $66-$108. 858-988-4253; artcenter.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\"TheThe Flamin\u2019 Groovies\u2019 Cyril Jordan is San Diego-bound with the latest edition of his 60-year-old San Francisco rock band. He is shown here performing on the Palomino Stage during the 2023 Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio (Jennifer Cappuccio Maher)
\nFlamin\u2019 Groovies, with The Loons and DJ Meow Mix<\/p>\n

I am usually reluctant to recommend veteran bands whose lineups now include just a single original member. San Francisco\u2019s Flamin\u2019 Groovies is a rare exception.<\/p>\n

Formed in 1965, the group is still led by guitarist-singer Cyril Jordan, who continues to rock out at the age of 77 and has outlived a number of his former bandmates.<\/p>\n

His group\u2019s current lineup features drummer Tony Sales, bassist Atom Ellis and two new guitarists, Miki Rogulj and Sean Fitzsimmons.<\/p>\n

Their setlists include such Flamin Groovies\u2019 gems as \u201cJumpin\u2019 in the Night,\u201d \u201cSlow Death,\u201d \u201cTeenage Head\u201d and \u201cShake Some Action,\u201d the 1977 power-pop classic that was memorably covered by Cracker in the soundtrack to the 1995 film, \u201cClueless.\u201d<\/p>\n

8:30 p.m. next Thursday, Nov. 20. The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. $36.60 (must be 21 or older to attend). casbahmusic.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Also recommended<\/p>\n

Friday, Nov. 14:<\/strong>\u00a0Appreciating Patric Petrie, Templars Hall<\/p>\n

Saturday, Nov. 15:<\/strong> Chris Pierce, Museum of Making Music<\/p>\n

Sunday, Nov. 16:<\/strong> Special EFX, featuring Chieli Minucci & Rebecca Jade, with Lao Tizer, Joel Rosenblatt, Anthony Crawford, Lou Lou\u2019s Jungle Room<\/p>\n

Monday, Nov. 17:<\/strong> Eilen Jewell, Kimmi Bitter, Belly Up<\/p>\n

Tuesday, Nov. 18:<\/strong> Chest Fever presents \u201cThe Last Waltz,\u201d featuring featuring: Jerry Raney of The Beat Farmers, Jack Tempchin, members of Daring Greatly, The Wellsprings, Mike Stax, Ash Easton, Heather Nation, Murc McRee, Jess Roberts, Batya MacAdam-Somer, Bryan Barbarin and Chris Torrez, Belly Up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Django Festival Allstars, with Veronica Swift One of the most rewarding aspects of being a music critic is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":376114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,171,1370,5424,3549,7264,1072,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-376113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-latest-headlines","13":"tag-music-and-concerts","14":"tag-san-diego","15":"tag-sandiego","16":"tag-things-to-do","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115542897404907000","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}