San Diego Music Scene
Whether your taste runs from Aida to zydeco, you'll find your favorite music in exciting settings all over San Diego. The San Diego Symphony spreads its talents from downtown's historic Copley Symphony Hall to the picturesque bay-front and classrooms throughout the county. Musicians of varied talents, including Ben Vereen, the Dublin Philharmonic and Arturo Sandoval, appear during the Symphony's annual concerts. The San Diego Opera performs innovative productions and lavish classics in downtown's Civic Theatre. British designer Zandra Rhodes (whose secondary home is in San Diego) brought her spectacular production of The Pearl Fishers to the opera in May of 2008. Don Quixote, Madame Butterfly and Peter Grimes are all on stage in 2009. The Lyric Opera San Diego stages musicals at the elegantly-restored 1928 Birch North Park Theatre. Their productions of HMS Pinafore are family pleasers, as are favorites like Hello, Dolly and 42nd Street performed at Balboa Park's outdoor Starlight Theatre. Classical music lovers welcomed the Mainly Mozart Festival when it started in 1988. Now it runs every summer and offers performances at La Jolla's Neurosciences Institute, downtown's Balboa Theatre and Inn t Rancho Santa Fe. The San Diego Chamber Orchestra presents Gershwin and Beethoven around the county, along with holiday performances of Handel's Messiah in neighborhood churches. Rock, jazz, hip-hop and cover bands perform at outdoor amphitheatres and tiny clubs all over the region. Fans swarm to Chula Vista's Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre to hear such legends as Santana, who learned guitar as a teen in neighboring Tijuana. Randy Travis, Julio Iglesias and Chicago draw enthusiasts to Viejas Concerts in East County, and BB King, Ani DiFranco and Willie Nelson have entertained audiences at Humphrey's Concerts By the Bay. Hot bands perform at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack during the San Diego County Fair and seasonal horseracing season. The annual Street Scene features dozens of diverse bands during a weekend-long music festival and has hosted such bands as the Black Eyed Peas, TOOL, Kanye West and more, and the free two-day Adams Avenue Street Fair brings local talent into the spotlight. The local club scene is equally exciting, ranging from the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, a long-time favorite for rock, blues, and world music to Little Italy's Casbah, which has bolstered smaller bands to greatness (think Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins). Music reverberates throughout downtown from the House of Blues and Hard Rock Hotel to Croce's, a legendary jass club and restaurant. Local bands also have a bountiful selection of neighborhood bars and restaurants that encourage San Diego's emerging talent.
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