The Zeros at the 42nd annual Adams Avenue Street Fair
The price is always right at the free Adams Avenue Street Fair, which this weekend celebrates its 42nd anniversary with 75 bands and solo artists.
They will perform on seven outdoor stages that stretch over five blocks in Normal Heights at an annual event that typically draws thousands of music fans each day. Some of the many artists who have performed at previous editions of the fair include No Doubt, gospel-music legend Pops Staples, former Rolling Stones’ guitarist Mick Taylor and such San Diego-bred bands as Iron Butterfly and the Beat Farmers.
This year’s lineup features local and regional favorites, including James Intveld’s Rockabilly Revue, Deadbolt, grampawdrew, Sara Petite, Mohavisoul, drum ace Jake Najor and his band, The Moment of Truth, and dozens more.
Especially intriguing acts is Zeros 77, which reunites two founders of pioneering San Diego punk-rock band The Zeros.
The two, guitarist-singer Robert Lopez and bassist-singer Hector Penalosa, were students at Chula Vista High School and Sweetwater High School, respectively, when The Zeros formed in 1976.
Inspired by The Stooges and glam-rock, The Zeros signed with Bomp Records in 1977. Lopez left in 1978 and the band imploded in 1980, but not before releasing more records, touring with Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale and opening shows for X, The Clash and an early iteration of The Go-Go’s.
Zeros’ guitarist Javier Escovedo teamed up in 1981 with his brother, Alejandro, to launch the acclaimed Austin band True Believers. Lopez released his first recording as “El Vez, the Mexican Elvis” in 1991, a year before The Zeros regrouped for a benefit concert in Los Angeles.
A new album, “Knockin Me Dead,” followed in 1994 number. A number of Zeros’ reunions have taken place since then with varying band lineups.
Zeros 77 debuted May 31 at North Park’s The Girl Can’t Help It, with a lineup that teams Penalosa and Lopez with Lopez’s cousin, Adam Remmers, on guitar, and Lety Beers of San Diego garage-rock favorites the Schizophonics on drums. They were joined by Rocket From The Crypt leader John Reis for a suitably high-octane rendition of The Zeros’ 1977 gem, “Wimp.”
So, don’t be surprised if a musical guest or two pop up for The Zeros’ 8:45 p.m. Saturday performance on the fair’s Casbah Rock Stage at the corner of 33rd Street and Adams Avenue.
Adams Avenue Street Fair, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Adams Avenue, between 32nd St. and Hawley Blvd., Normal Heights. Free. adamsavenuebusiness.com/adams-avenue-street-fair
Samara Joy
How busy is Samara Joy, the golden-voiced, 24-year-old vocal sensation who has won three Grammy Awards in the past two years, including the 2023 Best New Artist trophy?
Her Sunday concert here is one of 30 performances Joy will do between this month and Dec. 23.
“Portrait,” her third studio album, will be released Oct. 11 by Verve Records. She co-produced it with former San Diego trumpeter Brian Lynch, who is also a multi-Grammy-winner.
The album mixes such classics as “No More Blues” and her sublime version of “You Stepped Out of a Dream” with new lyrics Joy has set to Charles Mingus’ “Reincarnation of a Lovebird” and Sun Ra’s big-band gem, “Dreams Come True.”
Joy and her 7-piece band drew two sell-out crowds when they made their San Diego debut last year at The Conrad in La Jolla and were joined for a song by sax great Charles McPherson. Her return performance in Escondido should comfortably accommodate a larger audience.
7:30 p.m. Sunday. $42-$102. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 North Escondido Blvd. (800) 988-4253, artcenter.org/event/samara-joy
Julian Lage Trio
There may be guitarists who are more accomplished playing jazz, rock, blues or country than Julian Lage.
But it’s difficult to name any who play, and fuse, all these styles with the same level of skill, verve and imagination, let alone one whose collaborators have range from Carlos Santana, Gary Burton and David Grisman to to John Zorn, Yoko Ono and Wilco’s Nels Cline,
In bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King, Lage has two skilled musical partners who can expertly negotiate any curves Lage throws their way on stage.
Their repertoire here will likely focus on the guitarist’s curve-filled original songs. But don’t be surprised to hear some choice covers, possibly including gems by John Coltrane (“Say It”), Johnny Mandel (“Emily”), Ornette Coleman (“Chanting”) and, just maybe, Roy Orbison (“Crying”).
8 p.m Tuesday. Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. $40.25-$110.75 (must be 21 or older to attend). bellyup.com
The Intrepid Jazz Combo
A number of world-class drummers have come out of San Diego over the years. Their ranks include Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam, Ilan Rubin of Nine Inch Nails, David Sanger of Asleep At The Wheel and such jazz standouts as John Guerin, Leon Petties, Jim Plank, Art Rodriguez and Cliff Almond.
Rhydian Marshall could one day join their ranks.
The San Marcos High School junior began drumming when he was five and began to turn from rock to jazz when he was nine. He is a student at the Gilbert Castellanos-led Young Lions Jazz Academy, where he has been studying drums and vibraphone.
A precocious talent, Marshall plays with a degree of technical command and taste that would be impressive in older and more experienced drummers. He also knows how to light a fire under a soloist, with well-timed fills and accents, without overpowering them. He has a good sense of swing, solid time feel and can cleanly negotiate intricate time changes.
At 16, Marshall is the youngest member in the Intrepid Jazz Combo. His gifted bandmates, all 17, include alto saxophonist Taichi Okumura, trumpeter Isaiah Simon, bassist Milan Bregman and pianist Joey Kim-Weigandt, whose original composition.
The quintet’s name is partly inspired by “The Intrepid Fox,” a standout song from trumpet great Freddie Hubbard’s 1970 album, “The Red Fox.” You can expect to hear it when the band performs Friday night at the all-ages Dizzy’s, along with “That’s What I Heard,” an arresting original composition by Intrepid pianist Kim-Weigandt.
8 p.m. Friday. Dizzy’s at Arias Hall (behind the Musician’s Association building), 1717 Morena Boulevard, Bay Park. $10 (students) and $20. (858) 270-7467. dizzysjazz.com
