Top picks
Intersections Concert Series: The Lyrical Groove
Music, Poetry, Hip-hop | The Lyrical Groove is a long-running spoken word and hip-hop group featuring Kendrick Dial and Brisa Lauren, and the winner of multiple San Diego Music Awards for Best Hip-Hop/Soul Album. The group pairs spoken word with live instrumentation as a backdrop, to create a sound that toes the line between poetry and song.
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"I like to call it 'spoken soul,' because there's an element of just, you know, speaking in poetry — and even with the name Lyrical Groove, the lyrics are such an important piece of it. But soul is the music, and when you think about soul music and where it comes from, the impact, that's really what we try to encapture. And the fact that we touch on so many different aspects of music — of Black music — in terms of soul and jazz and hip-hop and R&B and gospel. Like if you listen you can hear all those different elements there," Dial said.
Dial was involved in the influential local spoken word performance series Elevated, which was founded in 2005.
"I think it really allowed a space for artists — and I kind of don't want to limit to simply spoken word and hip-hop just because the impact was so much more, because people came there and they found a voice, whether they got up on the mic or didn't, it created a space for community," Dial said. Listen to the full interview with Dial above.
Dial will perform as The Lyrical Groove with Brisa Lauren and a live band at the Intersections Concert Series on Saturday.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. Saturday, May 18. UC San Diego Park & Market, 1100 Market St., downtown. $25-$35.
Glen Wilson: 'Constellation Dub'
Visual art, Sound | Los Angeles-based artist Glen Wilson's work is informed by the sounds, history and abstractions of dub music. In a new exhibition at Quint Gallery, several of his series converge, including his cymbal-based interactive sculptures ("Elements") and chainlink constructions (the "Gatekeeping" series). In "Gatekeeping," large swatches of chainlink protrude from the wall, with photography woven amongst the fencing. In "Elements," photography and actual percussion instruments form layered, circular assemblages that visitors can actually play with a set of mallets. At the reception on Saturday afternoon, you can also check out several other exhibits, including Thomas DeMello and Tercas Collective. Across the street at their 7655 Girard space, they've installed a Robert Irwin light piece.
Details: Event information. Opens with a reception from 12-2 p.m. Saturday, May 18. On view through June 22. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, Tuesday through Saturday. Quint Gallery, 7722 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Free.
Small Press Nite Vol. 5
Books | Host Kevin Kearney's semi-regular literary reading series returns with a slate of music critics, rock journalists and essayists including Dan Ozzi (author of "Sell Out: The Major Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994-2007)") with locals Jim Ruland (author of "Make It Stop," "Corporate Rock Sucks" and more), Ryan Bradford and Caiti Borruso.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. The Book Catapult, 3010-B Juniper St., South Park. Free.
Choreo & The Big Gay Picnic
Dance, Family | Disco Riot's next installment in their unique contemporary dance series, "Choreo &" pairs new, site-specific choreography with picnic activities. Choreographers include Melissa De la Torre, Tina Carreras, Juliette Trout, Odessa Uno and Megan Curet, with a picnic blanket installation from visual artist duo Collective Memory — a collaborative project from Yvette Roman and Sheena Rae Dowling. Collective Memory was part of Park Social in 2022, and their projects often involve crowd-sourced rags hand-woven into colorful and meaningful rugs.
Details: Event information. 12-4 p.m. Sunday, May 19. Balboa Dr. and Quince Dr., Balboa Park. Free.
Oceanside Theatre Company: 'Next to Normal'
Theater | Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt's 2010 Pulitzer-winning play "Next to Normal" explores the complicated impact on a mother's long battle with bipolar disorder on a seemingly typical family. Oceanside Theatre Company's production is directed by Frankie Errington.
Details: Event information. On stage May 10 through May 26. Sunshine Brooks Theater, 217 N. Coast Hwy., Oceanside. $20-$50.
Jasper Johns: Drawings and Prints
Visual art, Sculpture | Influential American artist Jasper Johns (b. 1930) is known for his contributions to abstract expressionism and pop art, and San Diego Museum of Art will open a new exhibition that explores his work with drawing, etching and lithography. One of the pieces, "Green Angel," depicts a mysterious shape Johns used throughout multiple works in his career — which has recently been theorized to represent the shape of a Rodin sculpture.
Details: Event information. On view May 18 through Oct. 27. San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. $15-$20.
Don Bartletti: 'Looking Back at Today: Forty-Five Years on the U.S.- Mexico Border'
Visual art, Photography | Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Don Bartletti, who began his career in San Diego, will open a new exhibition at The Photographer's Eye Gallery in Escondido. The exhibit will survey 45 years of his work covering the border, pairing his early works with photos from the last three years.
Bartletti will be on hand for a ticketed artist talk at 3 p.m. on Saturday across the street from the gallery at the Grand Theater Juniper Room, followed by a reception at the gallery from 5-7 p.m.
Details: Event information. Opens with a reception and artist talk from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday, May 18. On view through June 15. The Photographer's Eye, 236 E. Grand Ave., Escondido. Free (artist talk is $10 admission).
Live music picks
* Indicates local act
Thursday: Wednesday with Draag at Quartyard (indie); Slappin' Hands with Ric Scales* at Til-Two Club (hip-hop); The Toxhards, The Resinators* and Super Buffet* at Casbah (prog rock, pop, garage); Meatbodies, Dark Dazey and Drug Hunt* at Soda Bar (punk, rock, psychedelic); John Cruz and Caiola at Belly Up (folk); Ekkstacy with ALEXSUCKS at Observatory North Park (indie).
Friday: Twin Ritual*, Social Order and Cameron Romance at Soda Bar (pop); Madison McFerrin at Lou Lou's (R&B/jazz/soul/pop); RJD2, DGTL CLR and Laurie Piña* at Music Box (EDM/hip-hop, electronic/house); Lodea, Lane Lines* and The Jambalayas* at The Che Cafe (synth pop); Pond at Observatory (rock/indie); Two Door Cinema Club and Day Wave at Cal Coast Open Air Theater (alternative/indie).
Saturday: Crooked Jades at Pilgrim United Church of Christ (folk); Electric Six and Supersuckers at Casbah (rock); Yot Club at Soda Bar (lo-fi, pop); UCSD Hip-Hop Showcase* at The Che Cafe (hip-hop); Panchiko at Observatory (indie rock); Gogol Bordello, Mary Shelley and Grace Bergere at SOMA (punk); Tanya Tucker at Magnolia (country); Cassie B* and Ash Easton* at Moonshine Flats 10 Year Anniversary Party (country, Americana, pop).
Sunday: Los Yesterdays at House of Blues (soul/rock); Chorduroy*, 12 Gauge Trixie* and Virginia Crime* at Soda Bar (indie, garage rock).
More arts and culture events
'Motions & Emotions: Asian Women Speak Out'
Dance, Theater, Music, Visual art, Storytelling | Part of the City of San Diego's Far South Border North project, this performance combines dance, music and clowning to tell the stories of Asian American women and femme-identifying people and their mental health. Artists include Nhu Nguyen, Cat Chui Phillips, Trixi Anne Agiao and many more.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 17-18; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19. City Heights/Weingart Library And Performance Annex, 3795 Fairmount Ave., City Heights. $25.
Outside the Lens: 'Voice Out'
Visual art, Photography, Youth | Local youth arts nonprofit Outside the Lens will open a new exhibition of juried work from young artists. The exhibition will feature photography, collage, illustration and mixed media works from regional artists aged 8-19 on the theme of "place." The opening reception will include a panel discussion, a live DJ set and awards ceremony.
Details: Event information. 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18. Outside the Lens Wonder Lab, 125 14th St., East Village. Free.
San Diego Women's Chorus: 'In Harmony'
Music, Choral | This concert from San Diego Women's Chorus features upbeat musical selections chosen for their ability to bring people together, from Cyndi Lauper to Twisted Sister.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. Saturday, May 18 and 4 p.m. Sunday, May 19. Hoover High School Performing Arts Center, 4474 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. $20-$35.
World Press Freedom Day: '20 Days in Mariupol'
Film | Amnesty International's San Diego North County chapter will host a screening of the powerful PBS FRONTLINE documentary "20 Days in Mariupol," about a harrowing siege during the war in Ukraine and the journalists that covered it.
Details: Event information. 3 p.m. Saturday, May 18. Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1600 Buena Vista Dr., Vista. Free.
World Ballet Series: 'Swan Lake'
Dance, Ballet | The touring World Ballet Series will perform Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, "Swan Lake" in two performances in San Diego, with live orchestral accompaniment.
Details: Event information. 7 p.m. Friday, May 17 and 6 p.m. Saturday, May 18. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $75+.
La Jolla Music Society Presents: JIJI
Music, Classical | South Korean guitarist JIJI will perform at the La Jolla Music Society. She'll play a broad-ranging program, including her own arrangement of Sessa's "Occhi io vissi di voi," Paganini's "Caprice No. 24" and the West Coast premiere of a composition by contemporary composer David Lang.
Details: Event information. 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19. The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla. $33+.
