BB King, Willie Nelson, Erykah Badu, John Mayer, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and even the Rolling Stones — those are just a few of the artists who’ve graced the stage of Solana Beach’s Belly Up Tavern since it opened in 1974.
It's also been home for a few local icons.
“In 1979 I got called up to the big leagues with the Padres, and I was across the street staying with a friend. And I just went for a walk one evening and opened the door and I heard music. And I walked into this place and I swear it changed my life,” said former San Diego Padres player and musician Tim Flannery.
He’s very familiar with the Belly Up, as someone in the crowd and playing on stage.
“Look, I'm a preacher's kid. This is one of the best churches I've ever been to in my life, spiritually,” Flannery said.
Now the venue is celebrating 50 years of live music.
“We have 150,000 people that come through the doors every year and so we were originally thinking about some big event, and then we realized only 600 people could come because that's our capacity,” said Belly Up President Chris Goldsmith.
Instead, they will have 50 shows throughout the summer, featuring local, regional and national acts.
Goldsmith said the space feels like home to a lot of people and each anniversary act has a previous connection to the club.
“In the early years there were a lot of blues bands and a lot of rock bands,” he said. “In the 80s there got to be a lot of reggae, a lot of soul music — George Clinton, Curtis Mayfield, Etta James. It kind of started to create a legendary history for the venue.”
Jerry McCann has lived in North County since the early 1970s and has played the Belly Up over a hundred times.
“I was the first guy that had a working band that came in and was booked regularly,” he said.
While the space has changed and grown over the years, McCann said the heart of the Belly Up has remained the same and its influence has spanned generations.
“Just like it's been a part of my life, I know people who came here when they were kids and now they are grandparents and they've got to have some fond memories too,” the musician said.
The Belly Up 50th anniversary shows start July 3rd and run through the end of September.
The whole schedule is on the Belly Up website. Some shows are already sold out.
