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Local musicians, artists and chefs are taking over one of San Diego’s busiest neighborhood this weekend. The third annual North Park Music Festival is focusing this year’s sound and feel on music beyond borders.

Why Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., visited Israel this week, and how the visit underscores tensions among Democrats over the war in Gaza.

Sunday, Dec.31, 2023 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream now with KPBS Passport! Enjoy Cuban funk Cimafunk and The Tribe in a must-see hour. The nine-piece powerhouse band makes a thrilling ACL debut with standouts from their soulful album "El Alimento."

With the holidays quickly approaching, the 8th annual La Mesa Holiday in the Village will once again be ringing in holiday cheer for everyone near and far on Saturday, December 2 from Noon – 9 p.m.! La Mesa Village friends and family will have the chance to take part in FREE festive fun with live music, cozy fires, craft vendors, food, holiday 360 photo booth, the grand return of “selfies with Santa”, and a kids’ area bigger than Santa’s Toy Shop! This year’s locally loved La Mesa Holiday in the Village will bring guests more entertainment, more vendors, and an inclusive holiday experience for ALL AGES to enjoy! Get in the holiday spirit while playing carnival games, listening to carolers, and enjoying delicious food and drinks from La Mesa local favorites. Walk the streets of La Mesa’s historic downtown while exploring dozens of local craft vendor stands, then cozy up with artisan and craft food and snack specialties. Friends and family can relax by the fire pits while enjoying holiday caroling, cheerful holiday music, and fun live entertainment. La Mesa’s FREE Holiday in the Village will turn everyone holly and jolly with a full lineup of entertainment including traditional holiday songs and music, local bands, and community performances. Stop in and enjoy the holiday cheer at La Mesa’s Holiday in the Village for an amazing day that comes but once a year! Come to Holiday in the Village ready to shop, dine, and bask in La Mesa’s joyful atmosphere as this honored tradition transforms the town into a winter wonderland for the whole family! La Mesa Village Association on Facebook / Instagram

We preview some arts and culture events to check out ahead of Thanksgiving. Plus, Midday Movies critics discuss the films they’re thankful for.

In 1994 on the National Mall, thousands of American teens pledged abstinence until marriage. The movement it created has influenced sex education in schools to this day.

The San Diego-based trio made its mark at the Tiny Desk with satin vocals and vintage melodies.

A powerfully gifted musician and a scholar of Black American music, Jake Blount speaks ardently about the African roots of the banjo and the subtle, yet profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined the amorphous categories of roots music and Americana. His 2020 album Spider Tales (named one of the year’s best albums by NPR and the New Yorker, earned a perfect 5-star review from the Guardian) highlighted the Black and Indigenous histories of popular American folk tunes, as well as revived songs unjustly forgotten in the whitewashing of the canon. Blount’s new album, The New Faith, is a towering achievement of dystopian Afrofuturism and his first album for Smithsonian Folkways (released September 23, 2022). The New Faith is spiritual music, filled with hope for salvation and righteous anger in equal measure. The album manifests our worst fears on the shores of an island in Maine, where Blount enacts an imagined religious ceremony performed by Black refugees after the collapse of global civilization due to catastrophic climate change. Blount’s music is rooted in care and confrontation. On stage, each song he and his band play is chosen for a reason—because it highlights important elements about the stories we tell ourselves of our shared history and our endlessly complicated present moment. The more we learn about where we’ve been, the better equipped we are to face the future. This is Jake Blount’s San Diego premiere. For more information visit: artpower.ucsd.edu

Gadan is a new project created by four experienced and well-known musicians in the Irish trad and European folk/rock scene. Their high-energy repertoire has a powerful live appeal and a sound comparable to new-trad acts such as Talisk, East Pointers, and WeBanjo3, but with a unique identity thanks to years of experience in several folk scenes, from Appalachian and old time to Scottish and Italian folk and traditional music. Their lineup consists of two banjos (tenor and clawhammer), fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki, and guitar, creating an “strings-only” sound with a hint of electronics, driven by a powerful rhythmic pulse. The members of the band include Joan Gatti on fiddle, Lorenzo Testa on tenor banjo and vocals, Jacopo Ventura on guitar and vocals, and Andrea Verga on 5-string banjo, mandolin, and vocals. The band ended its first United States tour in October 2022, playing in festivals and folk venues all along the East Coast. They are now back to cover the West. Gadan’s power leaves no one unmoved. You don’t need drums to groove. Stay Connected on Facebook

Laine joined Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder to form the Moody Blues and sang lead on the group's first hit, "Go Now." His death comes 50 years after the release of McCartney's Band on the Run album.