San Diego venues preparing for indoor concerts
It remains to be seen if indoor and outdoor concerts in San Diego and throughout California will be able to resume without any restrictions on June 15, contingent on the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations at the time and the amount of available vaccines.
Nevertheless, several San Diego concert presenters announced Monday that they are gearing up for renewed activity.
Humphreys Concerts by the Bay confirmed its first booking of 2021 — a pair of Aug. 17 and 18 standing-room-only shows by the Philadelphia folk-rock band Mt. Joy and the bluegrass-fueled Minnesota group Trampled By Turtles. Tickets go on sale this week for the concerts at the 1,450capacity Shelter Island venue, whose 40th anniversary last year was pushed back to 2021 because of the pandemic.
The Westgate Hotel will resume top trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos’ weekly Friday jazz series, which is being moved outdoors, on May 14. The Westgate has also set a June 24 launch for its Castellanos-curated weekly Thursday Sunset Poolside Jazz Series, which will become a ticketed event for the first time in its nine-year history.
But first up is Camarada, whose previously announced audience-free April 24 livestream Stevie Wonder tribute concert, “In the Key of Life,” has been moved to this Friday and will be open to a limited number of ticketholders to attend in person.
Friday’s 7 p.m. Camarada performance will be held at La Jolla Music Society’s state-of-the-art Baker-Baum Concert Hall. It is set to become the first ticketed indoor concert with a live audience to take place in San Diego County since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered all live events here last March. The concert, which will be filmed for streaming on the original April 24 date, is being underwritten by arts patrons Sheryl and Bob Scarano.
“We’ve been working very closely with the La Jolla Music Society to ensure we’re following all the guidelines,” said Camarada co-founder and flutist Beth Ross Buckley.
As per county health guidelines, attendance for Friday’s concert will be limited to just 15 percent of the BakerBaum’s usual 513-seat capacity for a total of 76 people. That number includes the seven musicians, along with a handful of audio engineers, camera operators and other production staff members. The 60 concert attendees will have to each sign a waiver before being admitted. They will be seated 6 feet apart in assigned seats on the venue’s main floor, where members of up to three households can be seated together at their request.
Humphreys plans to operate at its full 1,450 capacity when the outdoor venue reopens this summer. The Westgate will move its Friday night jazz series from its indoor Palace Bar to its new outdoor restaurant, Veranda, which has a capacity of 50. Capacity for the Westgate’s 21-and-up Sunset Poolside Jazz Series — which has been 150 in previous years — will be capped at 75 this summer, according to Westgate Marketing Manager Tina Hingle.
For more information, visit the organizations’ respective websites.