ADAMS AVENUE STREET FAIR
When the free Adams Avenue Street Fair celebrates its 41st annual edition Saturday and Sunday, it will be more than twice as old as some of the musicians performing. Happily, there are few signs of middle-age stasis in this year’s lineup at the street fair. The 2023 street fair will be bigger than ever, literally. Where previous editions covered seven blocks of Adams Avenue in Normal Heights and an adjoining one on Mansfield Street, this year’s iteration will add two more blocks on Adams. Better yet, this weekend’s roster of performers — 47 Saturday, 27 Sunday — boasts some of the strongest acts the street fair has had in some time. Saturday’s lineup includes the soul-shaking Earl Thomas (pictured) & The Gospel Ambassadors; the roots-rocking Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys; acid-jazz mainstays The Price of Dope; the Americana-championing Chloe Lou & The Liddells; and the ever-animated Lucy’s Fur Coat, which formed in 1990, broke up in 1999, and has since reunited periodically. Sunday will feature twangy country songstress Sara Petite and her band; the genre-blurring Montablan Quintet; Sue Palmer & Her Motel Swing Orchestra; Latin-jazz favorites Quinteto Caballero; and Miniaturized — an all-star San Diego group whose 2023 debut album would be a standout in any year. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Adams Avenue between 32nd Street and 37th Street. Free to all ages; craft beer tasting tickets (for attendees 21 and up) are $30; Cannabis Row tickets (also for attendees 21 and up) are $5. adamsavenuebusinessass.com/adams-avenue-street-fair
Gayle Skidmore, with Pip Lewis and Whiskey & Burlap: It’s been a decade since Gayle Skidmore won the 2013 San Diego Music Award in the Best SingerSongwriter category. A classically trained pianist who has a degree in theology, she played no fewer than 20 instruments on her arresting debut album, “Make Believe.” Now based in the Netherlands — and with close to 3,000 original songs to her credit — Skidmore won’t lack for selections to choose from when she performs a homecoming gig here this weekend. 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. $12 (must be 21 or older to attend). casbahmusic.com Madison McFerrin:
Standing out from the shadow cast by a famous musical parent is rarely easy, as Taylor McFerrin can no doubt attest. The Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter is the daughter of vocal wizard Bobby McFerrin, whose 1988 hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” remains the only a cappella song to top the U.S. singles charts. Taylor is now on tour to promote her debut album, “I Hope You Can Forgive Me.” It’s an atmospheric blend of contemporary R&B, triphop, electro-pop, gospel and more. What results suggests that, with more time to hone a distinctive style, she could establish herself as a force in her own right — just as her brother, fellow singer Taylor McFerrin — has been doing. 8 p.m. Thursday. The Loft at UC San Diego, 3500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla. $30 general admission; $40 reserved seating. artpower.ucsd.edu