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Big stars, international acts and festivals – this is what music lovers can enjoy in 2023. We’ve covered many performers, shows and other music events over the past 12 months, but here are a few that stand out.
festival circuit
2023 is a big year for the music festival, with audiences coming from far and wide to enjoy a variety of festivities in Ventura County.
Summer has officially kicked off with a popular arts and music festival that brings nearly every musical genre to the parks of Conejo Valley. Shortly after, the Ojai Music Festival, helmed by Rhiannon Giddens, offered audiences a four-day “journey of discovery” featuring a diverse range of artists. The New West Symphony has teamed up with Moorpark College to present its first-ever summer festival, in which the organization departs from its typical classical music style to offer country, mariachi and rock music, as well as a screening of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with live orchestral accompaniment. The 28th Ventura Music Festival makes a stunning debut, featuring performances by jazz superstar Dianne Reeves, the tap and piano duo of Teicher and Tao, and other top performers. In September, the Oxnard Jazz Festival features a plethora of Latin music on the beach, as well as jazz, funk and blues.
But let’s be honest, there’s music all year round. Skulls & Roses (April), Boots & Beer (May), Tequila & Tacos (July) and The Throw Down Cornhole (August) music festivals draw crowds to Ventura. Elsewhere, Camarillo hosts a summer concert series in Constitution Park, Channel Islands Harbor brings Maritime Concerts to Harborview Park, and Moorpark’s High Street Arts Center welcomes a variety of tribute bands in August. In October, local boy Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played a sold-out show for the Mountains to Sea Jubilee and Music Festival at Veterans Park in Santa Paula.
Rosanne Cash performs at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center on February 19. Photography: Michael Lavine
star power
It doesn’t take much effort to convince top talent to come to these departments. Even so, we have some big names taking to the Ventura County stage this year.
In early February, the U.S. Bank Performing Arts Center welcomed back Rosanne Cash, the Grammy Award-winning, chart-topping American artist who attended high school in Ventura and Spending time in the area with her famous father (former Casitas Springs resident) Johnny Cash.
In March, Los Lobos lit up the Oxnard Performing Arts Center, and Scottish singer/songwriter KT Tunstall, known for her 2006 hit “Suddenly I See,” brought her indie rock style to Ventura in June concert hall. In October, downtown Ventura hotspot The Church also hosts events for 1980s new wave darlings.
In 2023, Ojai has several great shows coming to town. Libbey Bowl welcomes Lyle Lovett in July, and local favorite Toad the Wet Sprocket arrives in August. Then, in November, grunge rock band Soul Asylum played a special acoustic show at the Deer Lodge.
We also did stories about the Dandy Warhols and Brit Floyd – they both appeared at the Majestic Ventura Theatre.
Mostly Kosher was part of the inauguration ceremony and concert held on June 11 at Temple Etz Chaim.Photo submitted
global voice
Sounds from around the world are heard throughout the region, with artists from far-flung places making stops in Ventura County. For example, in March, Sterling Venue Ventures (the organization behind The Canyon) and the Ventura Music Festival teamed up to present the playful and talented Mnozil Brass, a group of horn players who traveled all the way from Austria to perform in Oxnard.
Mnozil Brass isn’t the only international star to make a local appearance. The NAMBA performing arts space welcomed Italian trio Ensemble Sangineto in May and Irish musician Frankie Gavin in November. Fun fact: In addition to being a top performer of traditional Celtic music, Gavin is also known as the fastest fiddler in the world.
Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks dedicated its new temple and performance space in June, and it’s pretty cool. But even cooler was the band’s appearance, turning the ceremony into a real rock event. Mainly Kosher (very danceable klezmer gypsy rock) and Nefesh Mountain (East Coast “Jewgrass”) brought something exciting and fresh to the event and helped the temple reach out to new…maybe younger ones ……audience.
In September, The Grapes welcomed Bassel and the Supernaturals, fronted by singer-songwriter Bassel Almadani, who shared his “Syrian Heart and Sound” with local jazz lovers Midwestern Soul”. In November, we turned the belated spotlight to the Cool Hand Ukes, a ukulele ensemble that ranges in size from a few to dozens of members and doggedly shows up at the Harbor every Saturday morning Cove Cafe, performing with various bands. A sound clearly influenced by the South Pacific.
There’s been a lot of good music in the last 12 months. Keep rocking, rolling, swinging and grooving through the rest of 2023…and turn up the volume for an exciting 2024!
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