Christopher Dale

Singer Christopher Dale performed in bands like Grays Well and Superdoo, before becoming a solo artist and racking up nearly a dozen San Diego Music Awards nominations. Dale recently filmed an appearance in Santa Cruz for writer-director James Nguyen’s upcoming independent film Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle. He’s also raising funds for a TV series in development, Here Comes Christopher Dale, for which he’s already written a theme song and produced a promotional trailer. “I’m bringing social reality to TV,” he explains. “Every year, I pack up my SUV and tour cross-country as a solo acoustic performer. I stay in people’s homes all along the way, getting up close and personal with my hosts, their family, friends, and neighbors while performing in their living rooms, backyards, front yards, and cul-de-sacs. I’m listening to interesting stories, enjoying many local flavors, and interacting with amusing pets as I’m filled with gratitude. Social media only gives you a glimpse of what these wonderful encounters are really like. I want everyone to have the chance to be a part of this journey, because the most important lesson I have learned from all of this is that we are all connected and I love how live music brings us together.” Dale’s new EP Where the Road Turns To Sand was just released on all digital platforms.

Djinn Tonic

Kirby’s Dream Band drummer Erich Beckmann is also the musical manipulator behind Djinn & Tonic, an experimental alt-rock project that makes what he calls electro exotica, blending electronic dance music with pop and folk instrumentation. Both lyrically and sonically, the songs take inspiration from pulp comics, videogame music, and psychotronic cult films. His new single for “Belo Horizonte,” which includes lyrics sung in Portuguese, is named for the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.7 million and a metropolitan area of 6 million people. The track, which samples a Saulo Duarte e a Unidade song called “Na Terra Vermelha,” comes from his just released debut Djinn & Tonic Electro Exotica album, with an accompanying animated video streaming online.

Iration

“We have all been friends since we were kids on the Big Island,” says mostly-Hawaiian reggae rock band Iration, whose most recent album Coastin’ was produced and co-written by David Manzoor (Lupe Fiasco, Cam, Method Man) and engineered by Will Brierre (Imagine Dragons, Chris Isaak). The same duo was behind the boards for the band’s previous albums Iration and Hotting Up, which helped elevate the group to staples on the jam band and concert festival circuits. The record includes guest appearances from fellow reggae stars Common Kings on the R&B-tinged track “If You Only Knew” and Hawaiian-based female reggae vocalist Eli-Mac on “Guava Lane,” as well as sporting orchestral strings on multiple songs. The video for lead single “Right Here Right Now” celebrates essential frontline workers with guests like Rebelution’s Eric Rachmany and members of Stick Figure. The people of the pandemic are saluted in fan-submitted photos and footage of Iration filmed in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Hawaii, along with Rachmany’s contribution from Guam and Stick Figure footage filmed in L.A.

Iration just announced a co-headlining summer tour with hip-hop duo Atmosphere, also featuring Katastro, who mixes alt-rock and hip-hop, and rapper-producer The Grouch with DJ Fresh. The tour includes a July 9 stop for San Diego Bayfest, at downtown’s Waterfront Park.

Some Girls

Hardcore punk-mathcore group Some Girls was founded by members of cutting edge local acts such as The Locust, the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, Give Up the Ghost, and Unbroken. Specializing in punk-influenced music similar to one of bassist Justin Pearson’s other bands, The Locust, their recorded output was mainly confined to a series of noisy EPs such as The DNA Will Have Its Say, released in 2005 on Pearson’s record label Three One G. After becoming mostly inactive other than occasional live gigs and one-off recordings, Some Girls singer Wes Eisold, previously of American Nightmare, relocated to Philadelphia. Guitarist Nathan Joyner went on to play with All Leather, Hot Nerds, Ese’ & Zain, and Psychic Graveyard. The sole official full-length released by Some Girls, 2006’s Heaven’s Pregnant Teens, is being re-issued on vinyl this month by Three One G. The label also just released a tribute album paying homage to Australian punk band The Birthday Party featuring Some Girls playing the title track, “Release the Bats.” The album includes fellow locals such as Cattle Decapitation, The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, and Kill Me Tomorrow.

Heshfest

An April 29 tribute concert for the late Van Bates, aka Black Hesher, who passed away in May 2021, will be staged at Queen Bee’s in North Park featuring live performances from the band he co-founded, San Diablo AllStars, as well as that group’s newest member Katie Ladubz. The New Hampshire transplant released her debut album Moves To Make in summer 2021 on the local Cult Muzic label, earning her a San Diego Music Awards nomination. Bates can be heard on the title track, and the album’s first video, “She Bitch” (featuring Mastero), was shot at Queen Bee’s, where Bates performed frequently and used to tape a radio show.

“So many things remind me of him, he was a very diverse individual,” says singer John Risdon, whose band Bathwater Babies will perform. “When I was on tour with my other band, Spice Pistols, I would talk to him every night before taking the stage. He wasn’t here anymore physically, but he was on that tour with me every night, getting me pumped up for the show. I take him with me everywhere.” The bill includes Diastro, Zak Meister, Bloodstone the Street Preacher, and 2021 San Diego Music Awards winner Sloat Dixon.