Stevie Wonder

Jazz Lab Ensemble with Kirsten Edkins

Saddleback College McKinney Theatre

The Gibson Amphitheatre To Close Its Doors

The storied L.A. venue announced today that it will officially close in September following a special grand finale concert honoring its history. The full press release is available below...

Eugene Owens' Slow Learner Collective Embrace Musical Polygamy

[Locals Only] Despite their loose lineup, the Long Beach band thrive on a tight, soulful sound

Stevie Wonder Cancels Scheduled Los Angeles Performance for Israeli Army Benefit

The battlegrounds of Palestinian civil society's call for a cultural boycott of Israel usually play out in Tel Aviv or in the music venues of other cities, but this week a prominent cancellation was gained much closer to home. The legendary Stevie Wonder was all set to perform for an annual Friends ... More >>

Before Canyon High's Mexi-Mocking Mess, There Was El Modena's Blackface Botch Up--And Canyon High's Principal Was at Both!

The Mexi-mocking antics of students at Canyon High School in Anaheim Hills during the now infamous "Seniores and Señoritas" Day earned them a spot on this infernal rag's current OC's Scariest People 2012 issue. Perpetuating stereotypes by dressing up as cholos, pregnant stroller pushers and deporti ... More >>

The Best Five Shows in OC This Week

Monday, September 24Pawn Shop Kings The Constellation RoomA unique musical style often comes from superior talent and vision, though it can also be a product of geographical diversity. Case in point: Pawn Shop Kings. They're a musical melting pot--a whole lot of Arkansas blended with SoCal's sunshin ... More >>

Red Dons

Prospector

Pawnshop Kings

Observatory

Stevie Wonder at Outside Lands: San Francisco Gets Life Lessons From the School of Wonder

See Also: *Outside Lands Spirit Guide: Top Five Do's and Don't's For the Festival Folk*Neil Young and Crazy Horse at Outside Lands Festival, 8/10/12*More Outside Lands Festival news from SF WeeklyStevie Wonder, in theory, is an American artistic treasure. He's more than our Beatles or Rolling Stones ... More >>

Rodrigo Y Gabriela At The Hollywood Palladium, April 7, 2012

Rodrigo Y Gabriela April 7, 2012 The Hollywood Palladium As the lights went down, the crowd cheered on the Latin guitarists as they took the stage; and as soon as the first few riffs were heard, the entire venue exploded with excitement. Not necessarily because the kick ass guitar duo had just se ... More >>

Frank Caliendo

Irvine Improv

[UPDATE: Casting Requirements Changed] Disneyland Wants Musicians For Mad T Party [Audition Details and More!]

​UPDATE, Jan 12, 2012, 3:13 p.m.: Stan Freese got in touch with us today and said that the casting requirements have been amended; the characters don't have to play specific instruments, as the original audition stated. Original post, Jan. 11, 2012, 10:58 a.m.: Can you play a mean guitar riff whil ... More >>

Ten Musician Stamps We'd Like To See

​ The US Postal Service, desperate to stop 15 years of bleeding caused by email and private competitors, announced that it will soon feature living people on stamps (the post office has long had a policy of placing only the dead on postage). Of interest to this column, the USPS will consider fe ... More >>

10 Best Albums of the Year--So Far

Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly​Hey, the year's half over! Isn't that reason enough to count back through the albums that have been released thus far in 2011 and decide which ones we can safely say are great? Yes, it is.Check out our picks after the jump--and see which ones made it.

Sheila E., Still Hot

[Mental Notes] Plus, Avenged Sevenfold's the Rev portrayed by a local 13-year-old drummer

Traffic Jams

Aloe Blacc honed his songwriting skills while stuck in traffic

Obama Tells Rolling Stone What's In His iPod: Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones, Natch! (Plus Some Jay-Z, Nas and Lil Wayne)

Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly​Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner got to sit down and interview President Obama; they talked about the war, the Tea Party, Afghanistan and other important, state-of-the-nation things, but the most interesting part of the interview was when RS asked what Mr. Preside ... More >>

Five Rock Stars Who Should Be 'American Idol' Judges

Now that both Ellen DeGeneres and Simon Cowell are leaving American Idol, rumors abound over who's going to be the next arbiter of taste on the Fox show. J Lo's supposedly signed a deal. Allegedly, Steven Tyler's been asked to join the show. P Diddy's thrown his hat into the ring. Elton John, Jessic ... More >>

5 More Plausible, Purpose-Driven Explanations for Pastor Rick Warren Nearly Going Blind

​As our man Kevin Short tells you here, Rick Warren, tweeted this week that his eyes "were severely burned by a toxic poison" during a gardening mishap that nearly blinded Saddleback Church's Purpose Driven® pastor.We not only ain't buying this explanation--and by "we" I mean "Spencer Kornhaber, ... More >>

Gettin' Made: Play it Again, Sam

Southern California craft show veteran Tyler Bender Book Co. has a brand new line of supercool wallets out there - The Original Record Wallets are, in a word, superbadass and amazing. Ok that was two words. But check em out: Fleetwood Mac record wallet by Tyler Bender Book Co.​ These ... More >>

President Obama, Paul McCartney, Jack White, Seinfeld, etc. Come Together And Sing "Hey Jude"

[Via Pitchfork] ​While you were eating dinner, doing laundry or watching TV last night, President Obama was apparently singing "Hey Jude" at the White House with a bunch of other famous people. The grand sing-along happened after he p ... More >>

Lil Wayne Eludes Jail with Toothache, Bonnaroo, Crossroads Guitar Festival, Bright Eyes

Lil Wayne eludes jail--for now--with toothache. Or something like that. Hilarious. Jay-Z, the Dead Weather and Phoenix are among the Coachella acts performing at Bonnaroo, which also has Dave Matthews Band (yawn), Weezer, Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Flaming Lips, Regina Spektor, Kid Kudi, Miranda ... More >>

Today in Music News: 'Thom Yorke????,' Jay-Z with U2, 'Hope for Haiti Now,' Kate McGarrigle

Oh, so that's why the Coachella poster reads "Thom Yorke????"Coachella-headliner Jay-Z to collaborate with U2 on Swiss Beatz-produced Haiti charity track. Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, which airs Fri., 8 p.m. ET/PT, features a slew of stars playing New York, London ... More >>

It's a Stevie Wonderful Life

Carpenter Center

Long Beach's Eugene Owens Parties Like It's 1914

TONIGHT: KCRW's Jeremy Sole Spins at Continental Room

Okay despite the fact that he mentions playing in the "IE" tonight on his Myspace page when referring to his gig at The Continental Room, we're willing to give Jeremy Sole a break. He's just that good. And maybe while he's down here, someone can remind him that Fullerton is still in Orange County. B ... More >>

More Michael Jackson! Memorial Participants, Plus Coverage Tomorrow

Michael Jackson: still dead. If he wasn't, there wouldn't be that public memorial tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Staples Center, and we wouldn't be here talking about it. In fact, we're going to be able to do more than just talk about it. Our guy Gabriel San Roman (check his story on new Nekromantix d ... More >>

Raising Standards

Sophie Milman

Marc Anthony and Alejandro Fernandes at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

[Locals Only] Carnevel Kings 'World We Livin'' (Do Your Worst Records)

The Mellow Show

Eric Hutchinson

Five Songs for MLK

From my web ed. brother in Minneapolis, Jeff Shaw: On the Dreamer's day, we offer up five divergent songs about Martin Luther King and the holiday that bears his name. They are upbeat and somber, they are angry and hopeful, they are old and new. 5. Ray Charles, "Abraham, Martin and John" First re ... More >>

Game On

WEB EXCLUSIVE! Party Pooper: The Wii’s latest pool game is a cue stick in the mud

Hand It to Him

OnDVD: The Science of Sleep

Diary of a Mad County

Jan. 10-Jan. 16

Do It Again

Brand New Heavies get used to it

Get Out!

April 27 - May 4: the Slaughtahouse

Have you impugned your local librarian today?

Those wascally wabble wousers at Dissent the Blog, your duly elected South Orange County Community College District watchdogs, have posted for our listenting pleasure a snippet from a recent Board of Disgustees meeting where (Dis)Trustee Don Wagner calls the American Library Association, based on hi ... More >>

Diary of a Mad County

Jan. 18 - Jan. 24

We Agree with Hugh Hewitt--But He's Still an Ass

Uber-blogger/radio host Hugh Hewitt doesn't like a lot of things: liberals, liberal journalists, liberal movies, liberal societal mores--and now, liberal oldies. Hewitt tells readers on Jan. 3 that KRTH-FM 101.1's Top 300 Songs of All Time countdown over the New Year's weekend was the "Worst Top 300 ... More >>

Live Review

Los Lobos and the Hacienda Brothers

Commie Girl

My Little Boy's First Gang!
The year I temporarily gave up trying to love Orange County

The White Stripes

Monk Hughes and the Outer Realm

The Car Crash Set

Five more musicians who put the pedal through the metal

Kevlar-Coated Soul

Greyboy breakdances music like architecture

Rule Your Radio

Diminishing Returns

Learning the rules at the Prospector, the HB Art Center and the Art Theatre

New Music

Let Us Now Praise the Very (Very) Rich

Really, isnt it about time?