ON Culture | Everybody Dance for Pride Month and Pianos on State

By Leslie Dinaberg Sat Jun 22, 2024 | 10:00am

This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on June 21, 2024. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

ON the Page

Just in time to celebrate the tail end of Pride Month, Chaucer’s Books will host Storytime with Miss Angel on Saturday, June 29, at 2 p.m. Miss Angel’s storytimes, which Hannah Weaver beautifully profiled last summer (here), are a fanciful experience filled with laughter and stories, inviting and welcoming the entire family “to bring their happy minds and smiling hearts and join in and relive their childhood — page by page, book by book, story by story. With a diverse library of books that focus on kindness, self-love, empathy, and inclusion that also features a wide range of LGBTQ+ children’s books, Miss Angel creates a safe and encouraging space for everyone.” For more about Miss Angel, visit angeldmon.com.

Writer Via Bleidner, a former UCSB student who was profiled in our All Booked newsletter a few years ago, not only had her first essay collection — If You Lived Here You’d Be Famous By Now: True Stories From Calabasas — published while she was still a teen, the book was recently purchased for development at Netflix by one of Calabasas’s most famous residents: Kim Kardashian. Emma Roberts is also associated with the project.

In case you missed it, here’s my wrap-up on last weekend’s Bloomsday celebration.

After premiering at SBIFF in 2022, EVERYBODY DANCE is now an Emmy-nominated documentary screening on Amazon Prime. | Photo: Courtesy

ON the (Small) Screen

In case you missed it on the big screen, the now-Emmy-nominated documentary film EVERYBODY DANCE, which had its world premiere at the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, is screening for free on Amazon Prime video, in honor of Disability Pride Month, from now through the entire month of July. Producer-Director Dan Watt described the moving story of EVERYBODY DANCE — his first documentary film, which he made at age 56 — as following “five kids (with different disabilities) and families on their journey through life and toward their dance recital.” He continued, “I am neurotypical and having these families and this dance studio trust me with their stories is an honor, and I am so humbled by it. I learned so much over the 10 months of film, and I think that many others can benefit from hearing them tell their stories in their words.“ View the trailer here and watch the film here.

People of all ages enjoy interacting with Pianos on State. | Photo: Courtesy

ON the Walls

Artists have the opportunity to shine once again. Pianos on State put out an artist call for designs for the 15th year of this incredible interactive public art and music experience that takes place every October in Downtown Santa Barbara. Each piano, painted by regional artists, becomes its own interactive work of art, situated in key public spaces for the community to play, listen, and enjoy. Small stipends are provided and applications are being accepted through July 19. Find the guidelines and application links at pianosonstate.com/apply.

ON the Stage

Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins comes to the Bowl June 28. | Photo: Nick Caro

It’s almost time for the Totally Tubular Music Festival at the Bowl on June 28, which I’ve been excited for since it was first announced. The show features incredible music from the 1980s with the bands and/or members of Modern English, Men Without Hats, The Tubes, Thomas Dolby, The Plimsouls, Bow Wow Wow, Tommy Tutone, and The Thompson Twins. In case you missed it, here’s my interview with Tom Bailey, the OG of The Thompson Twins.

Some other shows on my radar that are coming up soon or went on sale recently include: Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band at the Lobero on June 28, OUR HOUSE: The Music of CSNY by Family & Friends at the Lobero on July 10, ALO and Donavon Frankenreiter at the Lobero on July 24, Eric Idle at the Lobero on September 4, Remi Wolf at the Bowl on September 10, The Robert Cray Band at the Lobero on September 14, Sturgill Simpson at the Bowl on September 15, comedian Ali Wong at the Arlington on September 21, Swan Lake (my favorite) at the Granada on September 22, Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam at the Lobero on September 24, Hot Tuna at the Lobero on September 30, Slightly Stoopid at the Bowl on October 6, Omar Apollo at the Bowl on October 8, Aimee Mann at the Lobero on October 30, Mat Kearney at the Lobero on November 18, and Livingston Taylor and Loudon Wainwright III at the Lobero on December 5.

Aimee Mann comes to the Lobero this fall. | Photo: Courtesy

Then we’ve got the whole UCSB Arts & Lectures season, which Tessa Reeg outlined for us here. I’ll go anywhere Yo-Yo Ma wants to take me, and same goes for Pico Iyer, but there’s a lot of “never before in Santa Barbara” content on the cultural calendar here too, including Snarky Puppy, Fran Liebowitz, and Larkin Poe. See their website for the whole season lineup.

“The California Sound” comes to SOhO on Sunday, June 23, with a rock ’n’ roll tribute to the artists whose music was the soundtrack for a generation steeped in messages of peace, love, social justice, and beyond. Songs by artists like Jackson Brown, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Carole King, Bonnie Raitt, and more will be performed by The Tribe, a collective of Los Angeles–based professional musicians that features a rotation of stellar singers who perform themed shows and tributes to various popular artists throughout Southern California. Click here for the complete list of performers and info.

Check out some of our recent reviews, including Avril Lavigne, Elvis Costello and Daryl Hall, Alan Parsons, Just Like Heaven festival, Pentatonix, Brothers Osborne, Little Shop of Horrors, Vampire Weekend, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ojai Music Festival, and many more at Independent.com.

ON the Calendar

Just some desperados moseying up the street at Old Santa Ynez Days | Photo: Shelby Caitlin Photography

Saddle up for some small-town fun at the 60th celebration of Old Santa Ynez Days this weekend. The celebration of western heritage starts out with a Kickoff Kickass dinner featuring a traditional pig roast barbecue and live music on Friday, June 21, at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and Parks-Janeway Carriage House. Saturday brings an outdoor street faire; a parade; live music from Terry and the Ripleys, Beau Red, and Pacquito Herrera; and there’s even line dancing in the street with line dance instruction at noon. There’s also a free kids’ area with pony rides, face-painting, a petting zoo, crafts, and more. Plus, the traditional tortilla toss, a pie judging contest, free carriage rides around town by acclaimed equestrian trainer Ramon Becerra, as well as free admission to the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum. In addition, it’s rodeo time: The Old Santa Ynez Days Rodeo begins on Saturday, June 22, at 3 p.m. and on Sunday, June 23, at 2 p.m. See oldsantaynezdays.com for all the details.

For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events/.