Epstein Family Amphitheater at UCSD Fills Opening Season with Comedy, Concerts, More

In its inaugural summer season, the Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego will host “Saturday Night Live” alum Fred Armisen and jazz artist Gregory Porter.

 “We’re proud to offer Grammy-award winning musicians, popular comedians, top-notch nostalgia bands, as well as programs for the youngest members of our community,” said Colleen Kollar Smith, an executive director at UCSD who oversees the amphitheater.

Armisen, also of “Portlandia” fame, arrives on Aug. 2,  with the show, “Comedy for Musicians but All Are Welcome,” billed as a night of comedy, music and fun, with special guests. Porter, the two-time Grammy winner, follows on Aug. 18. His last album, the collection, Still Rising, came out in 2021.

The remainder of the season, which continues through September, includes a mix of tours and local performers:

• There will be three global music concerts: Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Oumou Sangare on July 21; a founder of the Buena Vista Social Club, Cuban guitarist Eliades Ochoa on Aug. 19, and Love in Exile, a collaboration among singer/composer/producer Arooj Aftab, pianist and jazz composer Vijay Iyer, and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily on Sept. 19.
• The Family and Nostalgia series includes the music of Elton John in “Remember When Rock was Young” on Sept. 1 and the music of Prince in “Purple Xperience” on Sept. 2, with producer and recording artist Marshall Charloff. There also will be interactive shows, such as Disney’s “Moana Sing-along Film Night,” on Aug. 10.
• Local partnerships throughout the summer include City Ballet on July 14-15 and Aug. 11; the Blindspot Collective, presenting the Blindspot Youth Collective, on Aug. 4-5, and Doors for Change, featuring Ben Harper, on Sept. 9. 

Tickets may be purchased online. Sing-alongs start at $5, while other shows start at $15.