From Classical to Pop to Jazz, Rady Shell Has It All This Summer Season

The slate for the third summer season at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park features an opening weekend that mixes classical music with classic rock and soul.

San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare conducts the orchestra for the June 30 Opening Night Concert celebration. The following night, the Beach Boys come to town,
followed by the July 2 “Aretha: A Tribute,” as guest artists, accompanied by the orchestra, explore the Queen of Soul.

The remainder of the season, concluding Sept. 26, includes salutes to the movies, pop music,
jazz and Broadway.

Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer said she hopes that the Rady Shell, recently called one of the “country’s coolest concert venues” by Forbes, becomes “a place that belongs to everyone.”

Opening night also will feature the West Coast premiere of Roberto Sierra’s Salseando featuring musician Pacho Flores, a highlight for Payare.

“When we programmed this concert, we really thought about opening our season with a set of works sharing the excitement and thrill found in all forms of dance,” he said. “I look forward to seeing everyone there and sharing the stage with my friend and the amazing trumpet player Pacho Flores.”

Other upcoming shows for the summer:

• July 30, San Diego favorites Mariachi Los Camperos.
• Aug. 5, “Clouds In My Coffee: The Trailblazing Music of Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Carly Simon.
• Aug. 18, Grammy-award winner Judy Collins and jazz artist Madeleine Peyroux.
• Aug. 25, Show tunes in conductor Rob Fisher’s “Broadway Romance,” featuring vocalists Mikaela Bennett and Ross Lekites.

Some artists also will make their Rady Shell debuts, including C&C Music Factory (July 4), best known for the hit “Gonna Make you Sweat,” Grammy nominee Charlie Puth (July 9), Patti LaBelle (Aug. 19) and Van Morrison (Sept. 4).

The classical music programs include “Beethoven by the Bay,” with guest soloist Eric Lu (Aug. 4) and the “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” on Sept. 1.

“Movies in Concert” – with the San Diego Symphony playing a film score while the film screens in the background – includes Apollo 13 (July 7), How to Train Your Dragon (July 8) and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Aug. 11-12).

Tickets sales for individual shows opened this week. Partial and full subscriptions are available as well.