Don’t let the May Gray get you down. Here are seven great ways to enjoy Point Loma and Ocean Beach this month.
This piece is also featured in the triumphant return of the San Diego Reader as a print publication. Find it as a special arts and entertainment insert inside the latest issue of the Peninsula Beacon.
Opening reception for Nature’s Echo watercolor exhibition
The painter Andrew Wyeth — perhaps you recall the way the Tom Cruise sci-fi film Oblivion used his painting “Christina’s World” to evoke what was lost when civilization fell to an alien invasion — once noted that “watercolor is the most spontaneous of all mediums. You’ve got to take chances with it. There’s no way to come back into it and correct it. It’s pure — what you see is what you get.” (See his motion-in-stillness “Wind from the Sea” to get a sense of what he was getting at, and to see just what’s possible with drybrush in the hands of a master. Then ask AI to do Wyeth-style drybrush watercolor winter scene to see why artists still matter.) Or, as the painter John Singer Sargent put it, with watercolor, you “make the best of an emergency.” Now you can make decoration from that emergency: the exhibition will be juried by local award-winning watercolorist Susan Keith, and features 95 entries for sale and ready to hang.
- Where: San Diego Watercolor Society, 2825 Dewey Road #202, San Diego
- When: Friday, May 1, 2026 at 5 pm (exhibition runs all month)
- Ages: all ages
- Cost: free
Who Do You Think You Are?
The WhatNext Collective presents a staged reding of eight short plays that tell “stories from the second act,” that time of life when the kids start to venture forth but the chickens come home to roost. J. Alfred Prufrock measured out his life in coffee spoons; “200 Coffee Filters” measures out love in…well, you know. “Bittercake” looks at what else gets handed down alongside a family recipe. “Off Sides” watches two soccer moms as they watch their kids on the field. “Still Standing” pits a standup comedian against the knockdown heckling of cancer personified. “The Gossip” takes up Mr. Rogers’ terrifying question, “Who are the people in your neighborhood?” “Thirty-Five Candles” gives two old friends a chance to reunite and reminisce — which can’t possibly be a good idea. “Under the Influence” exposes an influencer during her own livestream. And “Confetti Time” takes up the case of a compliance officer who approved the destruction of $9 million in contraceptives and decides she has to do something about it.
- Where: Old Town Theatre, 4040 Twiggs Street, San Diego
- When: Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 5 pm
- Ages: Shows treat adult material
- Cost: $25-$58
Bach Collegium: Far Beyond the Skies
Leave it to Bach to take the old saw “Rest in Peace” and give it life with “Komm, süßer Tod” — come, sweet death. A favorite verse, translated: Come, sweet death, come, blessed rest!
Oh, that I were already there among the hosts of angels, out of this dark world, into the blue canopy of stars, up toward heaven. O blessed rest! Oh, so that’s what they mean by RIP! Of course, Bach’s is not the only song to express sweet longing for release. Anybody ever hear “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?” I looked over Jordan, and what did I see, Coming for to carry me home? A band of angels coming after me, Coming for to carry me home. The Bach Collegium brings these two musical traditions together (and tosses in some Telemann to boot) as countertenor d’amore Reginald Mobley performs favorites from the spiritual canon on themes of peace and comfort. (For those seeking further context, a pre-concert panel discussion will take place at 3:30, before the start of the concert.)
- Where: All Souls Episcopal Church, 1475 Catalina Boulevard, San Diego
- When: Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 4 pm
- Ages: all ages
- Cost: $15.53-$72.45
Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas
Founded in 2011 by members of the Fairfield Fats Band, Superkeltic, Enuf, and the Clairemonsters, Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas specialize in a brand of Celtic rock that fuses traditional folk and roots music and instrumentation with rock and roll arrangements honed over countless live performances. The band’s live sets mix originals with classic country, bluegrass, traditional Irish, and Led Zeppelin, all the while expressing their love for traditional Irish music and its connection to American bluegrass and country, as well as its rock and roll roots. With a stage lineup featuring up to eight or more members, their all-acoustic setup includes parts for upright bass, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, banjo, and tin whistle. Their third album “Third Flagon” won a 2023 San Diego Music Award for Best Local Recording, and they followed up with “Live At the Belly Up” in 2024 and last year’s “Speedway Racer” album. Besides this performance at Humphreys, May sees them playing at Gator by the Bay, Tio Leo’s, and the Blarney Stone.
- Where: Humphreys Backstage Music Club, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego
- When: Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 8 pm
- Ages: 21+
- Cost: $5 cover
Wisconsin Cheese Experience
Back in the ‘90s, Wisconsin cheese was ascendant. The Cheesheads had cheered their beloved Packers to a win in Super Bowl XXXI. That was in 1997, the same year that Culver’s introduced their Wisconsin cheese curds onto their fast food menu. When I said “cheddar,” you said “Wisconsin.” (Alas, o England!) Small wonder that the California dairy industry felt the need to mount a PR campaign — that much, we’ve always been good at. And what a campaign. The California Happy Cows proved the most popular, but the live-action spots — the image above is a still from one of them — were on a par with anything the “Got Milk” people ever managed. Oh, how times have changed. Surely there is no clearer sign of victory than when you welcome your onetime rival as a guest in your home. The San Diego Cheese & Libation Expo returns for 2026 with an elevated experience celebrating artisan cheese and curated beverage pairings. This year offers a rare taste of “America’s Dairyland” through 10 award-winning cheesemakers, including Carr Valley Cheese, Sartori Cheese, Marieke Gouda, and more.
- Where: Brick, 2863 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego
- When: Friday, May 15, 2026 from 5 pm-8pm; Saturday, May 16, 2026 from 1 pm-5 pm; Sunday, May 17, 2026 from 11 am-3 pm
- Ages: all ages
- Cost: $75-$125 (Children under 12, $10; children under 2, free)
Sprung Monkey: 10 Year Anniversary Show featuring full performance of Situation Life
Monkey trivia: Sprung Monkey was formed when members responded to an ad in the San Diego Reader, they recorded their first demo tape at Nestor Studios in El Cajon. “When we started, we played at Soma, the first Casbah, Winters, Bodie’s, and the World Beat Center,” recalls lead singer Steve Summers. “One guy who came to see us happened to be Taylor Steele, who put us in his surf videos. That gave us and bands like Pennywise and 7 Seconds huge exposure to the surf community. We were golden everywhere there was water.” The band, founded in 1991, had several national party-romp hits, including “Get ’Em Outta Here” from their album Situation Life. Their music appeared in movie soundtracks, such as “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” and “Van Wilder,” which led to major-venue surfer stomps on both U.S. coasts, Hawaii, and Australia, and then to bookings at ESPN’s X Games, Warped Tours, and MTV Spring Break parties. They toured with the Offspring, Korn, and the Deftones. “Kid Rock was on tour opening for us when his record broke.” Now Kid Rock is buddies with Trump, and Sprung Monkey is playing Situation Life front-to-back at The Holding Company.
- Where: The Holding Company, 5046 Newport Avenue, San Diego
- When: Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm
- Ages: 21+
- Cost: $25
Weekend to Remember Brad Nowell
Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell died 30 years ago on May 25th. In honor of Nowell’s lasting impact and unique genius, Skunk Records, the label he co-founded, is bringing the Skunk Allstars — Burnt, Perro Bravo, and some special surprise guests — to Ocean Beach’s The Harp for a historic weekend in honor of Nowell, his father Papa Jim, and Bradley’s beloved Dalmatian, Lou Dog. (The Harp, as you know doubt know, is currently co-owned by Miles Doughty of Ocean Beach’s Slightly Stoopid, which signed with Skunk way back when.) Burnt will follow-up with a free matinee show on Sunday after the Saturday blowout.
- Where: The Harp, 4934 Newport Avenue, San Diego
- When: Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 8pm; Sunday, May 24, 2026 at 3 pm
- Ages: 21+
- Cost: $20 on Saturday, free on Sunday
