Making plans for the fall? Let us help. In our fall guide, we preview the best plays, concerts, fests and more coming to San Diego. Look for a roundup of the best in music, theater and festivals, with a spotlight feature in each category.
From indoor arenas to outdoor amphitheaters to concert halls to classic nightclubs, San Diego is chock-full of musical entertainment options this fall.
Times of San Diego’s fall music guide offers a little bit of the big national and international acts coming to town. Be ready to sample all manner of music in venues from El Cajon to Poway and Solana Beach to Chula Vista, as well as hot spots in the city and on college campuses.
Vieux Farka Touré
Sept. 24, UCSD Epstein Family Amphitheatre. Mali native Touré’s mesmerizing mix of adventurous African folk and blues likely would have garnered worldwide attention even if his father had not been Malian music legend Ali Farka Touré. In recent years, the son has been more openly connecting with his father’s music, especially on the 2022 album “Ali,” a collaboration with eclectic Houston ensemble Khruangbin. Opening act Gitkin. 7 p.m. $35-$55.
Mavis Staples
Sept. 27, Poway Center for the Performing Arts. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a multiple Grammy winner, the biggest star from 1960s-70s family band the Staple Singers has become an American icon. At 87, Mavis remains remarkably active, touring regularly to bring her uplifting soul songs to the masses. She’s also built a bridge to younger audiences by recording albums with noted indie producers including Jeff Tweedy and Brad Cook. No opening act. 4 p.m. $47-$104.
Billy Strings
Sept. 28, Pechanga Arena. In less than a decade, Strings went from self-released upstart to arena headliner — rare heights for a guy who plays bluegrass (albeit with a twist of punk energy). Strings is so highly respected by his peers that he got the coveted opening slot for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday at the Hollywood Bowl, where he played a song he wrote and sang with his fellow weed-toking picker. It’s titled, naturally, “California Sober.” No opening act. 7:30 p.m. Sold out (StubHub resales $109 and up).
Jack White
Sept. 30, The Sound, Del Mar. From acting (the Oscar-nominated “Cold Mountain”) to producing (Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose) to running a record label (Third Man), Jack White has stayed plenty busy enough over the years to almost make you forget that he made his name fronting the White Stripes and the Raconteurs. He’s also released seven solo albums, including this year’s “Frozen Charlotte,” which likely will be featured at this phone-free show (all cell phones will be placed in a locking pouch). No opening act. 8 p.m. $104.
Marco Antonio Solis
Oct. 2, NICU Amphitheatre, Chula Vista. Winner of five Latin Grammys and a member of Billboard’s Latin Music Hall of Fame, Solis is one of Mexico’s great romantic balladeers. Since leaving his breakthrough band Los Bukis in 1996, he’s released more than a dozen Spanish-language solo albums. No opening act. 8 p.m. $78.25 and up.
The Wallflowers
Oct. 8-9, Belly Up, Solana Beach. Band leader Jakob Dylan hasn’t been nearly as prolific as his famed father Bob, releasing just seven Wallflowers albums plus three solo efforts in a 34-year recording career. But the quality level of the Wallflowers’ rock and pop material is consistently high, as they proved at an excellent Belly Up show two years ago. Whitmore Sisters open. 8 p.m. Thursday, 9 p.m. Friday. $65-$114.
Punch Brothers
Oct. 9, Epstein Family Amphitheater. Instrumental virtuosity is central to the Punch Brothers’ identity. Now they they have a new addition, a sister, fiddler Brittany Haas from the band Crooked Still. They also have a new album, “The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers,” a nod to the album being their first-ever all-instrumental project. 7:30 p.m., $82-$135.
Bonnie Raitt
Oct. 17, Rady Shell. Winner of 13 Grammys plus a Lifetime Achievement Award, Raitt’s still rocking out at 76. Known for her fiery guitar playing as well as a richly expressive singing voice, Raitt has continued to create some of her best work in the twilight of her career, winning Song of the Year at the 2023 Americana Music Awards for her single “Just Like That.” Opening act Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. 7 p.m. $71-$210.
Iron & Wine
Oct. 20, Magnolia, El Cajon. The performing name of singer-songwriter Sam Beam, Iron & Wine has enchanted audiences with quietly beautiful songs since 2002’s Sub Pop Records debut “The Creek Drank The Cradle.” After a jump to 4AD and Nonesuch in the 2010s, Beam returned to Sub Pop for his last three releases, including this year’s acclaimed “Hen’s Teeth.” Opening act Dug. 8 p.m. $42-$92.
Joy Oladokun
Oct. 21, Observatory North Park. From Nashville via Arizona, Oladokun is known for poignantly addressing her experiences as a Black and queer woman with songs such as “I See America.” She’s touring behind a new album, “Hope Is A Heavy Thing,” due out Sept. 25 on major label Concord. No opening act. 8 p.m. $40.
Juanes
Oct. 22, Gallagher Square. A native of Colombia, Juanes has been among the biggest names in Latin rock and pop in the 21st century. He’s won three Grammys and an astounding 26 Latin Grammys, and he’s fresh off the release of the bold new concept album “JuanesTeban.” No opening act. 8 p.m. $69 and up.
Gary Clark Jr.
Oct. 27-28, Humphrey’s. The Texas blues guitar slinger was considered an heir to Stevie Ray Vaughan in his teen years, but he gradually came into his own with a distinct style that injects blues with elements of rock, punk, soul, hip-hop and more. Both shows of this two-night stand are phone-free; all cell phones will be placed in a locking pouch. No opening act. 7:30 p.m. $87.
Son Volt, Kelly Willis
Nov. 21, Music Box. Get twice the bang for your buck with this double bill of major players in Americana music. Jay Farrar’s Son Volt charged out of the gate with a near-perfect debut album in 1995 and has continued combining indie-rock and trad-country sounds on a dozen records, including the new “Sound Signal Serenades.” Son Volt and Willis collaborated on a 1996 EP, which makes her an ideal touring partner. The Austin country singer-songwriter has more than a dozen records of her own, counting collaborations with ex-husband Bruce Robison and a recent album as “Wonder Women of Country” with Brennen Leigh and Melissa Carper. 9 p.m. $38.
More upcoming shows: Sept. 20, Brandi Carlile at Rady Shell; Oct. 13, Geese at Gallagher Square; Oct. 21, Weezer at Viejas Arena; Oct. 25, Gorillaz at Pechanga Arena; Oct. 30, B-52’s and Devo at NICU Amphitheatre; Nov. 13-14, Donavon Frankenreither and Band of Heathens at Belly Up.
