The four San Diego concerts that will put a spring in your step in the coming week!
Six-String Society presents Shemekia Copeland, with Ben Powell
A world-class blues, soul gospel and rock singer, Shemekia Copeland is on a major roll.
Review: Vocal dynamo Shemekia Copeland, up for three 2025 Grammy Awards, soars at San Diego concert
A triple 2025 Grammy Award-nominee for her terrific album, “Blame It On Eve,” she kicked off 2026 by performing on ABC-TV's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest.”
In February she flew to India to perform at the annual Mahindra Blues Festival in Mumbai. She followed that by joining Joe Bonamassa, Slash and Myles Kennedy for a high-octane new version of the U2/B.B. King song “When Love Comes To Town,” which is featured on the new all-star tribute album, “B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100: Celebrating The King of The Blues.”
The daughter of the late Texas-bred blues great Johnny Copeland, with who she often performed, Shemekia Copeland was just 23 when she did a galvanizing duet with King on a 2003 episode of “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
In 2012, she shared lead vocals with King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger and President Barack Obama for the PBS-TV special, “In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues.”
On June 4, Copeland will be part of an equally stellar lineup when she sings at the grand opening of the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University in New Jersey. She’ll be sharing the stage for the “Music America: The Songs that Shaped Us” concert with Springsteen, Roseanne Cash, Trombone Shorty, Kenny Chesney, Valerie June, ‘Keb ‘Mo, Dropkick Murphys, and other artists.
Happily, San Diego music fans need travel no farther than Escondido on Saturday to hear Copeland - an Oceanside resident for the past five years - and her ace band perform. Based on her performances that I attended here last year at Humphreys and at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, you can expect a night of musical fireworks.
7 p.m. Saturday, April 25. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $43.20-$103.20. 800-988-4253; artcenter.org/event/shemekia-copeland/
Aaron Diehl Trio
How versatile is pianist Aaron Diehl?
His many credits include performances with the New York Philharmonic, pioneering minimalist composer Philip Glass, genre-blurring singer Cecile McLorin Salvant, drum dynamo Tyshawn Sorey and such past and present jazz sax powerhouses as Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath and Branford Marsalis.
On his own, Diehl manages the not inconsiderable feat of sounding fresh and traditional at the same time.
He clearly has great reverence for the history of jazz and his piano work is marked by his harmonic sophistication. But Diehl is as playful as he is precise, and when those two qualities merge in his playing the results can be enchanting.
5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday, April 24. The JAI, The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Avenue, La Jolla. $75-$81. 858-459-3728; theconrad.org.
James Taylor & His All-Star Band
This storied troubadour sold out both of his 2025 San Diego concerts at The Shell, so some may be surprised he is only back for one night at the same venue this year.
James Taylor's San Diego concert a triumph of skill, tenacity, charm and wit
Either way, you can expect a night of classic songs - and a few unexpected treats - by a legendary singer-songwriter whose timeless music exudes warmth and charm.
Equally alluring is Taylor’s aptly named All-Star Band, which is anchored by drum great Steve Gadd. The lineup also includes such stellar musicians as keyboardist Larry Goldings, bassist Jimmy Johnson, guitarist Michael Landau, percussionist Luis Conte, horn players Walt Fowler and Lou Marini, and singers Kate Markowitz, Dorian Holley and Andrea Zohn.
Their collective recording and performance credits could easily fill several pages of today’s Night & Day section. Their performance here next week is the second date on a world tour that stretches into late September.
As of this writing, there are only a handful of tickets still for sale at face value.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28.The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 200 Marina Park Way. $279.05. ticketmaster.com.
15th Annual International Jazz Day, featuring Allison Adams Tucker
There are few musicians better suited to celebrate International Jazz Day than San Diego’s Allison Tucker Adams, who sings adeptly in six languages.
Allison Adams Tucker a skilled singer in many tongues
Accordingly, she and her specially assembled sextet will celebrate International Jazz Day by performing songs from Africa, Cuba, Brazil, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico and the United States.
Her band will feature pianist Melonie Grinnell, percussionist (and 2025 San Diego Music Hall of Fame inductee) Monette Marino, guitarist Joe Amato, bassist Harley Magsino, drummer Mike Holguin and saxophonist, flutist and harmonica player Tripp Sprague.
Their repertoire will include songs from Belgium, Brazil, France, England, Japan, Mexico, England and the U.S., along with some group originals. Adams will also be the featured singer Sunday at Camarada’s Brazilian music celebration, “Jobim: Portrait in Black & White” at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla.
8 p.m. next Thursday, April 30. Dizzy's at Arias Hall (behind the Musicians Association Building), 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park. $30-$35. dizzysjazz.com/
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 6:17 AM.