Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Beer and wine fuel La Mesa's music scene

Breweries bringing bands to East County

The Setting Sons duo plays a show in the beer garden at helix Brewing Co. in La Mesa.
The Setting Sons duo plays a show in the beer garden at helix Brewing Co. in La Mesa.

Depot Springs, the brewery, restaurant, live music venue being built in La Mesa, seems to be nearing the finish line. After two years of development — and delays — founder Aaron Dean anticipates the ambitious project will bring beer and bands to the northeast corner of the community in the new year, hoping for late January as a new target date.

In the meantime, La Mesa's existing breweries have developed a small music scene of their own in the city's industrial center. Helix Brewing Co. and Bolt Brewery have each been featuring live music on Friday and Saturday nights since they opened a year and two years ago, respectively. Though neither feature the dedicated stage nor pro sound system Depot Springs has planned, their makeshift outdoor venues have steadily brought a variety of performers to the area around Center Street, just off the 8 freeway at Spring Street.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Longtime San Diego band FuseBox regularly performs shows at La Mesa's Bolt Brewery.

"Things are rocking at Helix," says owner and brewer Cameron Ball. "We have some great musicians lined up." He cites recurring acts such as local reggae songwriter Casey Turner and Ocean Beach surf-rock tribute band the Surf Birdz as popular draws. Since bands play in the corner of Helix's intimate beer garden, most acts stick to chill and/or classic-rock tunes, much like recent first-time Helix performers, Americana duo Setting Sons.

Two blocks over, Bolt Brewery sets up its own outdoor stage in between its beer garden bar and Quonset hut brewhouse, where things tend to amp up a little more. Longtime local band FuseBox plays there often. "We have a reoccurring gig," says vocalist and bass player Jason Thomas. "We've been playing here since last year, and it's been pretty fun."

Thomas, who lives in La Mesa, says he often drops by the brewery to see other musicians play and also performs at Bolt with another band, Manganista. While each band also plays traditional venues such as the Casbah and Belly Up, they've found a regular draw among friends and fans at Bolt, to the point Manganista scheduled its November 12 record release party at the brewery.

"Plus, we like craft beer," Thomas adds. "Even when we first started back in '92, we would have keg parties." He points out that those early high school kegs were typically brewed by future World Beer Cup champ, Tom Nickel.

One brewery regular I spoke to at Bolt said he routinely stops in at both breweries to check out the music, usually sticking around for the band he likes best. He also drops by the recently opened Wine Works, which sits between the beer companies on Center Street.

Wine Works is a cooperative tasting room of local urban wineries Wyatt Oaks and San Pasqual. Like San Pasqual's La Mesa Village venue, Wine Works also features live music. "At our other tasting room, it was mainly jazz, standards, a lot of singer songwriters," says assistant manager Ryan Alexander, "but we've kind of branched out a little here." Between the adjacent freeway and industrial neighboring businesses that close at night, he points out there's nobody to be bothered by louder volume in this small music scene. "It's a bit more energetic," he adds, "especially with the breweries on either side of us. You never know when people are going to start rolling in."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
The Setting Sons duo plays a show in the beer garden at helix Brewing Co. in La Mesa.
The Setting Sons duo plays a show in the beer garden at helix Brewing Co. in La Mesa.

Depot Springs, the brewery, restaurant, live music venue being built in La Mesa, seems to be nearing the finish line. After two years of development — and delays — founder Aaron Dean anticipates the ambitious project will bring beer and bands to the northeast corner of the community in the new year, hoping for late January as a new target date.

In the meantime, La Mesa's existing breweries have developed a small music scene of their own in the city's industrial center. Helix Brewing Co. and Bolt Brewery have each been featuring live music on Friday and Saturday nights since they opened a year and two years ago, respectively. Though neither feature the dedicated stage nor pro sound system Depot Springs has planned, their makeshift outdoor venues have steadily brought a variety of performers to the area around Center Street, just off the 8 freeway at Spring Street.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Longtime San Diego band FuseBox regularly performs shows at La Mesa's Bolt Brewery.

"Things are rocking at Helix," says owner and brewer Cameron Ball. "We have some great musicians lined up." He cites recurring acts such as local reggae songwriter Casey Turner and Ocean Beach surf-rock tribute band the Surf Birdz as popular draws. Since bands play in the corner of Helix's intimate beer garden, most acts stick to chill and/or classic-rock tunes, much like recent first-time Helix performers, Americana duo Setting Sons.

Two blocks over, Bolt Brewery sets up its own outdoor stage in between its beer garden bar and Quonset hut brewhouse, where things tend to amp up a little more. Longtime local band FuseBox plays there often. "We have a reoccurring gig," says vocalist and bass player Jason Thomas. "We've been playing here since last year, and it's been pretty fun."

Thomas, who lives in La Mesa, says he often drops by the brewery to see other musicians play and also performs at Bolt with another band, Manganista. While each band also plays traditional venues such as the Casbah and Belly Up, they've found a regular draw among friends and fans at Bolt, to the point Manganista scheduled its November 12 record release party at the brewery.

"Plus, we like craft beer," Thomas adds. "Even when we first started back in '92, we would have keg parties." He points out that those early high school kegs were typically brewed by future World Beer Cup champ, Tom Nickel.

One brewery regular I spoke to at Bolt said he routinely stops in at both breweries to check out the music, usually sticking around for the band he likes best. He also drops by the recently opened Wine Works, which sits between the beer companies on Center Street.

Wine Works is a cooperative tasting room of local urban wineries Wyatt Oaks and San Pasqual. Like San Pasqual's La Mesa Village venue, Wine Works also features live music. "At our other tasting room, it was mainly jazz, standards, a lot of singer songwriters," says assistant manager Ryan Alexander, "but we've kind of branched out a little here." Between the adjacent freeway and industrial neighboring businesses that close at night, he points out there's nobody to be bothered by louder volume in this small music scene. "It's a bit more energetic," he adds, "especially with the breweries on either side of us. You never know when people are going to start rolling in."

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.