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Live Five: King Taylor Project. The Loons, Orion Song, Rafael Pondé, Pacific Records Fest
Blues rock, psychotic beat, modern fusion, Brazilian reggae, and record label showcases in Escondido, Little Italy, downtown, PB, OB
King Taylor Project received twin San Diego Music Awards nominations, for Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song and for Song of the Year
King Taylor Project at California Center for the Arts Escondido
July 16
The King Taylor Project features Sandi King and Joshua Taylor, both heavily influenced by soul, jazz, and blues music. “I like to say I'm a native, since my parents brought my brother and I to San Diego from Texas when I was three,” says King, who spent time working as a chef in northern California before settling back in San Diego. Joshua Taylor grew up in Oklahoma City and first picked up the guitar at the age of 13. He won two San Diego Music Awards in 2023, taking home trophies for Best Pop Album for his Unscene full-length and Best Rock or Indie/Alternative Song for the track “Cars Don’t Run Forever.” The 2023 King Taylor Project single “Devil in the White City” received twin SDMA nominations, for Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song and Song of the Year. King's debut solo album Departure, a jazz tribute to her late father, was nominated Best Jazz Album at the 2025 SDMAs. Also appearing will be Youngstown, Ohio band The Vindys, fresh off two national tours with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo and known for playing high-energy rock and Motown-infused pop.
July 16
“We play psychotic beat music, tapping into the most exciting elements of mid-to-late ’60s rock and roll and channel it into new, intense, original songs of our own,” says bassist/singer Anja Diabolik, who cofounded The Loons with hubby Mike Stax (the Crawdaddys) in the mid-1990s. “We find it a lot more interesting than opting to be a mere ’60s garage-band jukebox.” The band’s retro fusion of psychedelic rock with pop also sports New Wave and British Invasion influences sharpened with an overall Beatlesque vibe. Diabolik previously did special-effects makeup for English B-movies and calls herself a “book and history nerd and [I] know more about the Tudor and Victorian era London than Henry VIII or Charles Dickens.” With Stax already known to classic garage rock fans from his stints with the Crawdaddys and the Tell-Tale Hearts, as well as publishing Ugly Things magazine, the band has been able to land notable collaborators such as Glenn Ross Campbell from the Misunderstood, who played songs on Loons tracks that he overdubbed remotely from New Zealand and also performed with the band at the Casbah in 2013. The Little Italy show is headlined by Madrid, Spain-based Mohama Saz, who merge Eastern and Western musical traditions with hypnotic psychedelic rock, Mediterranean and Latin folk, Middle Eastern melodies, and African-inspired rhythms.
Orion Song at Shake Bar & Lounge
July 17
Neo-soul R&B vocalist Orion Song is a solo performer who got his start writing acoustically off of a baritone ukulele. His music melds old and new hip-hop and R&B, with tastes of trap, lo-fi, jazz, and soul. Not conforming to one genre, he cites diverse inspirations such as Justin Timberlake, Usher, Nujabes, Bryson Tiller, and Craig David. He describes his music as having a "breezy" sound and often includes personal introspection and influences from 90s and 2000s R&B artists. A multi-instrumentalist, he uses his music to explore themes like self-love, devotion, and ambition. In April, he dropped a new single on Apple Music and Spotify for “Crazy,” and he recently released a collaborative track with Recession called “Stuntin.’”
Pacific Records Fest at Kate Session Park
July 19
Brian Witkin (whose father Joe Witkin performed at Woodstock as the keyboardist for Sha Na Na) started his Pacific Records label in 2003, soon signing up three local bands (Long Live Logos, Get Back Loretta, and his brother’s group A Dead Giveaway) and Life's Only Lesson, from Virginia. By 2019, his record label/recording studio complex behind Soma on Sports Arena Boulevard had signed several more area acts, as well as releasing the final solo recording by Motorhead frontman Lemmy. Other performers to appear on the label include his own band Slack Key Ohana (San Diego Music Award winner for Best World Music Album), as well as iTunes blues chart topper Shane Hall, soulful R&B groove-master Jonny Tarr (2020 SDMA Best Pop Artist), cartoon punk mashup The Spice Pistols, and Witkin’s brother Sean Witkin (Cambrian Shores), a multi-instrumentalist who makes electronic pop with a subtle hint of rock edge. This Pacific Records Fest happening in Pacific Beach kicks off at 4pm and features performances from Slack Key Ohana, as well as Pacific labelmates Sandollar (San Diego Music Awards winners for Best World Music Album), Americana roots rockers Twilight Highway (known for its core quartet of standout vocalists), sunny pop-folk rockers VB By the Sea (the musical project and English-language debut of Lithuanian artist and singer-songwriter Vidas Bareikis), and the Tourmaliners (2023 SDMA winners for Best Rock Album and 2023 Pipeline Instrumental Review Album of the Year).
Rafael Pondé at Winstons Beach Club
July 22
Brazil native Rafael Pondé grew up in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, playing in a reggae band called Diamba before visiting the U.S. in 2017 to help promote Brazilian music in the U.S. He relocated to Ocean Beach in 2022, living at first in his minivan while developing his signature brand of meditational reggae, heavy on the metaphysics, and moving around town from PB and Clairemont. His ninth studio album Brazilian Reggae Experience Vol. 2 (his first full-length to feature original songs in English) dropped in summer 2025. Rooted in conscious music, the album is the result of his journey into yoga and meditation. Its lyrics explore themes of self-confidence, self-realization, culture, joy, poetry, love, gratitude, and a deep connection to Mother Nature. Recorded in both Brazil and at The Music Company in Pacific Beach throughout 2024, the album reflects the duality of his life between two countries.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Live Five: King Taylor Project. The Loons, Orion Song, Rafael Pondé, Pacific Records Fest
Blues rock, psychotic beat, modern fusion, Brazilian reggae, and record label showcases in Escondido, Little Italy, downtown, PB, OB
Live Five: King Taylor Project. The Loons, Orion Song, Rafael Pondé, Pacific Records Fest
Blues rock, psychotic beat, modern fusion, Brazilian reggae, and record label showcases in Escondido, Little Italy, downtown, PB, OB
King Taylor Project received twin San Diego Music Awards nominations, for Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song and for Song of the Year
King Taylor Project at California Center for the Arts Escondido
July 16
The King Taylor Project features Sandi King and Joshua Taylor, both heavily influenced by soul, jazz, and blues music. “I like to say I'm a native, since my parents brought my brother and I to San Diego from Texas when I was three,” says King, who spent time working as a chef in northern California before settling back in San Diego. Joshua Taylor grew up in Oklahoma City and first picked up the guitar at the age of 13. He won two San Diego Music Awards in 2023, taking home trophies for Best Pop Album for his Unscene full-length and Best Rock or Indie/Alternative Song for the track “Cars Don’t Run Forever.” The 2023 King Taylor Project single “Devil in the White City” received twin SDMA nominations, for Best R&B, Funk or Soul Song and Song of the Year. King's debut solo album Departure, a jazz tribute to her late father, was nominated Best Jazz Album at the 2025 SDMAs. Also appearing will be Youngstown, Ohio band The Vindys, fresh off two national tours with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo and known for playing high-energy rock and Motown-infused pop.
July 16
“We play psychotic beat music, tapping into the most exciting elements of mid-to-late ’60s rock and roll and channel it into new, intense, original songs of our own,” says bassist/singer Anja Diabolik, who cofounded The Loons with hubby Mike Stax (the Crawdaddys) in the mid-1990s. “We find it a lot more interesting than opting to be a mere ’60s garage-band jukebox.” The band’s retro fusion of psychedelic rock with pop also sports New Wave and British Invasion influences sharpened with an overall Beatlesque vibe. Diabolik previously did special-effects makeup for English B-movies and calls herself a “book and history nerd and [I] know more about the Tudor and Victorian era London than Henry VIII or Charles Dickens.” With Stax already known to classic garage rock fans from his stints with the Crawdaddys and the Tell-Tale Hearts, as well as publishing Ugly Things magazine, the band has been able to land notable collaborators such as Glenn Ross Campbell from the Misunderstood, who played songs on Loons tracks that he overdubbed remotely from New Zealand and also performed with the band at the Casbah in 2013. The Little Italy show is headlined by Madrid, Spain-based Mohama Saz, who merge Eastern and Western musical traditions with hypnotic psychedelic rock, Mediterranean and Latin folk, Middle Eastern melodies, and African-inspired rhythms.
Orion Song at Shake Bar & Lounge
July 17
Neo-soul R&B vocalist Orion Song is a solo performer who got his start writing acoustically off of a baritone ukulele. His music melds old and new hip-hop and R&B, with tastes of trap, lo-fi, jazz, and soul. Not conforming to one genre, he cites diverse inspirations such as Justin Timberlake, Usher, Nujabes, Bryson Tiller, and Craig David. He describes his music as having a "breezy" sound and often includes personal introspection and influences from 90s and 2000s R&B artists. A multi-instrumentalist, he uses his music to explore themes like self-love, devotion, and ambition. In April, he dropped a new single on Apple Music and Spotify for “Crazy,” and he recently released a collaborative track with Recession called “Stuntin.’”
Pacific Records Fest at Kate Session Park
July 19
Brian Witkin (whose father Joe Witkin performed at Woodstock as the keyboardist for Sha Na Na) started his Pacific Records label in 2003, soon signing up three local bands (Long Live Logos, Get Back Loretta, and his brother’s group A Dead Giveaway) and Life's Only Lesson, from Virginia. By 2019, his record label/recording studio complex behind Soma on Sports Arena Boulevard had signed several more area acts, as well as releasing the final solo recording by Motorhead frontman Lemmy. Other performers to appear on the label include his own band Slack Key Ohana (San Diego Music Award winner for Best World Music Album), as well as iTunes blues chart topper Shane Hall, soulful R&B groove-master Jonny Tarr (2020 SDMA Best Pop Artist), cartoon punk mashup The Spice Pistols, and Witkin’s brother Sean Witkin (Cambrian Shores), a multi-instrumentalist who makes electronic pop with a subtle hint of rock edge. This Pacific Records Fest happening in Pacific Beach kicks off at 4pm and features performances from Slack Key Ohana, as well as Pacific labelmates Sandollar (San Diego Music Awards winners for Best World Music Album), Americana roots rockers Twilight Highway (known for its core quartet of standout vocalists), sunny pop-folk rockers VB By the Sea (the musical project and English-language debut of Lithuanian artist and singer-songwriter Vidas Bareikis), and the Tourmaliners (2023 SDMA winners for Best Rock Album and 2023 Pipeline Instrumental Review Album of the Year).
Rafael Pondé at Winstons Beach Club
July 22
Brazil native Rafael Pondé grew up in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, playing in a reggae band called Diamba before visiting the U.S. in 2017 to help promote Brazilian music in the U.S. He relocated to Ocean Beach in 2022, living at first in his minivan while developing his signature brand of meditational reggae, heavy on the metaphysics, and moving around town from PB and Clairemont. His ninth studio album Brazilian Reggae Experience Vol. 2 (his first full-length to feature original songs in English) dropped in summer 2025. Rooted in conscious music, the album is the result of his journey into yoga and meditation. Its lyrics explore themes of self-confidence, self-realization, culture, joy, poetry, love, gratitude, and a deep connection to Mother Nature. Recorded in both Brazil and at The Music Company in Pacific Beach throughout 2024, the album reflects the duality of his life between two countries.
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