The Santa Barbara Bowl is a 4,562-seat
amphitheater
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, located in
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
. The amphitheater is open for concerts from approximately April through approximately October with an average of about 27 concerts per season. Booked exclusively by
Goldenvoice in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, the Bowl hosts primarily popular music concerts. Since 1991, the Santa Barbara Bowl has been managed by the not-for-profit Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation.
History
In the 1920s, La Primavera pageant used the location of what is now Peabody Stadium.
In 1924, fiesta week, 'Old Spanish Days,' began.
In 1935, Santa Barbara Bowl was carved into the hillside, a dry creek bed, as a
WPA
WPA may refer to:
Computing
*Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard
*Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing
* Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada
* Windows Performance An ...
project. It was originally built to serve as a venue for the annual pageant of Old Spanish Days — Fiesta.
The amphitheater's original stage was a revolving wooden stage, but this was washed out during
El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...
rains in 1939. The stage was replaced with a concrete slab that remained in place until renovation work in 2001.
In the 1970s, Sepp Donahower, of Pinnacle Dance Concerts promoted pop music concerts, (Little Feat, Loggins & Messina, Average White Band, Beach Boys, and others).
Prominent concerts
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
's 1980
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
and concert film, ''
Shadows and Light'', was recorded at the venue in September 1979 on the tour supporting her ''
Mingus
The name Mingus may refer to:
* Charles Mingus (1922–1979), jazz composer and double bass player
** Sue Mingus, wife of the jazz composer
** ''Mingus'' (Charles Mingus album), 1961 album by Charles Mingus
** ''Mingus'' (Joni Mitchell album) ...
'' album. Her all-star backing band was made up of prominent
jazz fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...
musicians
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
,
Lyle Mays
Lyle David Mays (November 27, 1953 – February 10, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awar ...
,
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bass guitar, bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1 ...
,
Don Alias
Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 in New York City – March 28, 2006 in New York City) was an American jazz percussionist.
Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was, however, a capable drum kit performer: for e ...
, and
Michael Brecker
Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...
.
The British band
Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...
performed at the amphitheatre in May 1990, which was filmed for their ''
Going To California'' concert video.
In 1979 on behalf of his
Survival tour
Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
, Bob Marley and The Wailers performed at the bowl.
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...
’s performance on May 13th 2005 was recorded for their
Live - Friday the 13th
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
*Live! (2007 film), ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
*Live (2014 film), ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*''Live (Apocalyptica DVD), ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*L ...
live album and DVD.
Renovations
The Santa Barbara Bowl has undergone over $42 million in renovations since the establishment of the Foundation in 1991.
See also
*
List of contemporary amphitheatres
This is a list of Amphitheatre#Modern amphitheatres, amphitheatres in use today.
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, Rhode Island
, Providence, Rhode Island, Providence
, Waterplace Park, Waterplace Park Amphitheatre
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References
External links
Santa Barbara Bowl Official Website
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara, California
Amphitheaters in California
Music venues in California
Outdoor theatres
Works Progress Administration in California
Tourist attractions in Santa Barbara, California
Music venues completed in 1936
1936 establishments in California