Interview & photo by Kelly Darroch This June, Haley Dahl of chamber pop and experimental rock project Sloppy Jane appeared at the Carsey-Wolf Center on the UC Santa Barbara campus, wrapped in her signature blue ensemble. After a screening of Jane Shoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, PhD student Ali [...]

words by Emma Hacker & photos by Avery Morgan In midtown Ventura, a modest concrete building stands. Formerly the site of a bowling alley, it is now one of my favorite places to attend a concert. Ventura Music Hall, with its intimate setting and excellent acoustics, has only been open [...]

words and photos by Kelly Darroch In the heart of San Luis Obispo at everyone’s favorite kitschy, pink hotel, Danish post-punk band Iceage graced the Madonna Inn’s Expo Hall. Although the hall doesn’t share the same floral-lined carpets and cherub decor as the rest of the buildings, the charmi [...]

Open Ears, Sounds of the Ojai Music Festival is coming to KCSB! The 79th annual Ojai Music Festival returns to Libbey Bowl and other Ojai venues on June 5th through the 8th, filling the town with new music from contemporary composers. This year, you can preview the festival by tuning in to KCSB's [...]

KCSB's Digital Media Coordinator, Avery, visited San Luis Obispo to check out the annual Shabang Festival! As 2026 tickets begin to go on pre-sale, we hope our review of this year's festival gives you something to look forward to next spring. words and photos by Avery Morgan Those who love con [...]

Just Like Heaven, a single day festival at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, is the place to be if you love the 2000s and 2010s era of indie music. Every May, Goldenvoice delivers a stacked lineup of acts that every millennial gasps at, with this year as their sixth (!) iteration. It’s the time of year to [...]

words by Avery Kightlinger In the male-dominated sea of Isla Vista bands that remain predominantly surf-rock, indie group Magnetize takes a different approach with their music. Highlighting self-power and divinity in their music, they seek to illuminate the importance and vitality of femininity a [...]

words by Liam Hogan Last summer, I became completely obsessed with two major works of art: SMiLE by The Beach Boys and the book-length poem “In Sara, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There Were Men and Women” by John Barton Wolgamot. The latter is discussed pretty significantly less than the former, [...]

Our Assistant Music Director Kai is here to shine a spotlight on the rhythm and soul of breakdancing music. From the gritty funk of the '70s to modern-day mixtapes made for cyphers, discover how the beats that fuel breakers have evolved alongside hip-hop. These tracks are guaranteed to get your head [...]

words by Lily Raesler & photos by Michelle Evans (@_saltygoat) On Saturday night, I embark to Ventura, 20 minutes in one direction from the very homeland of Nardcore and another 20 from the birthplace of RKL, for a night of thrashy guitar-forward metal-inspired(?) punk rock with a side of ska [...]