A musical journey to California

When I launched this blog last year, I said that I loved traveling the world. In fact, traveling has always been an important part of my life. As well as enjoyment and pleasure, traveling provides huge learning opportunities, helps us widen our horizons and opens us to different perspectives and viewpoints; all these can lead to a better appreciation of our own lives. As a Psychiatrist, I am passionate about optimal work-life balance and wellbeing, and I try to lead by example. So, I travel whenever I have time off work. A music lover, when I travel I get to discover new music, artists and songs I’ve never heard of before. Sometimes, I even plan my travels to coincide with music festivals. For example, I recently went to a musical journey to California to attend the Kaaboo Del Mar festival.

Kaaboo Del Mar Festival & Lifehouse

Kaaboo Del Mar is an annually held festival, established in 2015. This year, it took place between the 13^th and 15^th of September in Del Mar, a beach city near San Diego, California. The line up this year included American and international bands and solo artists, such as Kings of Leon, the Dave Matthews Band, the Black Eyed Peas, OneRepublic, Bryan Adams and Sheryl Crow. Getting there was easy; from LA, I took the train to San Diego and got off at Solana Beach (the journey took about two hours) where I stayed for the duration of the festival. After the festival, I rented a car and went on a road trip in California (make sure you check out my upcoming posts).

A musical journey to California with Lifehouse at Kaaboo Del Mar

Personally, the band I was mostly looking forward to seeing live in Del Mar was Lifehouse. In fact, I have been a fan of them since 2001, when I first heard ‘Hanging by a Moment’, which went on to become the number one single of that year in the United States. So far, the LA band has released seven albums; having sold over two million copies in the US, their debut ‘No Name Face’ remains their most successful (as well as my personal favorite) to date.

Monterey Jazz Festival & other jazz festivals in California

Whilst in California, I realized that the Monterey Jazz Festival was going to take place this weekend (27^th to 29^th September 2019) with Diana Krall and Chris Botti both performing. Monterey is a small city south of San Francisco and close to Big Sur. Unfortunately, I am no longer in the States, so I won’t be able to attend.

But, the Monterey Jazz Festival is not the only one of its kind in California.

This year, there’s also the JazzTrax Festival, which takes place in Santa Catalina, a small island southwest of LA; JazzTrax Festival is due from 10^th to 20^th October 2019.

Then, there’s the San Diego Jazz Fest, due from 27^th November to 1^st December 2019.

Next year, there’s the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, which takes place in San Jose, not far from San Francisco; it is scheduled for 7^th to 9^th August 2020.

There’s also the SLO Jazz Festival, which takes place in San Luis Obispo, halfway between LA and San Francisco; it is scheduled for 18^th to 20^th September 2020.

Coachella Festival

Yet, the most famous music festival in California (and possibly in the US) is the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, or simply Coachella. Featuring some of the biggest names in music, it takes place over two consecutive 3-day weekends in April. Next year, it is due from 10^th to 19^th April 2020. Like Kaaboo Del Mar, Coachella also takes place in Southern California, but in the Colorado Desert. Here the temperature rises to much higher levels than in Del Mar. The host city, Indio, is only a few miles east of the better-known city of Palm Springs. Getting there by public transport is not straightforward. You can either fly to Palm Springs, or simply drive there.

Stagecoach

Stagecoach also takes place in Indio, and also in April. This is a 3-day country music festival, and in 2020 it will be headlined by Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, and Eric Church. The line-up also features Brett Young, Dan + Shay, and Bryan Adams. It is scheduled for 24th to 26th April 2020.

A musical journey to California – part 1

So, having returned back to London, I’m now going to continue my musical journey to California listening to some of my favorite artists from the Golden State. With a population of almost 40 million, California is the most populous U.S. state, as well as the third largest by area (after Alaska and Texas). It therefore comes as no surprise that many American musicians are from California. Lifehouse aside, here are my favorite:

Gregory Porter

Born in Sacramento, the capital of California, jazz singer Gregory Porter has had international success over the last decade. In 2016, he even performed on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK. He has also performed at various jazz festivals in Norway. This summer, he performed at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. Next year, he is due to perform in London on 19th, 20th and 21st May 2020.

Kamasi Washington

Gregory Porter is not the only jazz musician from the Golden State. Kamasi Washington was also born in California. An LA native, Washington recently played in his hometown, a few days after my recent visit there.

Flying Lotus

Steven Ellison, widely known by his stage name Flying Lotus, was also born in LA. He has released six albums; his sophomore is named after his hometown, Los Angeles. Musically, Flying Lotus is hard to define and categorize; his style has influences and combines elements from different genres, such as jazz, hip-hop and electronic music.

Brett Young

Brett Young, on the other hand, is a country pop singer. He is originally from the Orange County, the third-most populous county in California, located in the LA metropolitan area. ‘In Case You Didn’t Know’, his most successful single to date, was released in 2017, whereas his sophomore album, ‘Ticket to LA’, was released in 2018.

Gary Allan

Gary Allan is another country singer from California. He has released nine albums, as well as many singles, including four number one singles (on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart). His most recent number one, ‘Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)’, was released in 2012 (but went to number one a few months later, in 2013).

Cam

Born in Huntington Beach, in Orange County, Cam is another country singer from California. Her ‘Burning House’ was released in 2015 and remains her most successful single to date.

Gwen Stefani

Also born in Orange County is Gwen Stefani. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band No Doubt and a coach on The Voice, Gwen has also been a successful solo singer.

Gwyneth Paltrow

For me, Gwyneth Paltrow simply epitomizes California. Born in LA, she is better known as an actor (and businesswoman) rather than a singer. In 1998, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film ‘Shakespeare in Love’. Her discography is hardly independent of her acting career. In 2000, not only she starred in the film ‘Duets’, but she also featured in the soundtrack. Similarly, in 2010, she both starred in ‘Country Strong’ and featured in the film soundtrack. More recently, she has also appeared as a guest star the musical TV series ‘Glee’.

Cher

Cher is another prime example of a worldwide famous Californian singer and actor (although in her case her discography is more prolific than her filmography). With a career spanning six decades, Cher has won a great many awards, including a Grammy (for ‘Believe’, in 2000) and an Oscar (for her role in ‘Moonstruck’, in 1988). Cher is due to perform in London on 20th and 21st October 2019.

Katy Perry

Born in the beautiful coastal city of Santa Barbara, Katy Perry rose to prominence in 2008 when she kissed a girl and she liked it. Unfortunately, she then became too mainstream for my liking; ‘California Gurls’ epitomized her transformation to a global megastar. A few years later, however, her progressive political stance brought her back to my attention.

HAIM

California girls Este, Danielle and Alana Haim, collectively known as HAIM, have maintained their cool since 2012, when they released their debut single ‘Forever’. Like Gwyneth Paltrow, the three sisters are LA natives.

A musical journey to California – part 2

All 12 artists and bands I’ve mentioned so far are from the Golden State; of course, there are many many more. I’m now going to continue my musical journey to California listening to some of my favorite songs about the most populous US state and its cities.

Lana Del Rey and California

Despite being born and raised in New York, Lana Del Rey not only (often) sings about California, but also her musical sound has been dubbed “Hollywood sadcore” by critics. The titles of her songs are quite telling: ‘Bel Air’, ‘West Coast’, ‘California’, ‘Venice Bitch’ to name but a few.

California Dreamin’

Written in 1963, ‘California Dreamin’ has been recorded by many artists, including the Mamas and the Papas, and the Beach Boys. Jose Feliciano’s version features in the soundtrack of ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Originally recorded by Tony Bennett, ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ perfectly captures how I feel whilst writing this post.

City of Stars & La La Land

Moving on from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I continue my musical journey to California with the ‘City of Stars’, a song performed by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in the 2016 film ‘La La Land’, a tribute to the most populous city in California. The ‘City of Stars’ has won numerous awards, including the award for Best Original Song at both the 74th Golden Globe Awards and the 89th Academy Awards.

Hollywood

Staying in Los Angeles, I’m moving on to Hollywood, the famous LA neighborhood that has inspired many artists, including Madonna (in her 2003 masterpiece ‘American Life’), Marina and the Diamonds (in her 2010 debut ‘The Family Jewels’), and Lee Ann Womack (in her brilliant 2017 album ‘The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone’). More recently, in September 2019, American rapper Post Malone released his latest album titled ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’.

Malibu

Released in 2017, ‘Malibu’ was the first single from Miley Cyrus’ sixth studio album, ‘Younger Now’. It is named after the famous beach city located in western Los Angeles County, thirty miles west of Downtown LA.

The Grammy Museum

Last but not least, no musical journey to California would be complete without a visit to the Grammy Museum in Downtown LA. I remember following the ‘Grammy Walk of Fame’ around the museum looking at the engraved pavement stones with some of the Grammy Award winners: best new artists, as well as songs, records and albums of the year, for each year since 1959. I personally found the actual museum rather underwhelming, so I would recommend planning your visit to coincide with a special event. For example, Brett Young, Halsey and James Blake are among the artists who were recently there for a conversation followed by a performance.