Friday, September 6, 2024
7:30 PM

The series opens Friday, September 6, with gold-record recipient Wax, Jesus Gonzalez, and Rob Deez. Wax is mostly known as a rapper with millions of views on YouTube to show for it. He is also a producer, songwriter, singer, and comedian. Rob Deez classifies himself as a singer/song-rhymer appealing to comedy, hip-hop and small coffee-shop concert audiences. Deez is a longstanding patron of San Diego’s musical theater community, particularly City College’s Saville Theatre. Local visionary and musician Jesus Gonzalez creates vast and lush layers of soulful vocal harmonies, different instrumentation, and percussion using a looper. Gonzalez’s original and improvised songs invite you to be present with your heart and to fall deeper with your sense of self. In a recent interview with NPR’s top-shelf artists series, Jesus said, “At the core of it all, I think my music is simply shouting ‘Can you believe we’re all here?!’”

Friday, September 6—Wax, Jesus Gonzalez, Rob Deez
Friday, September 13—Santiago Orozco, Bri Schillings, Sierra Marin
Friday, September 20—Walt Richards, Aaron Bowen, Stephen Bulman
Friday, September 27—Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar, Fred Benedetti, Sandé Lollis
7:30 PM

The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library is pleased to present the 2024 Fall season of Acoustic Evenings concert series, beginning September 6, 2024. The Acoustic Evenings series at the Athenaeum showcases some of the finest acoustic musicians in San Diego. Three acts fill each program and attentive audiences delight in the intimacy of the unplugged storytelling format. Refreshments are available at the intermission reception and post-concert meet-and-greet. San Diego Music Hall of Fame founder Jefferson Jay organizes and hosts the series. The project advances the Athenaeum’s commitment to support diverse San Diego talent. Acoustic Evenings is an unforgettable and personal experience for San Diego music lovers. The series, continuing through September 27, 2024, is set in the Athenaeum’s Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room.

Friday, April 5, 2024
7:30 PM

Mostly known as a rapper, Wax writes songs in a wide range of styles that cater to many different types of audiences. Some are advanced technical displays of rap word play, some are heartfelt tales of struggle, some are inspirational numbers containing optimistic advice and/or guidance.  

Billy Galewood is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper from Cleveland who ended up in California where he continued to hone his eclectic acoustic/hip-hop sound. His shows blend hip-hop, acoustic rock, funk, improvisation, and comedy.

Monette Marino began drumming at age eight and has spent the majority of the last 20 years studying under master drummer Mamady Keïta from Guinea. She branched out as a solo artist and continues to explore drumming systems with a deep respect for the cultural heritage preserved through the language of the drum.

Fridays, March 22 & 29; April 5 & 12, 2024
7:30 PM

The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, with Acoustic Evenings originator and presenter Jefferson Jay, will commemorate the 16th anniversary of Acoustic Evenings with a series of concerts with world-class talent.

Friday, April 21, 2023
7:30 PM

Wax is mostly known as a rapper.  He is also a producer, songwriter, singer (kinda), comedian, and all around creative dude. Billy Galewood is an American singer, songwriter and rapper from Cleveland, Ohio. Long-time curator and host of Acoustic Evenings, Jay is at home with the Athenaeum audience.

Fridays, April 7 & 21; May 5, 2023
7:30 PM

The Acoustic Evenings series at the Athenaeum showcases some of the finest acoustic musicians in San Diego. Three acts fill each program and attentive audiences delight in the intimacy of the unplugged storytelling format. Refreshments are available at the intermission reception and post-concert meet-and-greet. San Diego Music Hall of Fame founder Jefferson Jay curates and hosts the concert series. The project advances the Athenaeum’s commitment to support diverse San Diego talent. Acoustic Evenings is an unforgettable and personal experience for San Diego music lovers.

Friday, October 21, 2022
7:30 PM

On Friday, October 21, Jay features Tim Flannery with a voice as smooth as Kentucky bourbon and a heart worn on both sleeves, whose performances ebb and flow with brilliant melodies and soaring harmonies; Wax’s songs display advanced, technical rap wordplay, heartfelt tales of struggle, and inspirational numbers containing optimistic advice and/or guidance; and Jefferson Jay, long-time curator and host of Acoustic Evenings, is at home with the Athenaeum audience.

Friday, November 12, 2021
7:30 PM

Wax is mostly known as a rapper. He is also a producer, songwriter, singer (kinda), comedian, and all around creative dude. Israel Maldonado has been performing in and around hot spots in Southern California for more than 20 years. Jefferson Jay, always active, has current projects that include a groundbreaking, all-inclusive animated series called The Hunt for the Holiday Spirit and five upcoming acoustic records, cumulatively entitled Spring.

Fridays, October 1 & 15; November 12, 2021
7:30 PM

The Acoustic Evenings series at the Athenaeum showcases some of the finest acoustic musicians in San Diego. Three acts fill each program and attentive audiences delight in the intimacy of the unplugged storytelling format. Refreshments are available at the intermission reception and post-concert meet-and-greet. San Diego Music Hall of Fame founder Jefferson Jay curates and hosts the concert series. The project advances the Athenaeum’s commitment to support diverse San Diego talent. Acoustic Evenings is an unforgettable and personal experience for San Diego music lovers.