Jimmy Buffett, B.B. King, Burt Bacharach and Etta James are among the legends who have performed at the Belly Up Tavern, North County's nightclub that will celebrate its 50th anniversary with 50 concerts between July 3 and Sept. 30.
The 600-capacity venue in Solana Beach, which has also hosted shows by Willie Nelson, the Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga, is today announcing the first 36 of those 50 concerts.
They include performances by such diverse artists as reggae mainstays Steel Pulse and Black Uhuru, comedian Kevin Nealon, blues great Charlie Musselwhite, Americana favorites Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and the rock bands Built To Spill and The Wallflowers, the latter of which is led by Bob Dyan's oldest son, Jakob.
The stylistic variety of anniversary performers reflects the array of styles the Belly Up has featured for much of the past half century. Tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. at bellyup.com and at the club's box office, which does not charge service fees. An additional 14 acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
"I wouldn't say I'm shocked, but I would never have guessed it would have lasted this long," said Dave Hodges, the founder of the Belly Up. It opened in 1974 on his birthday, Sept. 28, just a few months after he graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in accounting.
"We created a beautiful club that has presented a lot of great music and I'm proud of its longevity," continued Hodges, who in 2003 sold the Belly Up to Steve Goldberg and Phil Berkovitz.
Hodges retains ownership of the property on which the club was built. The pride he has in the Belly Up is shared by Goldberg and Berkovitz, who happily attended shows at the venue for years before Hodges sold it to them.
Goldberg and Berkovitz work closely with Belly Up Entertainment President Chris Goldsmith. He has won multiple Grammy Awards as the producer of albums by Ben Harper, blues harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite, and gospel music legends The Blind Boys of Alabama. Musselwhite will perform an anniversary show at the club on Aug. 22.
"It's kind of daunting to think how to celebrate 50 years when our 600-capacity club draws 150,000 people a year," Goldsmith said. "Doing these 50 concerts over three months is our attempt to spread out the celebration as much as possible."
Those sentiments are shared by Goldberg and Berkovitz, who also own Pacific Coast Grill on Cardiff's restaurant row.
"The biggest statement we want to make with these Belly Up 50th anniversary concerts is to thank people for their support all these years," Goldberg said. "We want to celebrate the value of live music, of how many great bands there are and of how many great bands come from San Diego, including the Beat Farmers and Common Sense."
True to Goldberg's word, Common Sense will open the 50th anniversary show by reggae mainstay Pato Banton on Aug. 30. The Beat Farmers, San Diego's pioneering roots-rock band, will perform July 13 with a lineup of guests that includes English guitar master Albert Lee and San Diego singer-songwriter Sara Petite.
The Belly Up's impact extends beyond the club to its record label, Belly Up Live, and the TV show "Live at the Belly Up," which debuted in 2013 and airs on KPBS and online.
Artists who have released albums on Belly Up Live, which were recorded at the club, include Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Mick Fleetwood, Mike Love of the Beach Boys and Ann Wilson of Heart, a San Diego native.
"It's such a wonderful venue, a great place to perform at and to go and see artists you really like, up close," said singer-songwriter Petite, a double-winner at the 2024 San Diego Music Awards.
"I've played there at least 20 times and it's always an honor that you don't take for granted," she continued. "The Belly Up has great sound and the people who work there are really nice and welcoming, always very hospitable and respectful of the music. I'm very flattered to be one of the 50th anniversary performers."
In fact, the Belly Up may end up hosting more than 50 concerts to mark its 50th anniversary, according to Belly Up Entertainment President Goldsmith.
"If a band or solo artist we really want is available, we're going to add them," said Goldsmith, who himself performed at the venue in 1984 as the bassist in the San Diego island-rock band Borracho y Loco. "We're not stopping at 50."
Belly Up 50th anniversary concerts
July 3: 80’s Heat, with Bella Lux, 8:30 p.m. $16 (general admission), $28 (reserved)
July 11 & 12: War, 8 p.m. $75 (general admission), $132 (reserved)
July 13: The Beat Farmers, 8 p.m. $24 (general admission), $42 (reserved)
July 14: Alejandro Escovedo, with James Mastro, 8 p.m. $30 (general admission), $53 (reserved)
July 16 & 17: Donavon Frankenreiter, with John Craigie, 7 p.m. $49.50 (general admission), $87 (reserved)
July 19: Lettuce, 9:30 p.m. $45 (general admission), $79 (reserved)
July 22: Paul Thorn, 8 p.m. $35 (general admission), $62 (reserved)
July 23: Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore with The Guilty Ones, 7:30 p.m. $32 (general admission), $56 (reserved)
July 24: Michael Franti & Spearhead, with Bombargo, 7 p.m. $96 (general admission), $169 (reserved)
July 26: Ozomatli, with B-Side Players, 9 p.m. $40 (general admission), $70 (reserved)
July 27: Cracker, with Trouble in the Wind, 9 p.m. $30 (general admission), $53 (reserved)
July 30: X, 8 p.m. $40 (general admission), $70 (reserved)
Aug. 3: Super Diamond, with Journeymen, 9 p.m. $30 (general admission), $53 (reserved)
Aug. 6: Pokey LaFarge, 8 p.m. $30 (general admission), $53 (reserved)
Aug. 7: Shakey Graves, with Chance Emerson, 8 p.m. $59.50 (general admission), $105 (reserved)
Aug. 10: Tainted Love, with Metal Street Boys, 9 p.m. $30 (general admission), $53 (reserved)
Aug. 14: Galactic, with Karl Denson, 8 p.m. $50 (general admission), $88 (reserved)
Aug. 17: The Pine Mountain Logs & Venice, 8 p.m. $30 (general admission), $53 (reserved)
Aug. 22: Charlie Musselwhite, with Kid Ramos, 8 p.m. $35 (general admission), $62 (reserved)
Aug. 23: Ghostland Observatory, 9 p.m. $35 (general admission), $62 (reserved)
Aug. 28 & 29: Tab Benoit & Anders Osborne, with JD Simo, 8 p.m. $50 (general admission), $88 (reserved)
Aug. 30: Pato Banton, with Common Sense, 9 p.m. $30 (general admission), $53 (reserved)
Aug. 31: Steel Pulse, 9 p.m. $70 (general admission), $123 (reserved)
Sept. 3: Aaron Frazer, with Tailspins, 8 p.m. $25 (general admission), $44 (reserved)
Sept. 5: Black Uhuru, with Supul Weh, 9 p.m. $28 (general admission), $49 (reserved)
Sept. 14: Beats Antique, 9 p.m. $37.50 (advanced general admission), $66 (reserved)
Sept 15: Landon McNanara, with Cisco Adler, 7 p.m. $20 (general admission), $35 (reserved)
Sept. 17: Kishi Bashi, with Sweet Loretta, 8 p.m. $25 (general admission), $44 (reserved)
Sept. 19: Kevin Nealon, 8 p.m. $50 (general admission), $88 (reserved)
Sept. 26: Hayes Carll & The Band of Heathens, 8 p.m. $27.50 (general admission), $49 (reserved)
Sept. 25: Built To Spill, 8 p.m. $42.50 (general show), $75 (reserved)
Sept. 27: Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers, with The Deadbeat Cousins, 9 p.m. $28 (general admission), $49 (reserved)
Sept. 30: The Wallflowers, 8 p.m. $55 (general admission), $97 (reserved)
george.varga@sduniontribune.com
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .
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