Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show, featuring Turnpike Troubadours and Elle King
It’s unlikely Chris Stapleton will be upstaged at his nearly sold-out Saturday concert at Petco Park by either of his opening acts, Turnpike Troubadours or Elle King.
But the highest expectations are not for Stapleton, who can make even a stadium feel warm and intimate. At 45, he is one of the most accomplished singer-songwriters to achieve stardom in the past decade and his blend of country, rock and blues is thoroughly intoxicating.
No, the highest expectations are on King, 34, whose 2021 joint hit with Miranda Lambert, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” now seems sadly prophetic.
In January, King made national headlines for her ill-fated Nashville performance at a Grand Ole Opry concert celebrating Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday. King’s drunken, off-key rendition of the Parton-penned “Marry Me” quickly went off the rails (and went viral).
“I don’t give a (expletive),” King told the audience. “I don’t know the lyrics … Don’t tell Dolly ’cause it’s her birthday … You ain’t getting your money back.”
Then, stating what was sadly obvious, she added: “I’m (expletive) hammered.”
The blow-back was immediate. King’s January and February concerts were canceled, then rescheduled for later in the year. Her belated return to the stage was scheduled for Thursday night at a festival in Arizona.
She has yet to apologize, although Parton graciously issued a statement encouraging fans to “forgive and forget.”
King is a talented singer and songwriter whose well-documented battles with substance abuse have made her conflicted.
Or, as she told me in a commendably candid 2022 Union-Tribune interview: “Everything is about moving forward. But at the same time, I really like to drink and sing. I don’t want to get as drunk as I used to.”
King is not the first musician in any genre, not just country, to perform while drunk — and go viral doing so. She won’t be the last. Here’s hoping her debacle in Nashville turns out to be a wake-up call she heeds — and that her undeniable musical talent can blossom again with newfound clarity and purpose.
5 p.m. Saturday. Petco Park, 100 Park Blvd., downtown. $184.50-$409, plus service fees. ticketmaster.com
Singers Aloe Blacc, left, and Martha Gonzalez of the band Queztal are shown at an edition of the NCLA ALMA Awards at Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
(Joe Scarnici / WireImage)
Intersections Concert Series presents Queztal
The guitar-playing son of social-justice activists, José Quetzal Flores co-leads the Grammy Award-winning band Queztal with his wife, singer Martha Gonzalez, an associate professor of Chicana/o Latina/o Studies at Scripps/Claremont Colleges. Their seven-piece group also features the couple’s 19-year-old son, Sandino, a multi-instrumentalist.
Formed in 1993, Queztal now counts the members of Los Lobos and Ozomatli among its admirers and collaborators. The band’s music combines traditional Mexican son jarocho with alternative rock, funk, reggae, Cuban charanga, Brazilian pandeiro and more.
Queztal’s songs focus on timely and timeless issues with equal grace and grit to create an inviting celebration of unity and diversity.
7 p.m. Frriday, March 1. Guggenheim Theater at UC San Diego’s Park & Market, 1100 Market St., downtown. $25-$35. (858) 534-1010, parkandmarket.ucsd.edu
Kevin Devine will perform a solo acoustic concert Saturday at the Soda Bar in City Heights. He is show here performing in December 2022 in Milan, Italy.
(Sergione Infuso – Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images)
Kevin Devine, with Mansions
In 2022, New York native Kevin Devine celebrated his 20th year as a professional musician.
During that time he has played emo with the bands Miracle of 86 and Brand New, indie-rock with Bad Books and made nearly a dozen solo albums as a singer-songwriter who is equally influenced by The Beatles and Elliott Smith. Nirvana and Radiohead, Sparklehorse and Neil Young & Crazy Horse.
His latest album, 2022’s “Nothing’s Real So Nothing’s Wrong,” is a thoughtful and moody work with carefully layered instrumentation and vocals.
How well can Devine adapt these songs to a solo setting, sans any accompanists? You can find out this weekend.
7 p.m. Saturday. Soda Bar, 3161 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights. $24.21. (must be 21 or older to attend). (619) 955-5551, sodabarmusic.com
Elle King performs during CMA Fest 2022 on Sunday, June 12, 2022.
(Amy Harris / Amy Harris/invision/ap)