Gary Clark Jr., with Suzanne Santo
Returning to the Shell for the first time since his electrifying 2021 debut at the venue, Gary Clark Jr. has evolved considerably since then.
While his blues-drenched guitar work and soulful singing are still key elements, the music featured on his latest album, this year’s “JPEG RAW,” draws equally from hip-hop, rock, vintage soul, funk and electronically processed pop, with elements of jazz, West African chants and country providing extra textures.
The album features such esteemed guest artists as Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, Valerie June, Ghanaian singer-producer Naala, rising jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold and more.
It’s an ambitious work that may present some challenges to fully realize on a concert stage without those guests. But If anyone is up for such a challenge, it’s Texas native Clark, who played the role of blues pioneer Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup in Baz Luhrmann’s Oscar-nominated film “Elvis.”
Be sure to arrive early to hear former honeyhoney mainstay Suzanne Santo, an American roots-music dynamo who spent most of 2019 doing double-duty on a world tour with Hozier as both his opening act and one of his band members.
A gifted singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Santo has two notable solo albums to her credit, 2017’s “Ruby Red” and 2021’s “Yard Sale,” the latter of which features a guest spot by Clark.
7 p.m. Saturday. The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. $33-$140. theshell.org
“Celebrate Ameri’Kana” Music & Arts Festival
With seven bands and solo artists performing over eight hours — and free admission — this qualifies as the music-marathon bargain of the month. The lineup includes Los Texmaniacs, Making Movies, Renee Goust, Gaby Moreno, the Ameri’kana All Stars & Friends, and a yet-to-be-announced band and DJ.
Likely highlights include the Max Baca-led Los Texmaniacs (a Grammy Award-winning San Antonio band that specializes in the accordion-led conjunto music popularized in Texas), and fellow Grammy-winner Gaby Moreno (a versatile Guatemalan singer-songwriter whose collaborators have included Kris Kristofferson, Benin’s Angelique Kidjo, Nickel Creek’s Chris Thile and U2’s Bono).
And don’t miss “Celebrate Ameri’Kana” masterminds Making Movies, the Kansas City-bred band that fuses rock, cumbia, merengue and more into a zesty, propulsive whole.
2 p.m. Sunday. Epstein Family Amphitheater, 9480 Innovation Lane, UC San Diego, La Jolla. Free, but advance online registration is requested at: amphitheater.ucsd.edu/event/celebrate-amerikana/
Santana, with Counting Crows
Former Tijuana guitar-slinger Carlos Santana turned 77 in July, but he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The pioneering Latin-rock band he leads — featuring his wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, on drums — continues to tour regularly. And its leader has released new recordings over the past year with Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels, producer and drum great Narada Michael Walden, as well as with both Santana’s son and nephew, Salvador and Jose Santana.
For good measure, at his most recent residency at Las Vegas’ House of Blues, the mustachioed guitarist and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has been mixing Santana classics with a medley of Eric Burdon & War’s “Spill the Wine,” The Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” and The Zombies’ “She’s Not There,” which Santana scored a hit of its own with in 1977.
7 p.m. next Friday, Aug. 30. North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, 2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista. $67.20-$354. VIP packages are priced from $374 to $870. livenation.com