For nearly four decades, the Adams Avenue Street Fair has brought live music, festival food, beer gardens, carnival rides, and tented vendors to Normal Heights -- and for the 38th year, it’s returning once again to the neighborhood on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22.
For its 2019 iteration, the annual music/arts festival -- which spans seven blocks along its namesake thoroughfare -- features headlining performances by Los Texmaniacs with Cesar Rosas (of Los Lobos), the Western Standard Time Ska orchestra with Greg Lee, blues harp player extraordinaire James Harman and his band, Mexican ska-punk pioneers Tijuana No! with Ceci Bastida, surf-jazz duo Mattson 2 (read our review of their new album here), and local alt-rock stalwarts Dead Feather Moon.
Other notable performers include rockabilly trio Hard Fall Hearts, Americana rockers Jonny Wagon & the Tennessee Sons (who we just hosted at our latest SoundDiego LIVE party), psych-rockers the Surrealistics, hometown ska-punks Buck-O-Nine, one-man-swamp-blues-band Low Volts, alt-country/rock act Trouble in the Wind and many others. The official lineup has just been announced and more than 100 acts will be rotating on and off seven different stages along the avenue.
Last year’s music roster included artists ranging from the Schizophonics (who just announced a new album/tour), the Sure Fire Soul Ensemble and Hollie Cook to Augie Meyers, the Dirty Sweet and the Parker Meridien. Although this year’s lineup is notably light on hip-hop acts, its as eclectic as ever and continues a promising trend of local festivals booking more inclusively in regards to our city’s expansive music scene.
In addition to music, the event -- which runs from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday -- features beer a'plenty, carnival rides, gut-stuffing grub and 300 vendors and arts & crafts exhibits. While the Craft Beer Taste takes place from noon to 4 p.m. on Sept. 21 and costs $20, the rest of the festival is free and all ages, making it Southern California’s largest festival of its kind.
For more information, full lineup, schedule, and map, visit the official Adams Avenue Street Fair website here.
