Never Say Bye: LoPresti Farewell Party

Danielle LoPresti and Alicia Champion host hip-hop, ambient electronica, spoken word and more at Music Box June 3

Say it ain’t so: That’s how my call with Danielle LoPresti began this morning, just 10 days out from her farewell showcase at Music Box, and a couple weeks from her move to Northern California with her partner in life and music, Alicia Champion. It’s a blow to the San Diego music and arts scene to lose LoPresti and Champion, who’ve worked for more than a decade to bring incredible, affordable events like IndieFest to the area. But before they leave, LoPresti and Champion are giving us one last blow-out night on Friday, June 3, at Music Box.

“We personally feel like this crazy bittersweetness,” LoPresti tells me by phone Wednesday morning. “This is really hard for us to do. We love San Diego and love the music scene here.” Their decision to move to Oakland is fueled primarily by wanting to be closer to family, but there’s also the financial realities of being both working mothers and artists to consider. “If we had a little more financial support, if it wasn’t so hard for independent music to be showcased, then I could see us doing this for longer.”

The two have a full bill planned at Music Box, with LoPresti’s own band playing alongside hip-hop artists the Brothers Burns & J. Phatts (“just remarkable, they’re hip-hop, and they’re intelligent and fun and funky”), spoken word from Gill Sotu (“how to do something amazing for your body, your brain, your heart -- listen to Gill Sotu”) and ambient electronica from Skyterra (“super fun, really moody, and just musically rich and dense but still hooky”) before DJ Double Score closes out the wee hours of the morning. 

LoPresti and Champion have been consistent advocates for indie music for years, working to bring smaller names to bigger stages so that both bands and San Diego music fans get exposure in turn. “But really when you’re talking about our big passion, it’s saying look at this music; this is amazing music; this is amazing film; this is amazing art -- that’s our big passion. We just feel so convicted about how much beautiful talent is out there that just doesn’t get it’s due. People do have space on their playlists for this music. And it’s just so sad that just a tiny few get to be really known and recognized, and there are so many people -- ourselves included -- that just have to kill themselves to keep making music.”

To that end, the Music Box farewell show serves not only as a “best of” for IndieFests past but also as a record release for the latest from Danielle LoPresti & the Masses and the release of Champion’s first single (music video included, of which LoPresti says, “It’s a really racy, crazy, like you-don’t-want-your-mom-to-watch-it kind of video”) in more than 13 years.

“I’m really excited,” LoPresti says. “It’s going to be so yummy.”

Danielle LoPresti & the Masses, Alicia Champion, the Brothers Burns & J. Phatt, Gill Sotu, Skyterra and DJ Double Score play Music Box Friday, June 3, at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $10 or $12 at the door. 

Hannah Lott-Schwartz, a San Diego native, moved back to the area after working the magazine-publishing scene in Boston. Now she’s straight trolling SD for all the music she missed while away. Want to help? Hit her up with just about anything at all over on Twitter, where -- though not always work-appropriate -- she means well. 

Contact Us