The weekend is finally here, which means the only difference is that you get to sleep in after a night out. Kicking things off Friday are 21 Pilots, who play a sold-out show at the Open Air Theatre, and if you have a ticket, don't miss pop darlings Echosmith, who are providing musical support. Misterwives return to town with a show at the Observatory North Park, or hit Mission Bay by boat with the Rock the Boat Cruise. There are a lot of fun choices this Friday night, but my pick for the night has to be the Districts, who played at the Casbah earlier this year on a night when I had to work elsewhere, so this is like a do-over for me. They've been moving up the charts with lots of love from satellite radio, and it's only a matter of time before they break into the mainstream, too.
Friday, Oct. 16:
- The Districts, Sun Club @ The Irenic
- Marian Hill, Heavy Mellow @ Casbah (sold out)
- 21 Pilots, Echosmith, Finish Ticket @ Open Air Theatre, SDSU (sold out)
- Misterwives, Cruisr @ Observatory North Park
- Rock the Boat Cruise, with Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Ease Up, Grizzly Business, the Verigolds, Digital Lizards of Doom, Kid Wilderness, DJ Mancat, DJ Raychill Frank @ William D. Evans Riverboat on Mission Bay (Use promo codes "verigolds" or "rocktheboat" for a discount)
- Voodoo Glow Skulls, Phenomenauts, China Wife Motors, Oceanside Sound System @ Soda Bar
- The Wind Playing Tricks @ Ken Club
- Behind the Wagon, the Sickstring Outlaws, Abe West @ The Merrow (watch our Spotlight segment on the Sickstring Outlaws)
- Sarah McQuaid @ Templar's Hall in Old Poway Park
- Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
- Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen @ AMSD
- Abstracter, Monochromacy, Dead Ghosts @ The Treehouse
- Junior Tthe DiscoPUNK @ Bar Pink
- The Garden (album release) @ Che Cafe
- Art Blakey, with Matt Witek and Christopher Hollyday @ Dizzy's
- Atomic Groove Happy Hour @ Belly Up (5 p.m.)
- Fishbone, Monophonics @ Belly Up
- Spazzkid @ The Loft
- The Village Squares, the Casey Hensley Band, Vida Blue @ Music Box
- Musica en la Plaza @ California Center for the Arts, Escondido
- Cult Vegas, Mars & the Massacre, Plastik Deer @ The Balboa
- Acid King, Giant Squid, Mala Suerte, Trapped Within Burning Machinery @ Brick By Brick
- America, Lisa Sanders & Brown Sugar @ Humphreys Concerts By the Bay
- Daisy O'Connor, Lindsay & the White Lies @ Java Joe's
- Common Kings, Sammy J, Tribe of Kings Soundsystem @ House of Blues
- Jonny Craig, Travis Garland, Kyle Lucas @ House of Blues Voodoo Room
- Kitty Plague (CD release), Jovi & the Issues, Swords of Fatima @ The Bancroft
- Lee Churchill @ U-31
- Teagan Taylor @ Croce's Park West
- Monette Marino @ Humphreys Backstage Live
- Timeshares, Signals Midwest, Western Settings @ Tower Bar
- Project Out of Bounds, Rubbish, Revival @ Winston's (9:30 p.m.)
- Walter Lure (of the Heartbreakers), the Zeros, Dirty Eyes @ Til-Two Club
- F---ing in the Bushes with Rob Moran @ Whistle Stop
- Dirtcaps @ Fluxx
- EC Twins @ Omnia
- Tiga @ Bang Bang
- DJ Spryte @ Parq
- Junior theDISCOpunk @ Henry's Pub
- Funks Most Wanted @ Tio Leo's
- Something Different @ Kava Lounge
- Ent. Kings, DJ R2 @ Gallagher's Irish Pub
- Club Musae @ Boar Cross'n
- B Foundation, Reeform & Sandollar @ 710 Beach Club
- Jack Russell's Great White, Sledd, Di Vad, Big Toe @ Ramona Mainstage
Rosemary Bystrak is the publicist for the Casbah and writes about the San Diego music scene, events and general musings about life in San Diego on San Diego: Dialed In. Follow her updates on Twitter or contact her directly.