91x legend Lou Niles has a big year in store for the San Diego music scene. On March 10, he featured the best of North County music with a fundraiser for the San Diego Music Foundation at Pour House Oceanside. San Diego Music Award nominees and SoundDiego veterans Take by Canadians joined Stephanie Brown & the Surrealistics to make the night a resounding success.
"The IYN [In Your Neighborhood] with Lou Niles event that went down last night [March 10] was crazy being that there was rain and we know how San Diegans are. It was packed and successful fundraising. TJ [Timothy Joseph] from BFSB [Buckfast Superbee] showed up and played four new songs -- super cool new stuff for a top-secret project," Niles told me over email on Sunday afternoon.
"Shane Hall Duo was amazing, and the crowd went wild for his impassioned performance. Stephanie Brown & the Surrealistics' sultry, romantic, explosive blues was as amazing as ever. Taken by Canadians have reached a new atmosphere with their psych-rock blues -- amazing live show brought down the house," he added.
But that's just the beginning for Niles. On April 28, the longtime radio DJ and local music mainstay will bring back the In Your Neighborhood Block Party, which is scheduled to take place at Pour House from noon to 8 p.m. It’s all ages, free and supports local music (Aviator Stash, the Great Electric Quest, Tommy Ragen, Fashion Jackson) and local businesses (Action Salsa, Real Surf, Mraz Family Farms, Noble Ink, Sea Hive, Spin Records). He affectionately dubs the mini-festival “Anti Chella.”
Come June, Niles is helping to curate yet another music festival -- this time, at A Ship in the Woods. Details for that event have yet to be released, but rest assured it will be good -- rivaled only by the Oceanside International Film Festival that he’s adding music to in early August.
"[A] Ship in the Woods music festival is June 16-17, and [we're] announcing this coming week, so can't say much except edgy, cool -- who's who from the pages of Pitchfork plus the usual amazing artists," Niles said.
There are few people who have worked as hard and as long as Niles has to promote local music and nurture the growth of our scene, so let’s not let his efforts go to waste!
Rutger Rosenborg was almost a Stanford poet-neuroscientist before he formed Ed Ghost Tucker. Whoops. He now fronts the Lulls and makes music on his own when he's not writing. Follow his updates on Instagram and Twitter (@RArosenborg), add him on Facebook or contact him directly.
