San Diego Music Scene? (Sacramento, Encinitas: to live, restaurant, moving to)

[bobbijordan]

I lived in Hollywood for a year and a half and now I'm thinking of moving to San Diego, although I've never been. I have a few questions:

What's the music scene like? I make music and I'd like to form a band. Is San Diego a good place for that?
Which is the best area to live for a young 20-something female?
Where are the urban/hipster/diverse areas?

Should I stay in LA?

[skeke]

Northpark is one you might enjoy. Southpark is another but Northpark is much more active with night life.

I can't make comments on the music scene. I haven't found one here I like but my tastes run to piano bars with Broadway show tunes and classics. I haven't found anything here to compare to what we had in Sacramento with Gayiel Von and Jim Jordan. They were a magical team who offered piano bar, cabaret, brought in great talents like Ellen Greene and super talented local kids, put on special events with Sacramento Ballet which combined dance with Sondheim. It was right up my alley. Haven't found anything like it here but I'm pretty sure that would not be the music scene you are looking for.

[sschibuola]

Northpark does seem to be the center of the Hipsterverse down here.

As for the music scene . . .I think you need to spend a few weekends down here and check it out for yourself. I would say it's a decent scene for the casual musician - I play bass and I had no problem finding good gigging bands via Craigslist . . but if you are serious about making music as a career, I'd probably look elsewhere. The venues down here don't seem all that interested in showcasing/nurturing talent . . their main (only?) criteria for booking a band is "can you bring a good crowd of drinkers?" That's true to a certain extent everywhere, but I get the feeling the Hollywood scene is much more vibrant.

[Pedro2000]

It's not known for it's music scene, but there are pockets here and there. I've spent the last few months in Austin & Nashville and those places are a musicians dream, a music fans dream, etc and moreso Austin, but Nashville has a decent scene as well. SD is nowhere near those places. If you just want to jam now and again, go see a show now and again, but love the beach and the laid back SD lifestyle, you will be fine. But if you're looking for a great music scene, you won't find one.

[ColeUSA]

The villages around Balboa Park and even downtown are great for music scenes. Music goes hand in hand with the overall vibe of the city and you'll find good music is respected. Playing at good venues can give you wide exposure and in a city of three million having social media exposure can get you very far. Other hip areas are going to be your La Jolla, Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach cities. The Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach is actually the largest music venue in North County and they have big names play there every once in a while, it's a very indie/alternative/rock scene.

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by bobbijordan

I lived in Hollywood for a year and a half and now I'm thinking of moving to San Diego, although I've never been.

I have some family and long time friends in San Diego. You live in Hollywood? San Diego is about a two hour drive. It would be worth your time to go down for a few days. A lot depends on you, whether you will like it or not. I am quite a bit older than you. A few threads on the discussion may help you consider, but still worth the trip, in my opinion:

Music Scene in SD
What's The Music Scene Like?
San Diego Live Music Scene.
San Diego Music Scene
Music Scene: Ecclectic? Interesting?
music scene

[echo42]

The Casbah in Little Italy and The Belly Up in Solana Beach. Check em out.


http://www.casbahmusic.com/
http://bellyup.com/

[Encinitan]

I play in a local band and there are lots of smaller venues to hit. The Casbah and Belly Up mentioned by others are indeed among the premier music venues in town, and therefore very hard to break into. But there are hundreds of smaller bars, clubs, venues, even restaurant-bars where musicians are making ends meet playing gigs. We are based in Coastal North County and stay pretty busy with those types of gigs 4-5 times a month.
Is it LA? No. Lots of bands still make the move up to LA for more opportunities. If you're really looking to make a career out of it, LA is probably the better choice. But is there enough of a music scene in SD for a dedicated musician to make ends meet? Yes.

[Tall]

North Park has a high rate a sexual assaults against women

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by Encinitan

Is it LA? No. Lots of bands still make the move up to LA for more opportunities. If you're really looking to make a career out of it, LA is probably the better choice. But is there enough of a music scene in SD for a dedicated musician to make ends meet? Yes.

^^ this

if your goal is to be in the professional music business of any kind - from playing in a symphony to being in a rock band to recording engineer to licensing music for commercials, San Diego is not the place to go. If you are looking for fun places to enjoy or play live music, we have a wide, if not terribly diverse variety within our small scene.