“Because of You” — Voices Of Our City Choir annual benefit concert
Voices Of Our City Choir won’t celebrate its 10th anniversary until December. But 2026 is already shaping up as a landmark year for the ensemble, which was formed to spotlight and empower homeless San Diego singers, songwriters and instrumentalists. Voices will celebrate the release of its debut album, “Here We Are,” next Thursday with a performance that will double as its annual fundraising concert. The album will take on an even greater significance when many of its 11 songs are featured in “Songbird,” a documentary being produced by London’s award-winning Groundtruth Productions. The executive producers of the film are actor Woody Harrelson and his wife, Laura. The album, like Voices itself, is a testament to devotion, tenacity and the power of the human spirit —and music — to uplift, enlighten and bring people together. “As rising costs push more San Diegans into isolation, Voices Of Our City Choir offers a powerful lifeline,” said choir co-founder and director Steph Johnson. “Many of our singers are navigating housing insecurity and physical and mental health obstacles. But through music, they find belonging and purpose and you can hear it in the music.” Indeed, you can. Eight of the 11 songs on “Here We Are” are original compositions. The lyrics speak to the challenges of everyday life, the quest for safety and community, and — crucially — the vital importance of providing hope for those in need. Witness such stirring songs as “Sounds of the Sidewalk,” “And Still We Sing,” “Falling Upward” and “I Am Home.” Equally noteworthy are the choir’s heartfelt versions of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Nina Simone’s “Young Gifted and Black” and “The Wizard of Oz” classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which is performed as a duet by Voices singer Phyllis Davis and top San Diego bassist Rob Thorsen. All 11 songs were recorded at least in part at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Bankers Hill. The cathedral hosts free weekly rehearsals and gatherings every Monday for the choir, which in 2020 earned national acclaim for its performances on three episodes of the “America’s Got Talent” TV series. The album was co-produced by Johnson and Natalie Bradley. Its executive producers are Qualcomm co-founder Irwin M. Jacobs and the San Diego nonprofit MusicPower, which is presenting next week’s Voices Of Our City fundraising concert. 5:30 p.m. next Thursday, Oct. 15. JULEP,1735 Hancock Street, Midway District. $325 and up (includes cocktail reception, dinner and concert). cbo.io/app/public/bidapp/voicesofourcity
Keyboardist Benmont Tench’s second solo album, “The Melancholy Season,” was released in 2025. The co-founder of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will perform a solo concert next week in San Diego at the Music Box. (Josh Giroux)
Benmont Tench: Best known for his long tenure in Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers — a band he cofounded in 1975 — Benmont Tench is one of the most prolific keyboardists around. His numerous credits includes playing on albums by Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Steve Nicks, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Chris Stapleton, Green Day, Johnny Cash, John Prine, Ringo Starr, Nickel Creek co-founders Sean and Sara Watkins, Alanis Morrissette, The Replacements, X and many more. Tench is now on an intimate solo tour, sans band, to promote his second solo album, the aptly titled “The Melancholy Season.” The Florida native completed the album prior to the 2024 mouth cancer surgery that required the removal of — and subsequent rebuilding of — half his jaw. His singing voice, which has always been understated, now has an added degree of poignancy. Tench’s recent setlists have mixed his original songs and a few Heartbreakers’ favorites with such varied gems by other artists as Dylan’s “Blind Willie McTell,” Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is The Ocean,” Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Velvet Underground’s “Rock & Roll” and the Grateful Dead’s “China Doll.” I have no idea what he might throw in for his concert here next week, but I’m eager to find out. 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. The Music Box, 1337 India Street, downtown. $66.55 (must be 21 or older to attend). 619-795-1337. ticketweb.com.
The fast-rising New York City band Geese will be swooping in for a concert at Gallagher Square at Petco Park. (Mark Sommerfeld)
Geese, with Bill Orcutt: The Brooklyn-bred indie band Geese may not be “the new saviors of rock ’n’ roll,” as a major British newspaper breathlessly proclaimed late last year. But Geese manages to make existential dread, helter-skelter quirkiness and sonic mayhem sound like a whole lot of fun. The group’s sold-out San Diego show here at Quartyard last Halloween night juxtaposed its potent original songs with memorable homages to The Stooges and Velvet Underground. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13 Gallagher Square at Petco Park, 840 K Street, San Diego. $62.20. ticketmaster.com.