I enjoy telling people my favorite Beach Boys track is over 10 minutes long. They look at me like: “What?”
But it’s not merely the length of the three-part “California Saga” from the group’s 1973 “Holland” album that’s unusual among Beach Boys recordings.
For one thing, neither Part 1 (“Big Sur”) nor Part 2 (“The Beaks of Eagles”) nor Part 3 (“California”) was written by Brian Wilson. It was almost completely composed by Mike Love.
For another, this suite, which included spoken word verses in Part 2, focused not on the sun-splashed, bikini-populated SoCal beaches of Beach Boys lore but on the state’s Central Coast and did so with a reverent, environmentally conscious theme.
While a little pretentious in retrospect, “California Saga,” which is actually three consecutive tracks on “Holland” tied together, still sounds great today. I think of it whenever I’m in or near beautiful Big Sur. I think of it, too, when the Beach Boys come to San Diego as they seem to do everyyear.
The group, with guest vocalist John Stamos, is at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park on Saturday, then at Pechanga Resort in Temecula on Sunday. The concert is billed as a salute to 60 years of the group’s seminal album “Pet Sounds.”
Today, Mike Love remains in the group from the “Holland” recording sessions in Amsterdam more than 50 years ago. The “California Saga” suite has not been part of the tour’s set list. But “California Girls” has.
Maren Morris will perform tonight at the San Diego County Fair. AP
Country music
Friday is a big day for singer-songwriter Maren Morris, and not just because she’ll be performing on the Corona Grandstand Stage at the San Diego County Fair. Friday is also the release day for a 10th-anniversary celebration of Morris’ debut album “HERO.”
“HERO: A Second Wind” includes two new songs, one of which is titled “Hard Liquor and Soft Rock.” The four demos from the original 2016 album feature another take on its “Drunk Girls Don’t Cry” track. For traveling fans, Morris will perform the “HERO” album track by track on Aug. 15 at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Tickets for tonight show are at sdfair.com/events/2026/maren-morris.
Yvonne Brown’s “hiphopera,” “Fre3sty13,” at the San Diego International Fringe Festival. (Yvonne Brown)
Spoken word/music
For me, the highlight of the 2025 San Diego International Fringe Festival was a performance by San Diego-based vocalist and performance artist Yvonne Brown, better known as Fre3style13.
The “Hip Hopera” she performed at the Light Box Theater at Arts District Liberty Station, both exciting and thought-provoking, showcased her skills at singing, rapping, dance and social commentary. One of the commenters on her Facebook profile referred to Brown as a “magic maker, face melter, goose bump giver!”
If I’ve piqued your curiosity, you can see and hear Fre3style13 at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon on Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. sycuan.com/events/
Milly Alcock poses for photographers upon arrival at the photo call for the film “Supergirl” in London, Friday, June 19, 2026. AP
Movies
If at first you don’t succeed, why try again?
Remember the “Supergirl” flick from 1984, the one with Helen Slater in the title role and a supporting cast that included (get this) Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow and Peter O’Toole? It did not soar at the box office.
Yet more than 40 years later we have another “Supergirl” movie, this one starring Milly Alcock (“House of the Dragon”). It opens in cinemas nationwide on Friday.
Who knows if the new “Supergirl” will be better received than its predecessor, but it does boast a companion for Kara Zor-El missing from the’84 film: Krypto the Superdog. No surprise, Krypto is 3D-modeled.
Visual art
“The Worlds We Grow” is the theme of this year’s Mass Creativity Day event at the New Children’s Museum downtown.
It happens on Saturday, is free and is, as they say, something for the entire family.
Besides art-making on site the day will feature workshops led by the museum’s community partners, the Barrio Logan College Institute, Skyline Hills Public Library and the City Heights/Weingart Public Library.
This is the 14 th such Mass Creativity Day the museum has hosted. Here’s to their hosting at least 14 more. Details at thinkplaycreate.org.