Thank you for a great Festival!

Here's what the press had to say about this year's Fest:

"...stunning...intrepid, eclectic...terrific...powerful...clever and delightful...brilliant..."
-Christian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune

"Year after year, it brings folks together around incredible music performances in gorgeous settings -- that's hard to beat."
-NBC7 SoundDiego

"a celebration of stylistic diversity... a seemingly endless appetite for aural adventure"
-George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune

Radio interview with Fest Founder, Matt McBane on KSDS's Inside Art
-David Drexler, KSDS

The Carlsbad Music Festival returns Aug. 26-28: the lineup includes two shows by SoCal new-music heroes wild UP, the acclaimed "West" program and a new one entitled "Future Folk"
-Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise

If you’re in the vicinity of Carlsbad, get yourself there over the weekend to catch one of these fantastic performances!
-Maggie Stapleton, Second Inversion

San Diego's Top Weekend Events
-KPBS

Make a donation to help the Festival continue to bring eclectic, adventurous music to Carlsbad!

2016 Festival Pictures

All pictures by Tommy McAdams
More pictures at our Facebook page

13th annual
Carlsbad Music Festival
Fri-SUN, August 26-28

Adventurous music by the beach

“one of the area’s most innovative music showcases”
-KPBS

"phenomenal"
"you'll think that Carlsbad is the coolest place on earth"
-San Diego Union Tribune

Ticketed Mainstage Artists:

wild Up • Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith • LA Percussion Quartet • Namad Trio • Pascal Le Boeuf • HOCKET • Richard Valitutto, Justine Aronson and gnarwhallaby • Matt McBane

artist bios

Free Stages Artists:

Alexander Elliott Miller • Alexandra Matloff • andrew Tholl • Anishka Lee-Skorepa • Aperture Duo • The B Band• Dani Bell and the TARANTISt • Daniel Corral • Daniel Pate • The Dapper Bandits • Euphoria Brass Band • G Burns Jug Band • The Gift Machine• Inspired and the Sleep • Isaura String Quartet • Jack Curtis Dubowsky Ensemble • Jesse Daniel Edwards • Jodie Landau • Kamini Natarajan • LA Edwards • The Lulls • MandoBasso • Now Hear Ensemble • Paper Days • Peter Kuhn + Kyle Motl • Peter Sprague • Qamar • THE RED FOX TAILS • Sakura • Son de San Diego • Stephanie Richards + andrew Munsey • Taken by Canadians • TROUBLE IN THE WIND • Zimbeat • and more!

artist bios

***schedule subject to change, check back often***

Friday, August 26

Ticketed Mainstage Concerts

7:00-7:30pm Matt McBane and Friends
8:00-9:15pm wild Up performs Future Folk

Mainstage Concerts take place at St Michael's by the Sea

Free Stages Concerts

6:00-6:40 Dapper Bandits State and Grand

7:00-7:40 The Lulls State and Grand

7:30-9:30 Jack Curtis Dubowsky Ensemble live film score to Golem Giacoletti Music Outdoors

8:00-8:40 Taken by Canadians State and Grand

9:00-9:40 Inspired and the Sleep State and Grand

10:00-10:40 Jodie Landau: part of the wild Up Invasion St. Michael's Church

Saturday, August 27

TICKETED MAINSTAGE CONCERTs

1:30-2:15pm Pascal Le Boeuf
5:00-6:00pm LA Percussion Quartet
8:00-9:15pm wild Up performs WEST.
10:00-11:00pm Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Mainstage Concerts take place at St Michael's by the Sea

BEER GARDEN •FOOD TRUCKS •ARTISAN MARKET

3:00-10:00pm St Michael's Lawn

FREE STAGES CONCERTS

12:00-12:30 Andrew Tholl: part of the wild Up Invasion St. Michael's Hall

12:30-1:30 Daniel Corral, Jeremy Kerner, and Isaura String Quartet St Michael's Chapel

1:00-1:30 Now Hear Ensemble St. Michael's Hall

2:40-3:00 The B Band St. Michael's Hall

2:30-3:00 Euphoria Brass Band New Orleans-style March Starts at park above the beach at Pine Ave

3:00-3:40 Euphoria Brass Band Lawn Stage at St Michael's

3:10-3:30 Daniel Pate Magee Park Heritage Hall

3:10-3:30 Aperture Duo Carlsbad by the Sea

3:40-4:00 Daniel Pate Magee Park Heritage Hall

3:40-4:00 Isaura String Quartet St Michael's Chapel

3:40-4:00 The B Band St. Michael's Hall

3:40-4:00 Alexandra Matloff Carlsbad by the Sea

4:00-4:40 The Red Fox Tails Lawn Stage at St Michael's

4:10-4:30 Aperture Duo Magee Park Heritage Hall

4:10-4:30 Anishka Lee-Skorepa from the San Diego Opera Carlsbad by the Sea

4:30-5:10 The Gift Machine Magee Park

4:40-5:00 SAKURA St Michael's Chapel

4:40-5:00 The B Band St. Michael's Hall

4:40-5:00 Kamini Natarajan Carlsbad by the Sea

5:30-6:10 MandoBasso Magee Park

5:40-6:00 Kamini Natarajan St Michael's Chapel

5:40-6:00 Anishka Lee-Skorepa from the San Diego Opera St. Michael's Hall

6:00-6:40 Peter Sprague Lawn Stage at St Michael's

6:30-7:20 Qamar Magee Park

6:40-7:10 Isaura String Quartet St Michael's Chapel

7:10-8:00 Jesse Daniel Edwards Lawn Stage at St Michael's

7:45-8:45 Dani Bell and the Tarantist Magee Park

9:00-10:00 Paper Days Lawn Stage at St Michael's

10-midnight afterparty w/ DJ Lexicon Devil Lawn Stage at St Michael's

SunDAY, AUGUST 28

TICKETED MAINSTAGE CONCERTS

1:00-2:00pm HOCKET
2:30-4:00pm Richard Valitutto, Justine Aronson and gnarwhallaby
                      part of the wild Up Invasion 
7:00-8:00pm Namad Trio

Mainstage Concerts take place at St Michael's by the Sea

BEER GARDEN •FOOD TRUCKS •ARTISAN MARKET

2:00-7:00pm St Michael's Lawn

FREE STAGES CONCERTS

2:00-2:30 Zimbeat Lawn Stage at St Michael's

2:40-3:00 Peter Kuhn and Kyle Motl St Michael's Chapel

3:00-3:30 Son de San Diego Lawn Stage at St Michael's

3:30-4:00 Peter Kuhn and Kyle Motl St Michael's Chapel

4:00-4:40 G Burns Jug Band Lawn Stage at St Michael's

4:40-5:00 Alexander Elliott Miller St Michael's Chapel

4:40-5:00 Stephanie Richards and Andrew Munsey St Michael's Hall

5:00-5:40 LA Edwards Lawn Stage at St Michael's

5:40-6:00 Alexander Elliott Miller St Michael's Chapel

5:40-6:00 Stephanie Richards and Andrew Munsey St Michael's Hall

6:00-7:00 Trouble in the Wind Lawn Stage at St Michael's

***schedule subject to change, check back often***

Passes and Tickets

VIP Passes good for Reserved Priority seating at all Mainstage Concerts plus VIP reserved seating for Lawn Concerts and New Currents Concerts.

Individual tickets available below.

Mainstage concerts

concert programs, audio and video

Mainstage Concerts take place at: 
St Michael's by the Sea
2775 Carlsbad Blvd.

Matt McBane and Friends

Friday, August 26, 7:00-7:30pm

Festival Founder and composer/violinist Matt McBane and friends perform his critically-acclaimed suite of compositions for bluegrass string band, “Drawn.” concert program and more info

“a natural composer, a fresh voice and, from the evidence of his festival, a first-rate organizer with a broad range of musical interests” -Los Angeles Times

wild Up perform future folk

Friday, August 26, 8:00-9:15pm

Modern music collective slash chamber orchestra wild Up creates a communal concert of sound/noise/experience that celebrates old-world ways of living in the modern era. Featuring works by Meredith Monk, Julius Eastman, members of the ensemble and more. concert program and more info

“All the performances, led by Rountree, were exceptional, the ensemble turning on an astonishing stylistic dime.” -Los Angeles Times

Pascal Le Boeuf

Saturday, August 27, 1:30-2:15pm

Jazz pianist and composer Pascal Le Boeuf and his trio, Pascal’s Triangle, perform a set of his forward-looking compositions. concert program and more info

"[Le Boeuf's] performances and compositions display an impressive level of sophistication. Textured harmonies and shifting time signatures are handled with aplomb." -San Francisco Chronicle

“a starry array of new music specialists” -Alex Ross, The Rest is Noise

“magnificently enlightening” -Los Angeles Times

“The Carlsbad Music Festival has quickly made a name for itself as one of the best single gatherings of diverse, avant-garde musicians in Southern California.” -San Diego City Beat

About this year's Festival...

The 13th annual Carlsbad Music Festival is a 3-day summer celebration of “adventurous music by the beach” on Friday-Sunday, August 26-28 in the charming seaside Village of Carlsbad. The Festival, called “one of the area’s most innovative music showcases” by KPBS, features 60+ performances of creative music of all kinds curated by Founder and Artistic Director, composer/violinist Matt McBane. These include 10 ticketed concerts featuring wild Up, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, LA Percussion Quartet, Namaad Trio and more; FREE outdoor concerts all weekend; FREE New Currents concerts on Saturday and Sunday; and a beer garden, food trucks and artisan market on Saturday and Sunday. The Festival programming is an eclectic mix of creative and adventurous music ranging from contemporary classical, to indie rock, to world music, to electronic, to jazz, to musicians who work across genres and fall between the cracks. The Carlsbad Music Festival is a nationally-acclaimed presenter and a beloved community event that draws thousands from near and far for its unique programming and beautiful setting.