San Diego concert calendar expands: Van Morrison, Trevor Noah, Karol G, Dropkick Murphys announce new shows

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Van Morrison

Also headed here: Rancid, Waterparks, Cypress Hill, Rod Wave Soulfly

San Diego Union-Tribune

June 15, 2021 4:58 AM PT

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Van Morrison, comedian Trevor Noah and Latin pop star Karol G are among the latest performers to announce new tours that include shows in San Diego.

Other artists headed this way include Rod Wave, Waterparks, Dropkick Murphys and Rancid. In addition, comedian JoKoy has added a second December show at Pechanga Arena San Diego, after selling out his first at the venue.

The concurrent announcements of their new tours Monday morning, June 14 — along with new U.S. concert treks by Eric Clapton and former Tijuana guitarist Santana (which do not include any West Coast dates) — underscore how eager performers and concert promoters are to reactivate after the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered live events for more than a year. They are banking on the hope that live-music-starved fans are just as eager to return to concerts.

Here, in chronological order, are the latest batch of new tours that will include San Diego stops.

Unless otherwise indicated, tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, June 18 at 10 a.m. at livenation.com and ticketmaster.com, with pre-sales beginning a day or two earlier.

Van Morrison, who has been an outspoken critic of COVID-19 restrictions, will perform Oct. 5 at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $525, plus service charges.

Celtic-flavored punk-rock band Dropkick Murphys will perform on a double-bill with Rancid on Oct. 10 at Petco Park’s Gallagher Square (formerly known at the Park at the Park). Ticket prices are $45 in advance and $50 on the day of the show.

Rapper Rod Wave, who rose to prominence in 2019 via his videos on TikTok and YouTube, will perform Oct. 20 at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $59.50, plus service charges.

Colombian-bred Latin pop star Karol G will perform Oct. 31 at San Diego Civic Theatre. Her show here is part of her first U.S. headlining tour. Ticket prices range from $49.50 to $99.95. (Tickets will be available at ticketmaster.com and axs.com.)

Comedian and TV host Trevor Noah will perform Dec. 3 at Viejas Arena. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $125, plus service charges.

Rising rock band Waterparks will perform Dec. 4 at SOMA Live.
Ticket prices are $30 in advance and $35 on the day of show, plus service charges.

Comedian JoKoy has added a Dec. 10 show at Pechanga Arena San Diego, after selling out his Dec. 9 performance at the same venue. Tickets for the new date, priced from $37.50 to $87.50, go on sale Friday, June 18 at 10 a.m. at axs.com.

— George Varga is a pop music critic for The San Diego Union-Tribune

George Varga

San Diego Union-Tribune music critic George Varga began drumming in rock bands at 12 and writing professionally about music at 15. A Louisiana native who grew up mostly in Germany, Varga has earned three Pulitzer Prize nominations for his writing at the U-T and is a voting member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to providing live coverage of the Grammy Awards and festivals from Coachella and KAABOO to the 1994 edition of Woodstock, he has interviewed everyone from Miles Davis, Britney Spears and (over a game of chess) Ray Charles to Willie Nelson, Kanye West and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis. A triple first prize-winner for criticism and arts writing at the 2022 San Diego Press Club awards and a double first prize-winner at the 2022 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists awards, Varga is also a contributing writer for Jazz Times magazine and has written for Billboard, Spin and other publications. After attending San Diego City College and San Diego State University, he created and taught the 2002 UC San Diego Extension course, “Jazz in a Post-Ken-Burns World.” Varga has written liner notes for more than a dozen albums, including by jazz sax greats James Moody and Michael Brecker, and contributed two chapters to the book, “Dylan: Disc By Disc.”