Hot Picks 05.14.26

Thursday, May 14

Rademaker Records

Brent Rademaker is a veteran of the music business. Hailing from Florida, he came to Los Angeles in the 1980s before later creating a cosmo-country band called Beachwood Sparks, inspired by West Coast legendary bands such as The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and Buffalo Springfield. In recent years, he launched an independent record label named Curation Records specializing in featuring artists who have crafted the “California Cool” sound, all artists that can only be found on the West Coast. You can get your own dose of California Cool at Bud’s at La Playa, where Rademaker will be spinning records for the next vinyl session. [KR]

6pm Thursday, May 14. Bud’s at La Playa, Camino Real and 8th, Carmel. Free. (831) 293-6100, fadeawaysessions.com.

No Scalping

A rock show thrown by The Scalps is grungy and punky in all the best ways. And the punks are alive and well in Pacific Grove – yeah that’s right – aka “Pacific Grave,” home of the “newlyweds and nearly-deads,” which is a phrase you can get on a black T-shirt at Pop & Hiss. Fashion sense aside, the rockers emerge for a high-energy show in the back bar, also welcoming the ethereal voice of Sarah Parson from Rum River Cult. Whether she decides to jump onstage with acoustic or electric guitar is entirely up to her, but make no mistake – she can rock just as hard as the dudes. [SC]

7-10pm Thursday, May 14. Pop & Hiss, 215 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. $5. (831) 275-3303, popandhiss.net.

Thursday, May 14-Saturday, May 16

Magic Quest

Submerge into Abigail’s quest as she navigates a new school and city and a mystical kingdom, Subterra. Abigail explores a dark new world populated with wizards, fantastic creatures and riddles. She relies on science and her own determination to restore Subterra to normal while finding her way back home. This story is told onstage in Merlin’s Apprentice, ARIEL Theatrical’s latest musical, appropriately starring children. [CJ]

7pm Thursday-Saturday and 2pm Saturday, May 14-16. Karen Wilson Children’s Theatre, 320 Main St., Salinas. $12-$16; free/under age 3. (831) 775-0976, arieltheatrical.org.

Thursday, May 14-Sunday, May 17

Funfair

Whether you’re a fan of pig races, carnival rides, live tunes, tractor pulls or petting zoos, the Salinas Valley Fair has got you covered. The annual event at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds is packed with performers of all varieties, from bands to wrestlers, jugglers and magicians – competitions like flat track motorcycle races, 4H and FFA livestock shows and kids pedal tractor races – and classic carnival rides like the carousel, kite flyer and scrambler. With a robust slate of acts and activities, the Salinas Valley Fair is sure to be a good time for the whole family. [AS]

11am-10pm Thursday-Sunday, May 14-17. Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, 625 Division St., King City. $14; $10/children and seniors. (831) 385-3243, salinasvalleyfair.com.

Friday, May 15

Back on the Terrace

The upper terrace at the Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel is a fun, green, immediately relaxing space. It often serves as a background or the extension of whatever is going on in other parts of the cultural center, be it as a refreshment area for an exhibit at the Marjorie Evans Gallery, or a no-fuss, no-muss stage for selected Carmel Bach Festival performances. In late spring though, the terrace starts to live its own life, thanks to Terrace Hour, an annual outdoor music series showcasing regional musicians. The opener for the series is MAAK band, Seaside’s own Moroccan fusion group. Blending Moroccan melodies with Latin, reggae and rock influences, MAAK tells stories of love and global unity. [AP]

6pm Friday, May 15. Sunset Center Upper Terrace, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. Free. (831) 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org.

Friday, May 15-Sunday, May 17

Band Camp

Within the land of giant trees and breathtaking views, world-class bands gather for the unique, family-friendly boutique festival known as Hipnic, a nod to the event’s legendary founding band, The Mother Hips. The 17th annual features The Mother Hips, of course, along with Robyn Hitchcock, Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes, Beachwood Sparks and the Rose City Band, among others. The three-day festival combines the tranquil vibes of Big Sur with the energy of live music to create an experience unlike any other. [AS]

Noon Friday-11am Sunday, May 15-17. Fernwood Resort, 47200 Highway 1, Big Sur. Sold out. (831) 667-2422, folkyeah.com.

Saturday, May 16-Sunday, May 17

That’s US

It’s good to see that some people understand that the United States is a diverse country with a complicated history. And that group includes Conductor Jayce Ogren and the Monterey Symphony, who have chosen to celebrate the nation with USA250, a presentation of music from West Side Story, along with Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The concert opens with the national anthem, arranged by Luigi Zaninelli, an Italian-American. A new work – Marmoris, by Sarah Kirkland Snider – is part of the program, which concludes with William Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony from 1934. As a package, the symphony finds much of the nation’s character – immigration, struggles, emancipation and more – with a finish that is still unfolding and leaves no conclusion. [DF]

7:30pm Saturday, May 16; 3pm Sunday, May 17. Sunset Center, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. $50-$90; $12/students, teachers, military. (831) 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org.

Saturday, May 16

Walking HISTORY

Located south of Carmel and east of Point Lobos, San Jose Creek was an old site of the Indigenous people who harvested abalone and other shellfish there. They lived in a village called Ishxenta – before they got forcibly baptized and recruited to live and work at the nearby Carmel Mission. Now this land is public property known as Ishxenta State Park, open to visitors on a guided tour with State Parks staff. Lovely wood bridges above the flowing stream seem are an attraction, as well as a concentration of Monterey pines, redwoods and endangered Gowen cypress trees. [AP]

9:30am-12:30pm Saturday, May 16. Meet at Palo Corona Regional Park entrance, 4860 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. Free; registration required. (831) 372-3196, tinyurl.com/LetsGoOutdoorsMonterey.

Pitch Perfect

For folk duo Terrier, their harmony extends beyond the vocals. Ben Morrison and Erika Tietjen both had their own bands, but the life partners teamed up early on in the Covid pandemic to form their own duo. Their music touches on themes of family and the human experience, something the two are very in tune with, as their first child inspired much of their work. This concert is a benefit for the Aromas Community Grange, which has existed in harmony with its surrounding community for 104 years. With food and drink on site, make it a night in the small town, with live music to back up the vibes. [EC]

4:30pm Saturday, May 16. Aromas Community Grange, 400 Rose Ave., Aromas. $25/in advance, $30/at the door. aromasgrange.org.

Show Time

It takes a special kind of chutzpah to call your own tour “The High and Mighty Tour,” but Chelsea Handler has that chutzpah. The comedian/bestselling author/talk show host has earned the street cred to call herself high and mighty, but she’s self-deprecating enough to mean it as a joke (we think). Handler has made a name for herself time and time again, as a late-night talk show host of Chelsea Lately on E!, then with her documentary series Chelsea Does, then her Netflix show Chelsea in 2016. In 2021, she started the podcast Dear Chelsea. (That year, even the Covid pandemic did not stop her from going on tour, that time as the “Vaccinated and Horny Tour” – probably not a joke?) Her most recent book, I’ll Have What She’s Having, was published in 2025. And yes, everyone who wants to have what Handler is having – chiefly, the ability to laugh at oneself – is welcome to roll on over to this stop in Monterey. [SR]

8pm Saturday, May 16. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $119-$239. (831) 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com.

Sunday, May 17

Clay Pot

Clay is one of those materials that seems to be made of magic. Wet, it’s malleable but holds together, something you can mold into any shape. After exposure to high heat in a kiln, it becomes dry and firm ceramic. (It’s actually made of fine-grained minerals, not magic, but that’s not really relevant for artistic purposes.) This workshop guides participants through how to make a hand-built project from clay. You can go functional (like a vase or a bowl) or wildly creative (sculpture or choose-your-own adventure). A glaze selection process follows, and then workshop attendees can pick up finished, fired pieces at a later date. Get your hands dirty. [SR]

1-3pm Sunday, May 17. Earthbound Farm Stand, 7250 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. $75; supplies included; ages 16+. (831) 625-6219, earthboundfarmstand.eventbrite.com.

All That

Jazz fans can get three for the price of, well, zero. Monterey Jazz presents a community concert at the new Lido Stage, a unique outdoor venue in a new hotel courtyard. The performance features three groups of talented young musicians, all part of the Monterey Jazz education program. The Regional All-Star Middle School Combo will showcase the rhythms and improvisational nature of the jazz while the Regional All-Star Vocal Ensemble gives voice to the music. Meanwhile, the Regional All-Star Band features some of the best student performers. That’s a lot to enjoy. [DF]

3pm Sunday, May 17. Lido Stage, Courtyard/Residence Inn by Marriott, 800 Morgans Way, Sand City. Free. (831) 855-4101, marriott.com.

Tuesday, May 19

World Within

Kelp forests are gigantic, some reaching heights of 100 feet tall under the ocean. But a world within the forests that is so small that it is invisible to the naked eye is just as giant, if not even more so. Every square centimeter of kelp boasts 25 million bacteria, and whether they are beneficial or harmful to their hosts, that’s what Brooke Weigel is here to figure out. Weigel, an assistant professor of oceans at Hopkins Marine Station, presents a talk about the world she studies on a daily basis, inviting the public to explore this underwater, microscopic world. [EC]

6-7pm Tuesday, May 19. Hopkins Marine Station, Izzie Abbott Boatworks Auditorium, 120 Ocean View Blvd., Pacific Grove. Also via Zoom. Free. (831) 655-6200, hopkinsmarinestation.stanford.edu.

Hot Picks by Sloan Campi, Erik Chalhoub, Dave Faries, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Agata Popęda, Katie Rodriguez, Sara Rubin and Aric Sleeper.