Street Scene was born in 1984, not once, but twice! There were two Street Scenes that first year: one in May and one in August. Both events occupied just one block of downtown San Diego, on 5th Avenue between J & K Streets -a piece of pavement was part of the Street Scene footprint for 19 years. There was a stage at each end of the block, with concert-goers bouncing back and forth for alternating performances by Los Lobos and The Blasters in May, and by X, Robert Cray, and the Neville Brothers in August. The Gaslamp Quarter had just received its official "National Register of Historic Places" designation in 1980, and Street Scene came along just as restoration and re-development efforts were getting into full swing, helping to kick San Diego's downtown renaissance into high gear. Today the Gaslamp and East Village areas comprise one of the most vibrant and energetic downtowns in the country! And Street Scene is an annual cornerstone of that resurgence, a signature event unlike any other. By 1987, Street Scene had become a once-a-year occurrence, with its now familiar timing as an end-of-summer celebration. That year, a second block was added, creating an 'L' shaped venue. There were still two stages, this time with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Concrete Blonde as the headliners. But when their performances accidentally overlapped, with each band playing at the same time for awhile on opposite stages, the concept of a multi-stage festival emerged, and the rest is history. |
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| The following year, 1988, the Street Scene floor
plan mushroomed to accommodate five stages over
several blocks. Filling all those stages meant expanding
the musical horizons of the event, and Zydeco and
the blues joined rock and alternative, as Street
Scene's trademark of musical variety took hold. Before
long, a single Saturday night wasn't enough to hold
the growing Street Scene. In 1990, a Friday night
lineup was added, creating two consecutive nights
of partying. Then in '95, a Sunday "all ages
day" made Street Scene into a 3-day affair.
But the addition of days wasn't the only expansion
Street Scene experienced in the '90s. The Taste of San Diego brought a new dimension to the event, as San Diego's finest restaurants prepared some of their best dishes to turn Street Scene into a smorgasbord of both music and food. Bringing even more color and entertainment to the festival has been the Brazil Carnival, featuring parade-like "processions" of revelers carrying oversized masks, wearing flamboyant costumes, and dancing to the pulsing rhythms of Rio. Then there have been the freak shows, the off-the-wall circus acts, the modern-day burlesque theatre, the Dragon House drag queen runway, and more all contributing to the kaleidoscope of fun and sensual stimulation that is the hallmark of Street Scene. Today, Street Scene has emerged as a premiere musical event presenting top-rated artists along with a diverse array of musical styles. From Grammy winners to emerging artists, the event continues to preserve its reputation as the top urban music festival in the country. |
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