Belly Up celebrates 50 years carrying the torch for San Diego's music scene
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The Belly Up Tavern in the Design District of Solana Beach. Photo: Belly Up Tavern
It's been 50 years since two friends turned a failed Solana Beach waterbed store into their dream bar that soon became an iconic music club.
Why it matters: Belly Up has spent half a century fighting San Diego's reputation as a lackluster music town.
Driving the news: The venue is celebrating with a 50-show run from Wednesday to its official anniversary on Sept. 28 that features a lineup worthy of its reputation.
Flashback: Dave Hodges and Greg Gilholm opened their bar in a Quonset hut on Cedros Boulevard before Solana Beach became the well-to-do community it is today.
- It's only had two owners over the years, preserving its independence while corporations snatched up venues nationwide.
The big picture: Some of the biggest and most influential acts in music have played under the giant paper-mache shark that "swims" over the 600-capacity room.
- They include the Rolling Stones, BB King, Green Day, Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, Curtis Mayfield, George Clinton, Toots and the Maytals, The Fugees, Yo La Tengo, PJ Harvey, and Ali Farka Toure.
What they did: Chris Goldsmith, a seven-time Grammy winner and Belly Up president, told Axios the secret is making sure the audience, artists and staff are all happy to be there.
- "That vibe that's created when everyone is well taken care of makes for a positive experience on the night of the show," he said. "That's the energy that feeds Belly Up."
The latest: Recently, Belly Up has grown by booking more shows at other venues in town, including the San Diego County Fair and The Sound, a 2,000-capacity room that opened last year.
Between the lines: San Diego was rightly seen as a musical wasteland in the 1970s, Goldsmith said, before venues like Belly Up and Casbah emerged to nurture a small-but-dedicated community.
- "We were a small group of independent venues that stayed presenting live music in a quality setting when the corporate world wasn't that interested," he said.
- Now, he sees a blooming interest across San Diego, driven by an increasingly diverse population and served by promoters operating in a spirit of cooperation that creates great experiences for audiences.
The bottom line: "There are cities where there isn't a club like this within 100 miles," said Goldsmith, who grew up nearby. "The fact we have a club like this — this intimate size with high-quality presentation — it's special for San Diego."
Go deeper: Photos of iconic performances through the years
