ON Culture: Mermaids, Musicals and Comedy, Oh My!

To receive Leslie Dinaberg's arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters. ON the Stage Nikki Glaser | Photo: Courtesy Comedian Nikki Glaser brings her live comedy show The Stunning Tour, to the Chumash Casino Resort's Samala Showroom on Sunday, September 6. Glazer, who was featured on the cover of 'TIME100: The Most Influential People of 2026,' was named 'Comedian of the Year' by The New York Times in 2024, and the following year she made history as the first woman to host the Golden Globe Awards solo. She was also named to the TIME100 list as one of 'The Most Influential People of 2025.' Tickets are available at chumashcasino.com . Marilet Martinez, Christen Celaya, and Alexander Pimentel in 'La Comedia of Errors' | Photo: Mark Velasquez PCPA kicks off season #63 next week with La Comedia of Errors, a zany English/Spanish comedy for all ages. Based on The Comedy of Errors , William Shakespeare's most famous farce, the show runs September 10-27 at the Severson Theatre in Santa Maria on the campus of Allan Hancock College. Set in a contemporary U.S.–Mexico border town, the story captures a community-driven whirlwind of telenovela-style mistaken identities, physical slapstick, and vibrant music. The season features an energetic mix of shows, including The Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 72 Miles to Go, Les Misérables, Mean Girls, and Murder on the Orient Express, in addition to La Comedia of Errors. Read my story with more details here. Officially, summer may be coming to a close, but music festival season endures, with Ohana Festival coming to Dana Point September 25-27, with headliners Pearl Jam, Edding Vedder & Friends, Alabama Shakes (who we'll see on September 25 at the Santa Barbara Bowl before their Saturday appearance down south), Bad Religion, and Billy Idol, among others. Lukas Nelson at the Ohana Festival 2025 | Photo: Nathan Zucker Also on the festival concert calendar is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park October 2-4. Lukas Nelson (who was at the Bowl last month with Tedeschi Trucks) was recently added to the stacked lineup that also includes Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, My Morning Jacket, Old Crow Medicine Show, Los Lobos, and Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Kam Franklin, Ismay, Jesse Welles, and Sierra Hull, among others. ON the Page 'Reflections Beneath the Buckeye Trees' by Antwone Fisher (right) | Photo: Courtesy Antwone Fisher — a U.S. Navy veteran, educator, speaker, and best-selling author of Finding Fish and the screenwriter of the acclaimed film Antwone Fisher, directed by Denzel Washington — will be at Chaucer's Books on Wednesday, September 9, at 6 p.m. for an author talk and signing of his new book Reflections Beneath the Buckeye Trees: Notes from a Life, a collection of personal stories and reflections drawn from a life marked by adversity, resilience, discovery, and gratitude. Click here for more information. ON the Web Best U.S. Cities for Mermaids Map — Santa Barbara is #1 | Credit: Yay! Coloring Pages Here's a fun fact for you. Yay! Coloring Pages — which appears to be just that, coloring pages for kids — did some extensive survey and found that in response to the whimsical question, 'Where in the U.S. would you be most likely to spot a mermaid?' Santa Barbara ranked number one. Survey says: 'The city combines ideal coastal conditions with exceptional marine biodiversity, including 187 recorded fish species, one of the highest totals in our study. It also experiences a water temperature difference of just 5.1°F throughout the year, meaning mermaids wouldn't have to adapt to dramatic seasonal changes.' Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, and let us know about any conch-shell-clad sightings. ON the Walls Painting by Jorge 'Chucho' Hernandez | Photo: Courtesy 'Cross on the Hill' by Joe Gliebe-Goetz | Photo: Courtesy The Indah Gallery in Santa Ynez has a cool exhibit, Perspective, featuring the work of Jorge 'Chucho' Hernandez, a Chula Vista–born artist and former Santa Maria resident. He creates elaborate narrative oil paintings, some of which take two-three years to complete (elaborate is an understatement), and use unexpected viewpoints and forced perspective to place viewers inside scenes involving cultural memory, spirituality, popular culture and contemporary life. The work is on view through September 20, with an artist's talk on Saturday, September 19 at 3 p.m. See indahgallery.org for more information. Also in North County, at the Lompoc Valley Art Association's Cypress Gallery, is Landscapes, Gemstones and New Directions, a solo show by Joe Gliebe-Goetz on view through September 27. Gliebe-Goetz is a plein air painter who began experimenting with color and impressionist style several years ago. He has worked with various forms of media such as acrylic, oil, watercolor, charcoal, and pastels. His more recent paintings are more expressionist in nature, with more vivid colors. Many of the apparent abstract patterns are based on natural patterns found in stones. The patterns found in stones are a result of the lapidary art experience where he hand polishes and creates jewelry and mixed media pieces that incorporate stones into the piece. There is an artist's reception on September 13, from 1-3 p.m. at the gallery. See lompocart.org for more information. ON the Tribute Trail The Papas and Mamas | Photo: Courtesy The Papas and Mamas pay tribute to, you guessed it, the Mamas and Papas, on Sunday, September 13, at the Lobero. It's the 60th anniversary of the iconic band, whose beloved hits include 'California Dreamin'' 'Monday Monday,' and 'Dancing in the Street.' See lobero.org for tickets and details about this show. Yesterday: A Tribute to the Beatles | Photo: Courtesy Then on Friday, September 18 Yesterday: A Tribute to the Beatlesbrings the music of the Fab Four to SOhO Music Club for a special two-part celebration with both the Theatrical Beatles dinner show at 6:45 p.m. and an 8:30 p.m. dance set with The Rock 'n' Roll Beatles taking the stage. Based in Las Vegas, Yesterday has earned a reputation as one of the country's premier Beatles tribute acts. The group was voted the #1 Tribute Act in Las Vegas by The Fremont Street Experience, held the longest-running show at Atlantic City's Tropicana Hotel for three years, and has been a featured act with Legends in Concert in both Las Vegas and Branson. The tribute has also counted Paul McCartney, Toby Keith, and Bill Medley among its fans. Visit yesterdaybeatlestribute.com and sohosb.com for more information. ON the Calendar Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara at the Bandshell | Photo: Courtesy The fabulous Folk Orchestra of Santa Barbara kicks off its 2026-27 season with 'The Sixties' on Friday, September 18 (7 p.m. at the Presidio Chapel in Santa Barbara); Saturday, September 19 (4 p.m. at St. Mark's in Los Olivos); and Sunday, September 20 (4 p.m. at Trinity Church in Santa Barbara) with a set list that includes 'Paint It Black' (Rolling Stones), 'Both Sides Now' (Joni Mitchell), 'Riders on the Storm' (The Doors), and 'Green Onions' (Booker T and the MGs). Musical Director Adam Phillips and his 30 local musicians also have a surprise in store for us, along with an appearance by the popular local electric guitarist Bear Erickson. 'We don't have any electric instruments in our concerts, but Bear is so good, we love to include him for The Sixties,' said Phillips, who also sings and plays more than a dozen instruments throughout the concert series. For more information see folkorchestrasb.com. For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events.