Smokey Robinson’s Saturday Pala show moving indoors; San Diego Symphony cancels Sunday concert due to storm

Some San Diego area concert promoters are taking a wait-and-see approach to determine if possible heavy rains and winds fueled by Hurricane Hilary will require any shows scheduled here for Saturday or Sunday to be postponed, and will post updates on their websites.

But the San Diego Symphony, not wanting to take chances, announced Friday evening that it has canceled its Sunday concert with Byron Stripling.

Earlier Friday, Pala Casino Spa Resort announced it is moving Saturday’s outdoor Starlight Theater show by Motown music legend Smokey Robinson into the indoor Pala Events Center. And UC San Diego decided to postpone its Sunday concert at the Epstein Family Amphitheatre by Cuban music great Eliades Ochoa. No new date has been set yet.

As of this writing, no other outdoor shows scheduled here for Saturday or Sunday have been pushed back or canceled. But concert promoters contacted by the Union-Tribune said they were closely tracking weather forecasts to determine how best to proceed with their events.

“We’re monitoring things really closely and watching weather updates as they come in,” said a representative for Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, where Boz Scaggs is scheduled to perform a long-sold-out show Sunday night. “At this point it’s a little premature for us to speculate what will happen on Sunday.”

Other concert promoters concurred that it was too soon to say for sure if the show will go on as planned. All of them indicated they will be posting updates on their respective websites. And all said ticketholders will be contacted via email if the shows they have tickets for this weekend are pushed back.

The San Diego Symphony had concerts scheduled at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park on Saturday (by Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight) and Sunday (by Byron Stripling and the San Diego Symphony). As of Friday evening, the Saturday Knight and LaBelle show is scheduled to on as planned. Ticketholders for Sunday’s canceled concert with Stripling can obtain refunds.

In a written statement provided to the Union-Tribune, the symphony cited concerns about “severe weather such as thunderstorms, high winds and lighting strikes that threaten the safety of our audiences, staff and performers” as the reason for Sunday’s cancellation.

Meanwhile, the 20th annual edition of Summergrass opened as planned Friday afternoon. The outdoor bluegrass festival is scheduled to run through Sunday afternoon.

“We’re consulting with weather experts and we’ll make a decision once we know something more definite,” festival co-founded Yvonne Tatar said Friday afternoon by phone.

“Any decision will probably be 24 hours from now and it looks like Sunday is the day to watch. We sure hope it doesn’t rain. But we’ll roll with it and do the right thing if it does.”

The unpredictable situation somewhat recalls last September, when an anticipated heavy storm here led to the postponements of the Little River Band’s Sept. 9 Humphrey’s concert and Alicia Keys’ outdoor SDSU show the same night. The evening ended up being rain-free, but concerns about the storm also led to the cancellation of that weekend’s 2022 edition of the San Diego Festival of the Arts.

Here is a list of outdoor San Diego concerts scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday

Martha Reeves & Patti LaBelle, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park

Boy George & Culture Club, North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre

Smokey Robinson, Pala Casino Spa Resort (moved from Starlight Theater to Pala Events Center)

Sunday

Elaides Ochoa, UC San Diego’s Epstein Family Amphitheater (postponed)

Young The Giant, Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Amphitheatre at SDSU

Boz Scaggs, Humphreys Concerts by the Bay

“When the Saints Go Marching In,” with Byron Stripling and the San Diego Symphony, The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park (canceled)