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The Rolling Stones will be saluted at 26th annual ‘Exile on Kettner Blvd.’ Christmas Eve show at The Casbah

The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are shown performing at London’s Marquee Club in London, 1971, the year before the release of “Exile on Main Street.” That double-album and the Stones’ overall repertoire are the inspiration for the annual “Exile on Kettner Blvd.” Christmas Eve concert at The Casbah. An array of veteran and rising San Diego rock musicians will perform.
(Photo by J. Maum / Associated Press)

Songs from most phases of the Rolling Stones’ six-decade career will be performed by an array of San Diego musicians at this free Christmas Eve concert

By George Varga
San Diego Union-Tribune
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Launched at The Casbah in 1993, “Exile on Kettner Blvd.” takes its name from the Rolling Stones’ landmark 1972 double-album, “Exile on Main Street.”

But the format at this annual Christmas Eve show also includes songs from most other phases of the Stones’ six-decade career. And the performers hail from a number of San Diego bands, including Uncle Joe’s Big ‘Ol Driver, whose guitarist — Andrew McKeag — serves as the “Exile” show’s musical director. His son, Henry, is the band’s other guitarist.

“Our set list varies from hits like ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Honky Tonk Women’ and ‘Start Me Up’ to more obscure numbers like ‘Memo From Turner’ and deep album cuts like ‘Sway’ and ‘Before They Make Me Run’,” Andrew McKeag said.

“For some reason this year, singers have chosen a good amount of (songs from Stones’) ‘Let It Bleed’ album. A top choice!”

At least seven singers are set to join in at Tuesday’s performance, for which admission is free. They include Gary Shuffler, Ariel Levine, Timothy Joseph, Patrick Dennis, Cindy Wasserman, Ubaldo Salvador and Kevin Ring. Expect a few surprise guests as well.

The 26th annual “Exile on Kettner Blvd.”: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24, The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd., Middletown. Free (must be 21 or older to attend). (619) 232-4355. casbahmusic.com

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George Varga

San Diego Union-Tribune music critic George Varga began drumming in rock bands at 12 and writing professionally about music at 15. A Louisiana native who grew up mostly in Germany, Varga has earned three Pulitzer Prize nominations for his writing at the U-T and is a voting member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to providing live coverage of the Grammy Awards and festivals from Coachella and KAABOO to the 1994 edition of Woodstock, he has interviewed everyone from Miles Davis, Britney Spears and (over a game of chess) Ray Charles to Willie Nelson, Kanye West and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis. A triple first prize-winner for criticism and arts writing at the 2022 San Diego Press Club awards and a first prize-winner at the 2022 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists awards, Varga is also a contributing writer for Jazz Times magazine and has written for Billboard, Spin and other publications. After attending San Diego City College and San Diego State University, he created and taught the 2002 UC San Diego Extension course, “Jazz in a Post-Ken-Burns World.” Varga has written liner notes for more than a dozen albums, including by jazz sax greats James Moody and Michael Brecker, and contributed two chapters to the book, “Dylan: Disc By Disc.”

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