Hey friends. 👋
DoTell may be national, but some of the coolest things we do start locally, and every once in a while, one of our markets cooks up something so good it's worth sharing.
This week, that’s San Diego. So I’m handing things over to Faye, DoSD’s Content Manager, to tell you about Summer Launchpad and the very real chaos of bringing it to life. Take it away, Faye. 👇
Oh hiiiiii.
New writer this week. It’s me, Faye, your DoSD Content Manager, and the woman who has apparently spent her summer learning how many tiny moving parts are required to convince hundreds of people to leave their houses on a Tuesday.
I’m hopping into DoTell because we are officially (almost) THREE shows into Summer Launchpad, DoSD’s very first local concert series with CORE Creatives at Music Box, and somehow the little idea we had been talking about for the better part of a year is now a very real thing with several hundred RSVPs, and Dave, our Senior Director of Market Growth & AI Innovation - California, carrying around an unreasonable amount of paper goods at all times.
The idea behind Launchpad was pretty simple: San Diego has an insane amount of local talent, but discovering it can still require being deeply plugged into the scene and we wanted to make that part easier. More on how all of that came together below. Spoiler: very quickly, with a lot of help, and me telling everyone I'm not stressed when I was indeed so stressed.
For now, though, kicking it back to Jess for your regularly scheduled music news, announcements, things to do, and reasons to get out of the house.
THIS WEEK IN MUSIC NEWS & TOURS 🎤
Charli XCX was basically Outside Lands’ artist-in-residence this weekend. After headlining Friday, she popped up during The Strokes’ Saturday set for “Take It Or Leave It” — and also made a surprise video cameo during Djo’s set, leaving Joe Keery a voicemail during “Charlie’s Garden.”
KATSEYE’s Sophia Laforteza announced August 7 that she is temporarily stepping away from group activities to focus on her mental health and wellness, with her condition set to be reassessed in September. She’s the second member to take a hiatus this year following Manon Bannerman, while KATSEYE continues promotions in the meantime.
Role Model made his new album Chuck Timely & The Hourglass a little more personal by recruiting girlfriend Dakota Johnson for a spoken cameo on “Love I You.” Tucker Pillsbury said Johnson spontaneously stepped into the studio to record the part — officially turning the celebrity relationship soft-launch into liner-note material.
The internet spent the weekend asking a question nobody had on their bingo card: was that actually Usher onstage? Clips from his August 7 MetLife Stadium show went viral as fans speculated that a lookalike or “clone” had performed in his place, prompting Usher himself to laugh off the theory.
Phoebe Bridgers is taking album listening parties to the stars — literally. Ahead of Lost Weekend, she announced phone-free listening sessions in more than 40 planetariums, pairing the album with custom dome visuals or laser shows. Emotional devastation, but make it astronomical.
Karol G stacked her new album No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto with some extremely casual guest appearances from Drake, Bruno Mars, Judeline, Rusowsky and Cigarettes After Sex’s Greg Gonzalez. The 14-track project arrived August 7, making this one very crowded pop-star ensemble.
Tate McRae capped a huge festival weekend by turning herself into a human gold trophy. During her headlining sets at Osheaga and Lollapalooza, McRae ended the show by emerging covered in gold as fireworks went off around her.
Recent Tour Announcements:
Jorja Smith - Jorja Smith is heading back to North America for a brief five-date run supporting her upcoming third album, What Are The Odds. The new chapter follows 2023’s Falling or Flying, which topped the UK R&B chart, and gives fans an early live look at what’s next from the English singer-songwriter.
Weezer - Weezer is going very big for their next lap around the globe, announcing The Gathering world tour with dates across North America, Europe, the U.K. and Japan. The run stretches into 2027, giving everyone ample time to locate their favorite blue album T-shirt.
Pentatonix - Pentatonix are bringing the holiday spirit back on the road with another edition of their Christmas in the City Tour, this time spanning 28 cities. The run supports their ninth holiday album, Christmas in the City, continuing the Grammy-winning vocal group’s long-running tradition of turning the holiday season into a major touring event.
Lord Huron - Lord Huron is extending the world of The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 with the newly announced 23 Nights at the Broken Bottle: A Rambling Residency tour. The expansive North American run stretches from December into 2027, giving the band another major live chapter behind their fifth album.
Wynonna Judd - Wynonna Judd is launching The Hard Truth Tour, a 15-city U.S. run supporting her upcoming album of the same name. It’s another big solo chapter for the country icon, whose decades-long career includes five Grammy Awards and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame as one half of The Judds.
Jethro Tull - More than five decades in, Jethro Tull is keeping their unmistakable progressive-rock legacy on the road, extending the ongoing Curious Ruminant tour into 2027. Ian Anderson and company continue to pair the band’s deep catalog with its current creative chapter.
DOMi & JD BECK - The wildly inventive keyboard-and-drums duo are taking their dizzying musicianship back on the road with the WHO ASKED? US Tour. Expect the pair’s playful, technically fearless chemistry to be front and center as they bring their latest era to the stage.
Clementine Douglas - The powerhouse dance vocalist is stepping into a new live chapter with her first headlining shows in Australia. It’s another marker of Douglas’ growing momentum as she moves from sought-after collaborator toward a live draw in her own right.
Momo Boyd - Momo Boyd is taking Miss Michigan on the road with a tour bearing the project’s name, bringing her emerging catalog into a bigger live chapter. The run gives Boyd a chance to put her distinctive voice and songwriting at the center of the room.
THIS WEEK IN RANDOM, BUT AWESOME, EVENTS ✨
I went to Tomato Art Fest this past weekend, and I can confirm: there are few things more delightful than watching an entire neighborhood collectively decide to dress like tomatoes.
The festival has been taking over the Five Points neighborhood since 2003, bringing together local art, live music, food, wildly committed costumes, and the kind of community energy that makes you remember why neighborhood festivals are so good in the first place.
My personal research included attending the Bloody Mary Garden Party, where local businesses competed for our affection via increasingly creative Bloody Marys. Emmy Squared made one involving ginger beer, Tall Tales rooftop bar concocted one I was a huge fan of (and I say this as someone who doesn’t really like Bloody Marys), and Party Fowl served theirs with a giant chicken tender perched on top. Naturally, the spicy chicken won me over.
But the best part was really the whole atmosphere. People wandering around in kooky tomato costumes, local artists showing off their work, music everywhere, neighbors running into neighbors, and everyone fully committing to the bit. It felt less like going to a festival and more like being invited to East Nashville’s very charming block party.
Peek a sneak of my Bloody Mary and me at the end!
MEMBER’S ONLY 🔥
Kicking it back off to Faye with a little behind-the-scenes scoop of how The Summer Launchpad launched (couldn’t help it..). 👇
The Summer Launchpad process technically started in June, but spiritually started about a year ago in conversations between me, Kelly (Regional Content Lead), and my roommate/best friend Daniella, an artist manager and event promoter who runs CORE Creatives and works closely with Music Box.
Daniella and I have always wanted to do something bigger for San Diego’s local music community. We have this running complaint that everybody wants to live in San Diego, but not everybody wants to actually participate in San Diego. There’s so much talent here, but supporting a local scene requires actually showing up for it.
So we wanted to give people something worth showing up for.
The very important plot twist is that Daniella knew how to do the part I absolutely did not: book the artists, navigate venue logistics, and help structure the whole thing so we could make it essentially free for the audience. Between her, Dave, Joe from Music Box, and the rest of the team, the bones of the series came together in less than a month.
Which I would now describe as “efficient,” and “deeply concerning” if you had asked me during that month.
Once that side was moving, my assignment became: cool, so how exactly are we going to fill Music Box FOUR DIFFERENT TUESDAYS?
A question I am still not totally sure I know the answer to, except that… we are kinda doing it??
I started with the flyer, built the visual identity around it, and Launchpad quickly became its own tiny world: a DoSD home base, artist spotlights, special Local’s List features, and our very analog, very adorable passport system where people collect stamps and unlock prize tiers that Dave came up with.
We also wanted the night to feel like an EVENT, not just three sets happening near each other. So we brought in an MC for artist changeovers, added San Diego trivia, and started giving away raffle prizes from local businesses I very politely begged to donate things.
Turns out “can you donate something cool so I can give it away to people supporting San Diego musicians?” is a pretty compelling pitch.
And, uh, the numbers are NUMBERING.
Across just Shows 1 and 2, we had around 800 RSVPs, more than 1,000 people come through, and 493 new users.
That was HALF THE SERIES. Not bad for some random Tuesdays.
The coolest part has been watching the original idea actually work. People are coming back with their passports. They’re learning the artists’ names. They’re bringing friends. They’re showing up on weeknights, in a summer where everything costs approximately $400, to be part of something happening in their own city.
And none of this would have happened without a frankly ridiculous amount of support from the wider DoStuff crew: Kelly and the DoCali team, Jason, Brady, and especially Dave, who has been there through basically every stage — whether I needed actual help or just someone on Zoom while I spiraled about logistics. He also stickered approximately 10 billion passports. Leadership.
Halfway through, I can say the stress, time, and effort were indeed so worth it. Next show: TONIGHT!
Go poke around the page I made with the help of yelling at Chat for hours, then maybe come to San Diego on a Tuesday sometime (shoutout to Pamela, Do713 CM, who is traveling all the way from Houston to check it out). Apparently, we’ve got things going on down here.
And in true Faye DoSD newsletter sign-off fashion: LOVE Y’ALL, MEAN IT!
– Faye
That’s it for this week.
Let’s all thank Faye for her contribution to this week’s DoTell (seriously, I’ll forward any nice comments you all have to her), and if you’re in the SD area, check out The Summer Launchpad Series!
Jess ✨
