Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Whitney Shay shares thoughts on her "deeper rhythm and blues cuts"

Local singer spent six years contemplating her new album, A Woman Rules The World

Whitney Shay loves “evenings of Naughty Blues from the 20s and 30s”
Whitney Shay loves “evenings of Naughty Blues from the 20s and 30s”

Local blues singer Whitney Shay spent six years contemplating her new album A Woman Rules the World celebrating with a release party at the Belly Up on September 16. She took some questions over email.

Past Event

Whitney Shay

  • Sunday, September 16, 2018, 8 p.m.
  • Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach
  • 21+ / $18 - $32

Are you originally from San Diego?

Sponsored
Sponsored

I’m a San Diego native. I’ve been here my entire life. San Diego is a difficult place to leave.

What lead you to sing the blues?

I love music that makes you feel something. Even before I played with bands and did musical theatre I always searched for that soul stirring music; so even though I was only introduced to it nine to ten years ago, to me it seemed a natural progression.

I began swing dancing around the same time I started singing with bands, doing mostly jazz and swing material, and then I made friends with blues musicians early in my music career who introduced me to deeper rhythm and blues cuts.

What are your favorite places to play in San Diego, and why?

The Bernardo Winery is one of my favorite places to go and to play. It’s family owned and run by my bandmate in Shay and The Hustle, Ross Rizzo Jr, and it’s this beautiful little village like oasis that a lot of people forget about tucked into Rancho Bernardo. People there love the music and love to dance, which makes me really happy to watch.

The Belly Up is my favorite concert venue and I think the best sounding room in town; I’m grateful to get to headline there for the first time on my birthday September 16. The US Grant is another gorgeous venue I get the opportunity to play at — it’s a beautiful classy venue I am proud to have played at for years.

Every opportunity I get to play music for a living is a great one, or at least I’ll make it into the best night I can, but there’s been lots of interesting shows along the way. Gator by the Bay and the San Diego Blues Festival are a couple of my favorite yearly events. I miss the venue 98 Bottles something fierce, because there I was able to put together some pretty cool curated concerts of music I love (Tributes to Little Richard, Julie London, and Eva Cassidy, as well as evenings of Naughty Blues from the ‘20s-‘30s).

What are your plans?

My goal this and next year is to tour more and work on getting across the pond to play some festivals in Europe. I’m hoping this record with help give me the platform I need to get there.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Whitney Shay loves “evenings of Naughty Blues from the 20s and 30s”
Whitney Shay loves “evenings of Naughty Blues from the 20s and 30s”

Local blues singer Whitney Shay spent six years contemplating her new album A Woman Rules the World celebrating with a release party at the Belly Up on September 16. She took some questions over email.

Past Event

Whitney Shay

  • Sunday, September 16, 2018, 8 p.m.
  • Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach
  • 21+ / $18 - $32

Are you originally from San Diego?

Sponsored
Sponsored

I’m a San Diego native. I’ve been here my entire life. San Diego is a difficult place to leave.

What lead you to sing the blues?

I love music that makes you feel something. Even before I played with bands and did musical theatre I always searched for that soul stirring music; so even though I was only introduced to it nine to ten years ago, to me it seemed a natural progression.

I began swing dancing around the same time I started singing with bands, doing mostly jazz and swing material, and then I made friends with blues musicians early in my music career who introduced me to deeper rhythm and blues cuts.

What are your favorite places to play in San Diego, and why?

The Bernardo Winery is one of my favorite places to go and to play. It’s family owned and run by my bandmate in Shay and The Hustle, Ross Rizzo Jr, and it’s this beautiful little village like oasis that a lot of people forget about tucked into Rancho Bernardo. People there love the music and love to dance, which makes me really happy to watch.

The Belly Up is my favorite concert venue and I think the best sounding room in town; I’m grateful to get to headline there for the first time on my birthday September 16. The US Grant is another gorgeous venue I get the opportunity to play at — it’s a beautiful classy venue I am proud to have played at for years.

Every opportunity I get to play music for a living is a great one, or at least I’ll make it into the best night I can, but there’s been lots of interesting shows along the way. Gator by the Bay and the San Diego Blues Festival are a couple of my favorite yearly events. I miss the venue 98 Bottles something fierce, because there I was able to put together some pretty cool curated concerts of music I love (Tributes to Little Richard, Julie London, and Eva Cassidy, as well as evenings of Naughty Blues from the ‘20s-‘30s).

What are your plans?

My goal this and next year is to tour more and work on getting across the pond to play some festivals in Europe. I’m hoping this record with help give me the platform I need to get there.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

My brother gave up the Reader crossword

Encinitas cliff collapse victims not so virtuous
Next Article

Use San Diego crosswalks at your own peril

But new state law clearing nearby parking might backfire
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader