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

Astra Kelly's horrific dating story

"It honestly felt like I was being energetically sexually assaulted"

When Astra Kelly’s date stared at her as she played, “It honestly felt like I was being energetically sexually assaulted.”
When Astra Kelly’s date stared at her as she played, “It honestly felt like I was being energetically sexually assaulted.”

We asked several local musicians about their most horrific dating stories, and Astra Kelly shared this account of the time she used a dating app to arrange meeting a guy for the first time for happy hour drinks. “He’d found my music beforehand - not hard - and showed up quite a bit googly eyed about it.” She says she “didn’t really think much of it” when the guy insisted on attending her gig later that night.

“When he gets there, he immediately strikes up a conversation with a woman at the bar. I take a break, chat with everyone, chat with them. They were talking business at that point. During the next set - and they are literally right in front of me, so it’s super tough to ignore - I see the flirting sink in. She moves her chair closer and closer. They exchange numbers and, just as I’m taking my next break, they get up and start to sneak off, like they’re trying to avoid me. They had to walk by me to get out.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Worst part though? He comes back in about 20 minutes. Gets a fresh beer, pulls up a chair right in front of me, and just sits there staring me down with a little sideways smile on his face. It honestly felt like I was being energetically sexually assaulted. I managed to make it through two songs, and then I called him over and said quietly in his ear ‘Dude, you’re creeping me out. You mind taking a seat over there?’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m just gonna finish my beer and go’…I just play a couple more songs while he sits there looking at his cell phone and finally leaves.”

Video:

Astra Kelly, "The Less I Have (Freedom)"

The first single from Kelly's ninth independent record release

The first single from Kelly's ninth independent record release

“The staff got a good laugh at the end of the night. I was scared to walk out to my car, so I did actually get to have my own security detail for a change.”

Kelly just returned from this year’s AmericanaFest in Nashville, as a regular attendee instead of a performing guest (“So much fun to get to hear other folks for a change”), and she’s also been doing prison songwriting workshops with Jail Guitar Doors USA. Named after a Clash song, the non-profit organization, co-founded by rockers Billy Bragg and Wayne Kramer, provides musical instruments and opportunities to help rehabilitate prisoners.

“California is definitely a stomping ground for initiating these programs. The yard that we work on in Donovan [State Prison] is also somewhat of an experiment…personally, I seem to be moving into a more altruistic approach to my music as I mature. So this kind of work is really exciting to me and gives me a powerful outlet to make a difference, and practice my metaphysical skills as well.”

The latest copy of the Reader

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

The Art Of Dr. Seuss, Boarded: A New Pirate Adventure, Wild Horses Festival

Events December 26-December 30, 2024
When Astra Kelly’s date stared at her as she played, “It honestly felt like I was being energetically sexually assaulted.”
When Astra Kelly’s date stared at her as she played, “It honestly felt like I was being energetically sexually assaulted.”

We asked several local musicians about their most horrific dating stories, and Astra Kelly shared this account of the time she used a dating app to arrange meeting a guy for the first time for happy hour drinks. “He’d found my music beforehand - not hard - and showed up quite a bit googly eyed about it.” She says she “didn’t really think much of it” when the guy insisted on attending her gig later that night.

“When he gets there, he immediately strikes up a conversation with a woman at the bar. I take a break, chat with everyone, chat with them. They were talking business at that point. During the next set - and they are literally right in front of me, so it’s super tough to ignore - I see the flirting sink in. She moves her chair closer and closer. They exchange numbers and, just as I’m taking my next break, they get up and start to sneak off, like they’re trying to avoid me. They had to walk by me to get out.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

“Worst part though? He comes back in about 20 minutes. Gets a fresh beer, pulls up a chair right in front of me, and just sits there staring me down with a little sideways smile on his face. It honestly felt like I was being energetically sexually assaulted. I managed to make it through two songs, and then I called him over and said quietly in his ear ‘Dude, you’re creeping me out. You mind taking a seat over there?’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m just gonna finish my beer and go’…I just play a couple more songs while he sits there looking at his cell phone and finally leaves.”

Video:

Astra Kelly, "The Less I Have (Freedom)"

The first single from Kelly's ninth independent record release

The first single from Kelly's ninth independent record release

“The staff got a good laugh at the end of the night. I was scared to walk out to my car, so I did actually get to have my own security detail for a change.”

Kelly just returned from this year’s AmericanaFest in Nashville, as a regular attendee instead of a performing guest (“So much fun to get to hear other folks for a change”), and she’s also been doing prison songwriting workshops with Jail Guitar Doors USA. Named after a Clash song, the non-profit organization, co-founded by rockers Billy Bragg and Wayne Kramer, provides musical instruments and opportunities to help rehabilitate prisoners.

“California is definitely a stomping ground for initiating these programs. The yard that we work on in Donovan [State Prison] is also somewhat of an experiment…personally, I seem to be moving into a more altruistic approach to my music as I mature. So this kind of work is really exciting to me and gives me a powerful outlet to make a difference, and practice my metaphysical skills as well.”

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

Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III

Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Next Article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.
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