Local music stars to shine on La Jolla’s Athenaeum acoustic series

From Athenaeum reports

The Acoustic Evenings with Jefferson Jay series returns to the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library for three 7:30 p.m. concerts. Three performers will be featured on each program and will be available at intermission and after the concert. The project advances the Athenaeum’s commitment to supporting San Diego talent.

■ Friday, March 7

brings a return visit by Bart Mendoza, Patric Petrie and Normandie Wilson.

Mendoza is a veteran of the San Diego music scene. He spent the 1980s as frontman for mod rockers Manual Scan, the 1990s with power-poppers The Shambles, and currently performs with True Stories. Mendoza has penned songs for dozens of artists worldwide, with the song “Survive,” co-written with Danish producer/musician Jeppe Riddervold, winning the 2003 EMI Publishing Award in Berlin, Germany.

Violinist Petrie, a former La Jollan, released her debut solo album, “Pocket Venus.” A performer with the Celtic group Skelpin, she won the 2010 San Diego Music Award for Best World Music as well as the same year’s top prize in the same category, at the annual John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Pianist Wilson offers up Bacharach-and Jobim-inspired tunes, instrumentals in a Style Council mode, classy cocktail pop. This will be the CD release event for her album, “Geography and Other Problems.”

■ Friday, March 21

, local legends Jack Tempchin, Israel Maldonado and Jeffrey Joe Morin will perform.

Tempchin co-wrote five hits for the Eagles: “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” “Already Gone,” “The Girl from Yesterday,” “Somebody,” and “It’s Your World Now.” His songs have been used in films like “Thelma & Louise” and “The Big Lebowski.” Tempchin’s songs have also been performed by George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Glen Campbell, Chris Hillman, Jackson Browne, the Paladins and Richie Havens, among others.

Maldonado started playing in a band in Tijuana when he was 7. He picked up the classical guitar at age 10. After moving to the United States in 1989, he joined the drum line in high school and played in guitar ensembles in college. In 1996, Maldonado played with two Brazilian bands, Josias Dos Santos Sambrasil and Mark Lamson’s Sol e Mar. From there, he went on to play gypsy guitar with David de Alba and Novamenco, and salsa and timba with Agua Dulce. Maldonado has his own group that blends all of his experiences (Brazilian, salsa, Gypsy, funk, Reggae, classical, rock) in one show.

Morin’s exemplary guitar and harmonica skills, along with his never-ending knowledge of standards, have resulted in stage- sharing with some of the finest musicians in San Diego.

■ Friday, April 25

, Jamie Shadowlight, Keng Doja and the series’ first hip-hop acoustic musician, Rob Deez, take the stage.

Born in South Korea, Shadowlight moved to the United States at age 2. She started playing classical violin atage5andby12,wasknownas an award-winning violinist in Los Angeles, winning the Grand Prize for the L.A. Korea Times Concerto Competition, and the gold medal for her trio in the Bach Festival, among many others. Her electric jazz-fusion exploration of the music of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Santana and Jeff Beck on electric violin, backed by a trio, explore the sounds of the five-string electric violin with a pedal board, creating an exciting new sound.

Doja has been rocking the San Diego music scene since 2006. His fresh lyrics and powerful voice, combined with sweet sounds of an eclectic mix of musical instruments, make for a unique experience.

“In 1981, Sublime and the Wu-Tang Clan gave birth to Rob Deez on the set of ‘Saturday Night Live.’” Come to the Athenaeum April 25 to find out exactly what that means.

— Series tickets: (3 concerts/ 9 performers) $30 members, students, $45 non-members. Individual concerts: $12 and $17 at

ljathenaeum.org/specialconcerts

or (858) 454-5872. Doors open at 7 p.m. Names are kept on a will-call list at the door.