SOLANA BEACH — The San Diego region’s most iconic music venue is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a series of 50 special shows beginning in July.
David Hodges opened The Belly Up Tavern in 1974 as a small nightclub featuring reggae, roots, and blues music. Most of its patrons were college students in the Del Mar area. The name was famously inspired by jokes from Hodge’s friends that the venue would fail and go “belly up.”
Over the years, the venue has become not only the focal point of Solana Beach’s Cedros Avenue Design District but a choice venue for touring artists in the pop, rock, country and indie genres, as well as music lovers of all ages in North County and beyond.
Belly Up Entertainment President Chris Goldsmith, himself a seven-time Grammy winner, said the anniversary is even more special when considering the challenges the venue faced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would say it’s even more poignant, considering how three years ago, we didn’t know if we would ever reopen for a minute there. We also came out of that stronger than ever in a lot of ways,” Goldsmith said. ”We all realized how much we really like what we do.”
In recognition of its anniversary, Belly Up has announced 33 specialty shows in a 50-show series, with more to be announced soon. The festivities begin July 3 with an 80s Heat show with Bella Lux and end with The Wallflowers on Sept. 30.
During the series, attendees can also catch performances from Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Pine Mountain Logs, Kishi Bashi, Shakey Graves, Alejandro Escovedo, Cracker, WAR and others. A full list of shows and tickets is available online at bellyup.com/50years.
50 years of history
Even in its early days, Belly Up has been able to draw top blues and jazz talent such as Etta James and BB King, and in the years since, it has hosted some of the best-known names in music, including Blink-182, Green Day, Maroon 5, No Doubt, and the Black-Eyed Peas.
The 600-person venue has also made history by hosting the Red Hot Chili Peppers (twice, with the first being to a crowd of 200 in 1985), the Rolling Stones in 2015, and Willie Nelson.
For Goldsmith, who worked at the tavern and nightclub for nearly two decades before becoming president, one of the most memorable performances was by Curtis Mayfield in 1990.
“To have him play the Belly Up at that time, as someone who was so inspiring to me, it was one of the best shows of my life. And just to be able to host him at our venue, it was amazing,” he recalled.
In many ways, Belly Up has been known as a place where many rising artists get their start. It has earned a reputation as an intimate venue with great audiences, quality sound and thoughtful hospitality from staff.
“I think they’re always surprised at the level of hospitality we provide artists. We know how hard it is on the road,” Goldsmith said. “It has all the accommodations and hospitality of a larger venue, but it’s a more intimate experience.”
Belly Up Entertainment continues to host shows at the Solana Beach venue most nights of the month while also managing their new 1,900-person venue, The Sound at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
The Sound opened in early 2023 under Belly Up management, with the intention of providing another mid-sized venue to serve the San Diego community. The venue has seen multiple sold-out shows and acts like Ziggy Marley, STRFKR, Jason Mraz, The Flaming Lips, and Steve Aoki, several of whom have previously performed at the tavern.
“It’s a bright future, with the way things are rolling at the Belly Up and The Sound. We like what we’re doing,” Goldsmith said.
Hodges, who sold the venue in 2003 to Steven Goldberg and Phil Berkovitz, said he is proud of the continuing legacy of the little venue he opened 50 years ago.
“For me, it’s always been about family and community that Belly Up created all those years ago. Seeing its evolution and being a part of so many people’s lives for so many years has been one of the high points of my life and legacy,” said Hodges.
