Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the solstice B9:

  1. You dig a cappella soul and street-corner doo-wop? One of the great masters of the form, Take 6, ignites the stage with two big shows at Kuumbwa on Monday.
  2. Sci-fi writer Lindsay Ellis unleashes her new book, the third in a trilogy about Earth’s first contact with aliens, on a visit to Bookshop Santa Cruz.
  3. The Tannery is the place to be on Sunday for a wildly diverse program of cultural dance and performance at the World Arts Fest 2024.
  4. The coolest car show, at least for those who love their old surf wagons, lands once again at Santa Cruz Wharf. All hail Woodies on the Wharf!
  5. Argentinian musician Juana Molina conforms to no one’s notions of what a performer should be, forging a path into electronica and ambient all her own.
  6. It’s time to turn out for Tammi. The amazing Santa Cruz jazz vocalist Tammi Brown is Artist of the Year, and the entire community is invited to a free celebration.
  7. It’s laid all out there in front of us: Santa Cruz Shakespeare presents a dazzling new season, with a free preview Monday at Bookshop Santa Cruz.
  8. Santa Cruz’s best street festival happens far from downtown. Discover why locals on the Eastside love Pleasure Point so much.
  9. Los Angeles-based food writer Khushbu Shah comes to town to share a few secrets about Indian food, particularly its new evolutions in American kitchens.

Wallace reports and writes not only across his familiar areas of deep interest — including arts, entertainment and culture — but also is chronicling for Lookout the challenges the people of Santa Cruz...