15 things to do in San Diego this weekend: KAABOO Del Mar, Bettye LaVette, ‘The Heart of Rock & Roll’

KAABOO Del Mar

1:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. today; noon to 12:30 a.m. Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Tickets: $149, plus service charges, for Friday single-day pass. All other single- and multi-day passes are sold out, except Katy Perry Cares passes, which are only valid Sunday evening starting at 6 p.m. and cost $89 each (a portion of the proceeds from the Perry passes will benefit the nonprofit MusiCares). (855) 798-5995. kaaboodelmar.com

Saturday’s headlining slot by Imagine Dragons at this weekend’s fourth annual KAABOO Del Mar festival puts the arena-rocking band in a prime position between Foo Fighters — which tops the lineup on Friday — and Sunday’s closing performances by Robert Plant and Katy Perry. Yet, while Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds is excited about his group’s prime KAABOO billing, in 2019 he hopes to be staging his own festival, the 2-year-old LoveLoud, in as many cities as possible. GEORGE VARGA

PGK Dance Popup

Saturday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; performance at 7:30 p.m. POPUP15 at Interstate 15 and El Cajon Boulevard. Free. thepgkdanceproject.org

The PGK Dance Project, one of San Diego’s most prominent contemporary dance companies, kicks off its 15th anniversary season Saturday with a free pop-up event. The evening’s performances will include previews of new work by company director Peter G. Kalivas as well as live music. There will also be food and drinks available at the site, where there should be ample free street parking. The company then takes its act on the road for a Sept. 23 full performance up the coast at the San Pedro Festival of the Arts. MICHAEL JAMES ROCHA

Santee Bluegrass Festival

5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Town Center Community Park East, 550 Park Center Drive, Santee. $42 for designated drivers; $57 general admission. santeebluegrassfestival.com

Spend an evening with the bluegrass music of the Vulcan Mt. Boys and MohaviSoul in support of the Santee Teen Center, a recreation scholarship program, and park-improvement projects in the city. There will be beer and wine and unlimited food samples, a “giving tree” activity, an opportunity drawing (in place of a silent auction), and a kids’ night at the YMCA, where the kids can go while the adults are at the festival. Guests must be 21 or older to attend. LISA DEADERICK

“The Heart of Rock & Roll”

Opens today. 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 21. Old Globe’s Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Balboa Park. $39 and up. (619) 234-5623. theoldglobe.org

If you want to get to the heart of rock ’n’ roller Huey Lewis’ love for theater, you’ve gotta go pretty far back in time — to the drama club of New Jersey’s Lawrenceville School, circa 1966. “That’s true, that’s true,” Lewis says with a smile, chatting in an office at the Old Globe Theatre on a late-August morning. “I had two lines in (the play) ‘No Time for Sergeants’ in high school. I acted a little bit, but mostly worked on sets. It was fun.” It would be some 40 years before Lewis managed to get acquainted with the stage again — in the mid-2000s, when he went on as Billy Flynn in Broadway’s “Chicago” for a total of (by his count) 222 performances. You can forgive Lewis for being a little busy during that long stretch away from theater. He and his band, The News, were pretty occupied with becoming one of the top pop acts on the planet, selling more than 30 million albums and scoring a dozen Top 10 hits — including three No. 1 singles — between 1982 and 1988. Now, many of those songs — including “If This is It,” “The Power of Love” and “Do You Believe in Love” — are part of Lewis’ latest fling with theater: “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” a musical that’s getting its world premiere at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. More of our interview with Lewis here.

“Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.”

Opens Saturday. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 4 p.m. Sundays. Through Sept. 29. InnerMission Productions at Diversionary’s Black Box, 4545 Park Blvd., University Heights. $25. (619) 324-8970. innermissionproductions.org

The British playwright Alice Birch’s boundary-flouting 2014 work comes with a telling stage direction: “Most importantly, this play should not be well behaved.” Now getting its San Diego premiere at InnerMission, “Revolt” unspools in a series of vignettes as it confronts some of the obstacles, complications and societal roadblocks that modern women face. InnerMission co-artistic chief Kym Pappas directs a six-member ensemble cast in the company’s season-opener. JAMES HEBERT

¡Arte, Color y Fiesta!

6 to 9 p.m. tonight. Spreckels Organ Pavilion, 2125 Pan American Road E., Balboa Park. Free admission. houseofmexico.net,facebook.com/houseofmexico

Commemorating Mexico’s Independence Day, Balboa Park’s House of Mexico is hosting the annual ¡Arte, Color y Fiesta! on Friday. With a focus on the work of artists from both the United States and Mexico, the celebration is dedicated to fostering awareness and appreciation of Mexico and its culture. Participating will be Coral MacFarland Thuet and Mery López Gallo. In addition to entertainment by local musicians and ballet folklorico dance groups, the free community event will include silent and live auctions and the traditional “Grito” — the battle cry of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain. Bring a picnic dinner or purchase traditional foods from vendors. CYNTHIA ZANONE

Bettye LaVette performs at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre in La Jolla Saturday.

(Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Imag / UnionTribune)

Bettye LaVette Reinvents the Bob Dylan Songbook

8 p.m. Saturday. David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre, San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. $33 members; $38-52 nonmembers. (858) 362-1348. lfjcc.org

There are at least two excellent reasons why Keith Richards and Trombone Shorty jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Bettye LaVette on her splendid new album, “Things Have Changed.” It gave them the opportunity to team up with LaVette, an intensely soulful singer who made her recording debut with 1962’s infectious “My Man — He’s a Lovin’ Man.” Just as enticing, it gave them the opportunity to do so on an album that mixes some of Bob Dylan’s finest and least-known songs with consistent aplomb. Blessed with a voice that is equal parts grit and grace, LaVette dives deep to find new musical riches. GEORGE VARGA

Voodoo Threauxdown

7 p.m. Sunday. Events Center, Harrah’s Resort SoCal, 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way, Valley Center. $49-$89, plus service charges (must be 21 or older to attend). (800) 745-3000. ticketmaster.com

Thanks to their past San Diego performances, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, New Breed Brass Band and Cyril Neville are no strangers to music fans here who crave the ebullient sound and feel of New Orleans. But Walter “Wolfman” Washington is a Big Easy mainstay who too rarely ventures our way. Equally engaging as a singer, guitarist and band leader, he performs an infectious blend of soul, funk, blues, jazz and rock. In concert, he usually throws down the funk — with dance-happy results. GEORGE VARGA

OMBAC Classic Longboard Surfing Contest

7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. North side of Crystal Pier, 4500 Ocean Blvd., Pacific Beach. Entry fee: $30 in advance, $40 day of the event. The fee includes contest T-shirt and lunch. Registration: ombac.org/omsurf

Surfers of all ages will defy the laws of physics this weekend at the 25th annual OMBAC Classic Longboard Surfing Contest. The competition is divided into categories: Open Division for Men and Women (17 and older) and Special Menehune Division (16 and under). The top three finishers in each division will receive an award and lots of swag. Beach check-in runs from 7:30 to 7:45 a.m., with the first heat paddling out at 8:15 a.m. The surf classic is a fundraiser for the Drowning Prevention Foundation of San Diego, aka San Diego Junior Lifeguards. CAROLINA GUSMAN

Poway OnStage presents Clay Walker, with Anna Vaus

8 p.m. tonight. Poway OnStage at Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road, Poway. $25-$75. (858) 748-0505. powaycenter.com

Texas native and country crooner Clay Walker was ready for his interview, but something much more pressing came up. Walker’s three kids — ages 5, 8 and 10 — were headed to their first day of school. “But the 5-year-old didn’t understand why he needed to go,” Walker says with a laugh. “I had to convince him he was just visiting. It’s tough walking away from your kids when they go off on their first day.” Walker will soon bid adieu to his kids again, this time for a nationwide tour that leads him to the Poway Center for the Performing Arts for a concert presented by Poway OnStage. It’s one of the more intimate venues on Walker’s roster. ROB LEDONNE

“Barefoot in the Park”

8 p.m. tonight; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Old Globe’s Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Balboa Park. $30 and up. (619) 234-5623. theoldglobe.org

When the Old Globe’s revival of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” began performances in July, it was the 11th time a Simon play had hit the Globe stage. But a month into its current run, the romantic comedy took on an unexpected poignancy, as the playwright passed away Aug. 26 at the age of 91. The Balboa Park theater had a special place in its heart for the Brooklyn-born dramatist, and vice versa: “I love the Old Globe,” Simon said in a 1988 U-T interview, praising local audiences’ open-mindedness. And after news of Simon’s death reached the theater, artistic director Barry Edelstein said that while he was dazzled by the playwright’s technique, “my happiest and most surprising discovery about his writing is how much love is in it.” JAMES HEBERT

The H1 Unlimited high-speed boat races return during San Diego Bayfair this weekend in Mission Bay.

(Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego/Zuma Press)

San Diego Bayfair

Various times through Sunday. East Vacation Island, Crown Point and Fiesta Island in Mission Bay. $10 for barbecue competition; $25-$45 for boat races (children under 12 admitted free). sandiegobayfair.org

The H1 Unlimited hydroplanes are back in Mission Bay this weekend for San Diego Bayfair, three days of boat racing with thousands of fans from around the world watching the competition. Drivers are competing for a victory here, after races in Seattle and Detroit, and fans will see boats that top speeds of 150 miles per hour on the water, plus several classes of amateur boat racing from the American Power Boat Association. And new this year, the America’s Finest BBQ State Championship on Saturday, with more than 40 teams firing up their grills to cook up the best brisket, chicken and pulled pork. Moe Cason, of television’s “BBQ Pitmasters,” will be grilling on Crown Point. LISA DEADERICK

Fresh Sound presents Konk Pack

7:30 p.m. Saturday. Bread & Salt, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. $10 students; $20 non-students. (619) 987-6214. freshsoundmusic.com

It’s unlikely any other band performing in San Diego this month will create anywhere as ferocious a maelstrom of hair-raising aural adventure as Konk Pack. Formed in 1997, this English/German trio features Tim Hodgkinson on lap-pedal steel guitar, clarinet and electronics; Thomas Lehn on analog synthesizers; and Roger Turner on drums and proudly unconventional percussion instruments — some of which come from a tool kit. Hodgkinson is a co-founder of Henry Cow, the highly regarded avant-rock cult band that rose to the fore in the 1970s. Proudly experimental and almost entirely improvised, Konk Pack’s music can be understated and contemplative at times.But it’s when things kick into high gear that this daring trio ignites, creating a roar of sound you won’t soon forget. GEORGE VARGA

“Leela — Portrait of a Woman in a Green Dress”

Through Sunday. Timken Museum of Art, 1500 El Prado, Balboa Park. Free. (619) 239-5548. timkenmuseum.org

There’s still a week left to check out Bhavna Mehta’s latest work, “Leela — Portrait of a Woman in a Green Dress,” at the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Mehta, the museum’s artist-in-residence this summer, found her inspiration for Leela late last year when she saw Bartolomeo Veneto’s “Portrait of a Lady in a Green Dress” at the Timken. Mehta’s “Leela” is her modern-day, albeit whimsical, interpretation of the 16th-century work by the Italian artist. “It’s a powerful image offered by these two women, similar, yet so different,” Mehta said of her “Leela.” “I dream that behind the scenes, when the museum closes its doors for the night, the two women meet and get to know each other.” In 2014, Mehta was one of the recipients of the San Diego Arts Prize. MICHAEL JAMES ROCHA

“Fun Home”

7 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays. Through Sept. 30. San Diego Rep’s Lyceum Theatre, 79 Horton Plaza, downtown. $23.50-$77. (619) 544-1000. sdrep.org

For Amanda Naughton, the memories of seeing “Fun Home” for the first time are still vivid three years later: “The lump in my throat, a swelling in my heart, and tears. And my brain just going a mile a minute — like, ‘Whoa whoa whoa, what did I just see?’” But it was what happened after she caught that performance of the musical on Broadway that has helped make “Fun Home” one of Naughton’s own artistic homes, and makes it seem almost as if she were destined to play the lead role of Alison in San Diego Rep’s local premiere of the Tony Award-winning show. JAMES HEBERT

lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com