{"id":31539,"date":"2026-03-01T00:11:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T08:11:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/?p=31539"},"modified":"2026-02-22T12:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T20:57:23","slug":"remembering-steve-white-a-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/remembering-steve-white-a-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Steve White: A Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Steve White<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On March 15th the San Diego Folk Heritage will celebrate the music and life of longtime singer, songwriter, and percussion master extraordinaire, Steve White.<\/p>\n

White was a fixture of the Folk Heritage as well as restaurants, caf\u00e9s, and music venues around San Diego through the nineties and early two thousands. Later success took him to concert stages in Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, and other points on the globe.<\/p>\n

There are two things noteworthy about Steve White. He wrote terrific songs. Using his personal experiences, everything from working as a recycler to being a lonely international traveler, White produced songs that could be poignant, and heartfelt to some of the funniest lyrics this side of a Gary Larson cartoon. He could also go beyond himself and imagine the exploits of a female Kung Fu chopper pilot or being on the road crew for a mud wrestling team.<\/p>\n

White was also an extraordinary performer, wowing audiences as his slide guitar and picking backed up his strong baritone and Dylanesque harp playing. All the while, his feet and ankles played out an extravaganza of percussion. A Steve White performance guaranteed reflection, laughter, and certainly some toe tapping.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Steve Covault<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Abby Polin, who has been active with the San Diego Folk Heritage for years and years and served on its board in the 1990s. first came up with the idea of a Steve White tribute in 2024. \u201cI was at the Folk Heritage\u2019s Train Song Festival, and Joe Rathburn was singing his song \u201cThis Train,\u201d which he wrote about Steve,\u201d Polin says. \u201cAnd as I was listening, I thought it would be really nice to do something remembering Steve.\u201d At a gathering at a subsequent house concert, Polin got the idea rolling with local troubadours Dave Beldock, Peggy Watson, and Rathburn, all of whom performed with or had some professional relationship with White.<\/p>\n

Polin reached out to other musicians in White\u2019s orbit: Luisa Corredor, Joann and Larry Sinclair, Steve Denyes and Shawn Rohlf. Flying in for the event from Portugal will be Alda Leal, White\u2019s life partner, who inspired the idea of having a vegetarian reception for the event.<\/p>\n

All these musicians will perform some of the dozens and dozens of songs White wrote. They will also perform songs that they have written about White. \u201cJoe Rathburn has two songs about Steve; Dave Beldock has one, and Luisa Corredor is working on one,\u201d says Polin. The evening will also include a showing of Painting the World with Music<\/em>, filmmaker Clint Burkett\u2019s documentary about Steve White.<\/p>\n