Adams Avenue Unplugged

Adams Avenue Unplugged is a free, two-day musical walkabout each April through the Adams Avenue corridor of San Diego's University Heights, Normal Heights and Kensington neighborhoods. Run since 2012 by the Adams Avenue Business Association (with roots stretching back to the earlier Adams Avenue Roots Festival and Street Fair), it turns roughly 26 bars, restaurants, coffee houses and the historic Normal Heights Church along a two-mile stretch into stages for around 90 mostly-acoustic performances, almost all free and all-ages. A single ticketed headliner concert and a community beer garden sit alongside the free program each year

Attendees consistently praise the wander-and-discover format -- catching unfamiliar local acts in unusual small venues, including a converted church -- as the highlight of the weekend, and describe individual sets as a standout of their year. The free admission and low-key, neighborhood feel are repeatedly cited as the draw, with a strolling pace, casual food-and-drink stops, and support for small local businesses called out as pluses. Some attendees have pushed back on the festival still branding itself "free" while charging separately for the ticketed headliner performance

The 2026 edition ran April 25-26 with over 90 performers across 26 indoor and outdoor venues, headlined by Alejandro Escovedo in a separately ticketed show. Coverage highlighted a soul/funk set from The Gravities that had the crowd dancing at The Rabbit Hole, a capacity crowd for Sara Petite at The Ould Sod, and returning 15-year veteran performer Amanda Portela, alongside food vendors including Ponce's Mexican Restaurant, House of Baro, Goodboy Pizza and Flavors of East Africa. At least one reader publicly objected to the $40 headliner ticket price undercutting the event's free-festival framing