“I came up with the idea for Free Comic Book Day when I was a columnist for an industry trade magazine,” says Field, who is the owner of the Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff store in Concord. “I was scratching for ideas when my deadline was looming, looked out the front window of my shop to see a long line of people and none of them were coming into my shop. They were headed next door to Baskin Robbins for Free Scoop Night.

“I thought ‘comics are cooler than ice cream — let’s do this!’ So I wrote a column outlining the idea.”

That was 2001 and the first Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) was held in 2002. It was a massive hit right from Year One, with hundreds of comic book shops taking place in the promotion of giving out free publications to those who visited the participating stores. It now stands as, by far, the biggest annual event at comic book stores worldwide.

“The first FCBD was on May 4, 2002, so this year’s event, also on May 4, is the 23rd annual Free Comic Book Day,” Field says. “Over the last 22 years, FCBD shops have given away tens of millions of free comic books in more than 2,000 shops in more than 60 countries the world over.”

Yet, this year’s Free Comic Book Day — which just happens to coincide with the annual Star Wars celebration on May 4 (“May the Fourth Be With You”) — will also be the last one that will be held at the place where the idea was first hatched.

To the disappointment of comic book fans all over Contra Costa County, Field’s Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff store, at Treat Boulevard and Oak Grove Road in Concord, is set to close in early 2025.

“This year’s FCBD at Flying Colors will be the final one in the shop where the international pop culture event was founded,” Field says. “When our last lease expired, our landlord would only give us three years and gave no option to renew. That lease expires in January 2025, and I tried to get an extension, but was told the owners of this center really wanted to put in a bagel shop. I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights this has given me and my wife, Libby, the co-owner of Flying Colors.”

So, what’s the next move? Field says that they are looking for a way to continue on with the business in a new fashion and new location.

“We’re very hopeful and now actually pretty excited by what the future of Flying Colors could be,” he says. “There are a lot of unknowns — like how many of our faithful customers will want to create a new habit of going to a different spot to support us? How many new customers can we cultivate moving to a different spot? How strong will the market for comics and graphic novels be over the next bunch of years? Can we afford to do this when we are already technically past the standard retirement date?

“Our hope, our prayer, really, is that we continue to build community and continue to spread happiness through our comic book business. That’s when everything will be a success.”

Yet, there will be time for planning for “what’s next” in the days to come. Right now, Field has to concentrate on hosting the final Free Comic Book Day at the place where it all began.

“This Saturday’s event will be bittersweet,” he says. “This shop has been our home for more than 35 years, so as the days, weeks and months wind down to the closing of this location, we’ll cherish all the good memories we’ve made here and hope that the next version of Flying Colors will be a fresh start to something wonderful.”

Whatever happens next for Flying Colors, Field’s legacy in the industry he loves so dearly is pretty much set in stone following the unmitigated success of Free Comic Book Day.

“For many stores, it’s their busiest day of the year and one real push for outreach to new customers,” says Ryan Higgins, owner of Comics Conspiracy in Sunnyvale. “If even one out of 100 people who stop by on FCBD picks up comics regularly after that, it’s a huge boon to the shop.

“The industry is forever indebted to Joe for the day.”

Free Comic Book 2024

When: May 4

Where: Celebrated at some 2,000 comic book stores in multiple countries. Check out with your local comic book for details.

Information: freecomicbookday.com

Of course, everyone has their own niche preference. Some crave crunchy, while others lean chewy. And sweetness is a continuum unto itself. The one sure thing: We know a great chocolate chip cookie when we taste it.

Here’s a guide to some of the best in the Bay Area. (Did we miss your favorite? Tell us about it via the submission form at the end.)

East Bay Bakery, Danville and farmers markets in Danville, Walnut Creek, Orinda

It’s not surprising that some of the East Bay suburbs’ chewiest, most chocolaty chocolate chip cookies come from chef Gaby Lubaba. Her small but popular bakery in a strip mall near Blackhawk has wowed locals and food critics with its unique spins on baked goods, including signature croffles and treats inspired by Lubaba’s native Indonesia.

Generally, the selection at the bakery is wide-ranging. But when it comes to cookies, Lubaba usually sticks to one flavor – chocolate chip – and focuses on doing it really, really well. We were warned that the cookies, baked fresh every morning, can sell out by noon. Fortunately, you don’t need to drive all the way out to Blackhawk to get the cookies. East Bay Bakery also operates stands at weekend farmers markets in downtown Danville, Walnut Creek and Orinda.

The cookie: As one friend announced on first bite, “This is a substantial cookie.” The cookies ($4 each) are large, and their beautifully balanced brown-butter dough is loaded with slabs of chocolate, instead of mere chips. It’s almost as if the cookies contain rich chocolate deposits — a Mother Lode of chocolate — which may spill out when you bite in, so keep a napkin handy.

Details: The Danville shop is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on weekends at 9000C Crow Canyon Road. Find the bakery stall at the Orinda and Danville farmers markets from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and at the downtown Walnut Creek farmers market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays. https://eastbaybakery.squarespace.com

Choc Cookies, Santa Clara

It’s a good thing Choc’s website gives the bakery’s location as “in an alley behind a gas station.” You’d never find it otherwise. But it’s definitely worth the effort to find this hidden gem, which serves up some of the tastiest — and certainly biggest cookies — in the South Bay.

Each cookie clocks in at just over 5 ounces, which the Choc folks point out is roughly the size of four “normal cookies.” That makes them big enough to split with a friend — or two friends. No wonder Choc has become so popular with college students. (The late-night hours certainly don’t hurt either.)

The only caveat: Cookies are only sold by the foursome ($14.90-$16.90), so you’d better really, really like cookies.

The cookie: One giant chocolate chip cookie, with its crisp baked surface and warm, gooey interior, and you won’t even want to think about dinner. The chocolate chip is the star of the cookie menu here, which also typically includes cookies and cream, triple chocolate and ube crinkle.

Details: Open for pick-up/delivery from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 1614 Pomeroy Ave. in Santa Clara; choccookies.com.

La Noisette Sweets, Kensington and Berkeley

Growing up in Morocco, Alain Shocron would see his mother’s chocolate mousse cooling in the kitchen and – as little kids are wont to do – dip his finger in for a lick. That deep, unforgettable chocolatey taste led Chocron down a rabbit hole of baking and, after a long career as a hairstylist, he finally indulged his passion by opening a pastry shop in Berkeley.

La Noisette Sweets’ headquarters is only open two days a week, but on Sundays you’ll find Shocron holding court in a prominent spot at the Kensington Farmers Market, a charming East Bay bazaar with vivid vegetables, fresh seafood and live jazz. Jars of his mother’s super-rich mousse are on display, as are buttery croissants, galettes gianduja, creamy mille feuille and a compact but star-studded roster of chocolate-chip cookies.

The cookie: None of the chef patissier’s cookies are overly sugared, instead relying on quality chocolate and a well-measured hit of salt to deliver the flavor. The chocolate chip is an excellent version of the classic, soft and chewy with imported Valrhona chocolate and vanilla-smoked Maldon salt ($5). But if it’s chocolate you’re really after – CHOCOLATE with all-caps – then go for the triple-chocolate cookie with intensely flavored Valrhona P125, which Shocron grinds into a fine powder, as well as milk chocolate, opalys (white-chocolate chips) and a snowfall of cocoa dust on top. That’s actually four kinds of chocolate, and it’s all gluten-free, if you want to make the argument that any of this is remotely healthy for you.

Details: Open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at 2701 Eighth St., Suite 116 in Berkeley and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Kensington Farmers Market at 379-389 Colusa Ave., Kensington; lanoisettesweets.com.

Icing on the Cake, Los Gatos

“We are chip happy,” bakery founder Lynn Magnoli says of the Icing on the Cake crew and clientele. Not only are there several varieties of chocolate chip cookies, but chocolate chips are also worked into pound cakes, brownies and banana cakes at this wildly popular shop that’s been open nearly four decades, since 1985.

But we’re here for the cookies ($3.75 to $4.25), and customer demand has resulted in lots of choices. These big, satisfying cookies are all made with real butter (except the vegan Top Notch) and semisweet chips. There’s the classic, the Studly Do Right (with walnuts and sea salt), the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, the Dee-Luxe (semisweet and white chips, walnuts, coconut), the Chocolate Cherry Chunk (with brandy-soaked cherries), the Triple Chocolate, plus nutty, vegan and other options. You can also purchase logs of dough to bake at home and Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough shots.

After 39 years of running the shop and developing recipes, Magnoli has just sold the business — and recipes — to former employee Maggie Raye, who vows not to take anyone’s favorite out of the bakery case.

The cookie: There’s no single base recipe, which means you may be tasting many to find the texture you desire. They had us at “brandy-soaked cherries,” but the Hippie Chip, a dairy-free, flour-less cookie made with almond butter, eggs and honey, was a delightfully chewy discovery. Loved the sliced almonds in that one.

Details: Open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday at 50 W. Main St., Los Gatos, with phone orders (408-354.2464) accepted starting at 8 a.m. www.icingonthecakebakery.com

Doh!, Lafayette

If you want to taste any of Sonya Ginsburg’s delectable Doh! cookies, you’ll have to plan ahead. Order your treats at least 24 hours in advance — and by the boxful — then pick up your freshly-baked batch in downtown Lafayette. Ginsburg’s cookies are worth that extra effort. And she sells the dough too, in case you want to bake them  at home for that warm-out-of-the-oven experience.

Ginsburg didn’t start out as a professional baker. She left a 20-year career in project management to go to culinary school at Diablo Valley College and found she had a knack for creating unique variations on the drop-cookie template. A generous dusting of Maldon salt flakes, for example, gives her chewy chocolate chip cookies a nice balance of salty and sweet.

The cookies: Other cookies that wowed us include her stellar peanut butter chocolate chip; a Chai Latte cookie studded with white chocolate chips and rolled in sugared chai powder; the Cafe Latte, filled with white and semi-sweet chocolate chips and espresso powder; and the Caramel Pecan Pie, loaded with salted caramel chips and candied pecans. Boxes of 13 or more cookies start at $30.

Details: Doh! offers curbside pickups on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 271 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette. Order at https://cookiedohpro.com/, then arrange an exact pickup time via email.

Little Sky Bakery, Menlo Park, Los Altos and assorted farmers markets

This farmers market darling wows with its giant chocolate chip cookies, which come with and without nuts (we tried both, obviously). The giant cookies on offer, which included a tempting dark chocolate with dried cherries option at the Menlo Park bakery’s outdoor stand, are so hefty, two of them threatened to rip right through their paper bag.

The cookie: Go for the nutty version ($6), and you’ll be blown away. Not only does this cookie contain walnuts and pecans, it has dried apricot bits mixed in among the large, melty dark chocolate chunks. Besides, dried fruit makes this healthy, right?

Details: Open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at 506 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday at 170 State St. in Los Altos; littleskybakery.com.

Sideboard, Danville and Lafayette

Over the years, Sideboard has become a town hot spot, where residents flock for high-quality, rustic, comfort food. But those long lines aren’t comprised just of fans ordering breakfast, lunch or dinner fare. There’s the bakery lineup, too. Sideboard’s scrumptious muffins, scones and other baked goods are made, like everything else on the menu, from scratch.

Sideboard is especially known for its really, really good chocolate chip cookies – reminiscent of the cookies your grandmother might have had cooling on the kitchen counter when you arrived. Enjoy those cookies as dessert ($3.65 each) after tucking into a hearty lunch of fried chicken, mac and cheese or a Thai chicken salad. But they’re also a yummy afternoon treat with a latte or tea.

The cookie: Erin Andrews, Sideboard’s chef and owner, said she’s a fan of chewy cookies, so that’s what her chefs bake fresh every day: large, golden cookies, with crinkly, crispy tops and loaded with chips. In one of the few times Andrew uses anything but locally-sourced ingredients, she said the chips come from a French chocolate maker.

Details: Sideboard is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily at 90 Railroad Ave. in Danville and 3535 Plaza Way in Lafayette; https://www.sideboard.co.

Butter Pecan Bakeshop, Pleasant Hill, Emeryville and Pinole

Is there any combo better than warm cookies straight from the oven and a cold glass of milk? You’ll find both at Butter Pecan Bakeshop, a newcomer that draws lines out the door for its unapologetically sweet cookies in flavors like Dark Chocolate Sea Salt and Chunky Monkey (chocolate chips, walnut, fresh banana).

Wendell Hunter, a Cal Bear who played briefly in the NFL, wandered into the baking world during the pandemic. Now he has three Butter Pecan Bakeshops and a fourth coming later this year to Fairfield.

“I used my grandma’s nut-cake recipe and turned it into our brown-butter pecan cookie,” Hunter says. “I developed a perspective on what the perfect cookie should taste like and decided to make an entire line of cookies. My ideal cookie was buttery, delicious, handmade and tasted like your grandma made ‘em. This was a sharp contrast from other popular chains that focused on oversized, doughy, dry cookies slathered with icing and weird stuff like gummy bears.”

These are cookies for fans with an intense sweet tooth – and don’t expect any concessions. There are no vegan, gluten-free or low-sugar options. We’re talking real butter, flour, eggs and sugar.

The cookie: As fun as it is to sample the entire lineup, with rotating flavors arriving every month – Banana Pudding or Rocky Road, anyone? – it’s hard to go wrong with the classic chocolate chip ($3.75). It’s a substantial discus of brown-butter dough studded with gooey hunks of chocolate, crispy on the outside and soft and melty within. Get it freshly baked and pair it with milk.

Details: Open daily at 6472 Hollis St. in Emeryville, 2360C Monument Blvd. in Pleasant Hill and 1889 San Pablo Ave. in Pinole; butterpecanbakeshop.com.

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Pacific Cookie Company, Santa Cruz

This Surf City landmark has been wowing chocolate chip cookie fans since 1980, when Larry and Shelly Pearson opened their cookie shop in downtown Santa Cruz.

All these years later, the company still follows the same basic recipe for success, offering up such incredible sweet treats as the Almond Joe cookie (toasted almonds, semi-sweet chocolate chips and coconut) at prices that defy inflation. A single chunky cookie, which will satisfy most people’s sweet cravings, runs just $1.50, with a Baker’s Dozen (13 cookies) going for $16.

Plus, the place is open late, which makes it an ideal stop — perhaps for a Mom’s Special (two cookies, one milk for $3.70) — after catching a movie or a concert downtown.

The cookie: There are so many different takes on the classic, and every one is delicious. We dig the Almond Joe — a salute to the Almond Joy candy bar — and the Cahootz with its white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and  coconut. But our favorite is the classic chocolate chip with walnuts.

Details: Open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until midnight Friday-Saturday at 1203 Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz; pacificcookie.com.

Backhaus, San Mateo and Burlingame

A first attempt to score a legendary, browned-butter chocolate chip cookie from Backhaus was stymied, sold out by 1 p.m. on a recent weekday at both mid-Peninsula locations. (This reporter consoled herself with an everything croissant bowl instead. It was beautiful, delicious and everything you’d want in a savory pastry.) The cookie’s elusiveness required a second visit – this time early on a weekend. Fortunately, the cookies were in, and let’s just say, it was worth the shlep.

The cookie: Texturally, this chocolate chip cookie ($5) has hit its golden-brown peak. It has the quintessential blend of crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside mouthfeel that lets you know no butter was spared in the making of this oven-fresh delicacy. Mysteriously, the entire cookie had disappeared by the end of the drive home.

Details: Open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday at 32 E. Third Ave. in San Mateo and 261 California Drive in Burlingame; backhausbread.com.

Busy Lizzy’s Baked Goods, Burlingame

At some bakeries, it feels like the cookie selection is an afterthought. That’s not the case at Busy Lizzy’s Baked Goods, where cookies take center stage. The small Burlingame storefront is run by Lizzy Detert, who opened the shop in 2021 after offering her baked goods at farmers markets and pop-ups. The bakery’s slogan is “Happiness in a cookie” – and it delivers just that.

The cookie: The browned-butter chocolate chip cookies ($4.25) are ideal for cookie lovers who prefer their chocolate chip cookies on the softer side, so they melt in one’s mouth. Molasses adds caramel notes that blend with the browned butter and chocolate to add complexity and richness to each bite. The S’more cookie ($4.25) is also a contender. It adds graham crackers and marshmallows to the mix for a taste of campfire nostalgia, only tidier.

Details: Opens at 11 a.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends at 10 a.m. at 1231 Burlingame Ave. in Burlingame; busylizzysbakedgoods.com.

Did we miss your favorite bakery? Tell us about it here: 

It’s not a hard sell for these horror fans, who have come to trust Isgar’s tastes when it comes to booking the weekly Terror Tuesday film series — during which “Primal Rage,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2,” “Evil Dead” and other great gore flicks have shown in recent months — as well as other programming at the popular movie house.

Since 2022, Isgar has held the film programmer gig for the theater chain, which also boasts a location in Los Angeles. (The chain is reportedly exploring sale opportunities.) In that position, he helps to oversee nationwide repertory and indie bookings. Yet, his involvement with Alamo extends much further back, having started out as a volunteer there and then venturing through a number of paid positions before moving into national marketing. He moved from Austin, Texas, (where Alamo is headquartered) to the Bay Area in 2019.

Recently we had the chance to chat with Isgar about his love for film and his programming work at Alamo (drafthouse.com).

Q: How did you first get interested in movies?

A: I think a crucial element of my movie journey came from living in Florida and needing air conditioning. My folks and extended family were always interested in catching the newest release or checking out video stores, and I was lucky enough at a very young age — 5, I think? — to have a TV and VCR in my room.

Q: What were some of the movies that really made a big impression on you at an early age? And why did they make such an impression?

A: Any late ‘80s/early ‘90s cable staple is burned into my brain. A few that come to mind — “Last Action Hero,” “Ghostbusters,” “Big Trouble in Little China.” But that double-tape release of “Jaws” with the feature-length making-of documentary — that was the first time I got a sense of the people behind the curtain and broader show business.

Q: Where did you go to college and what did you study?

A: I went to Florida State University, hoping to get into their film school. It didn’t happen, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I ended up working in live sports production and booking movies at the on-campus movie theater on top of my double communications and humanities major.

Q: How did you end up working for Alamo?

A: I was extremely lucky to fall into the Student Life Cinema program at Florida State. It was there that I got a crash course in theatrical exhibition — the venue was staffed and creatively managed solely by a student committee with a great degree of autonomy. To understand it better, I thought I should not only watch more movies — again, air conditioning — but also learn about the field and practice itself.

After graduating in 2013, Austin felt like the right place to relocate, given its rich film culture and opportunities. During my first month there, I volunteered for Alamo’s annual genre festival, Fantastic Fest, and got accepted to the Austin Film Society’s internship program. From there, I was either working server shifts at Alamo, helping with events and trailer cutting for AFS, or attending screenings at both. It was a dream come true.

Q: What’s kept you at the company all these years?

A: Alamo has a very unique place within the exhibition ecosystem. We play a strong mix of new releases from major studios and independents. We also maintain a robust repertory program across all of our locations. For me, it’s the opportunity to take chances on independent work and wild ideas on a larger scale. People actually show up for these things, too. I think it’s a very unique position to maintain broad social spaces like cinemas and it’s one I want to make the most of.

Q: What are your main responsibilities in your current position?

A: My boss always says that we’re the Butts-in-Seats Department. My part in that is helping chart our Alternative Content strategy — basically, anything that isn’t a major first-run release. That amounts to booking and scheduling at a few dozen venues, contributing to marketing campaigns, and collaborating with our operations teams. I manage our Fantastic Fest Presents screening series nationwide and focus on our focused repertory programming for larger metro markets.

Q: What does a common day look like for you?

A: Most of my coworkers are in Austin, so every day feels like I’m two hours behind. After being shot out of that cannon, the bulk of my day is spent managing Alamo’s very packed calendar, fielding inquiries from distributors or potential partners, catching screeners, keeping up with the industry, and any creative problem-solving that comes out of the sheer amount of events we put on. It’s a lot of administrative work.

Q: You mean you don’t just get to sit around and watch a bunch of movies and tell your bosses that you are working?

A: Man, if only it were that easy. It’s a strange thing to turn a passion into a full-time job, mostly because there’s always an uneasy tension between the rigors of any job and wanting to have an opinion about art. Our job is to watch and evaluate commercial cinema and best match it to an audience. It flips a switch in your brain that’s tough to turn off.

Q: How is the movie-going experience different at Alamo than other theaters?

A: Alamo is known for its in-theater dining. Our venue teams provide a lot of unseen labor to make for a killer time for guests. To me, though, our secret sauce is in our presentation — brilliantly compiled pre-shows, brief and ad-less trailer reels, and crisp image and sound. Our team cares about the total experience that goes into seeing a movie.

Q: You show mainstream Hollywood flicks. But you also show some very un-mainstream stuff — which is what draws me to Alamo. How much fun to do have booking that stuff?

A: Every day, I’m motivated by the joy of discovery. However, it also takes a lot of work to draw attention to smaller-scale cinema, especially in a for-profit environment. At a certain point, it becomes a game: How can we keep a calendar fresh while making sure everything has a chance to succeed with scheduling and marketing?

Q: Being a massive horror fan, I just love Alamo’s Terror Tuesday series. It’s so eclectic. What’s the game plan when it comes to booking this?

A: To me, the goal of a weekly series is to bring new people in for each show. We have a mix of battle-hardened cine junkies who’ve seen everything, folks who have waited for the right time to see a canonical classic, and people who just want a good show. I like to make sure there’s a balance of genres, eras, on-screen and off-screen representation, and a showcase of harder-to-see work along with new restorations and 35mm film wherever possible.

Q: Horror movie fans are a different bunch. They are passionate, opinionated and very loyal to the genre. Talk to me about the Terror Tuesday fanbase. Do you see the same folks in the audience over and over again?

A: It’s true that Tuesday nights at Alamo bring out a specific bunch. What strikes me each week is the diversity in age and gender representation. I want every person in the audience to feel welcome, but they don’t have to be comfortable — who wants that in their late-night genre cinema? The same extends to the sister series Weird Wednesday, though that ebbs and flows more with the movie each week since they vary so much.

Q: What are your five favorite horror films and why?

A: Oh man, it’s impossible to choose, but if I had to, I’d put these five horror movies at the top:

“The Thing” (1982) — John Carpenter and Kurt Russell are the GOATs.

“The Black Cat” (1934) —  Lugosi and Boris Karloff are out of monster makeup and in an emotional chess match of vengeance, genocidal guilt, and necrophilia. Again, this is from 1934.

“The Exorcist” (1973) — The grab-you-by-the-collar intensity of an experimental theater production made by a docu-realist cinemaniac. No other possession movie has felt this dangerous either before or since.

“Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight” (1995) — The party horror blast of the 1990s. Killer effects and inventive direction paired with a tight script and all-time character actor ensemble.

“Phenomena” (1986) — Jennifer Connelly speaks to bugs, wrecks some mean girls, and solves crimes. Donald Pleasance also has a chimpanzee nurse. Unhinged, then the last 20 minutes blow the door clean off.

Q: Any chance I can convince you to show my favorite horror movie — the original “Black Christmas” — each and every holiday season?

A: Glad that you mentioned this. Not only will this be a yearly event, but it’s also a centerpiece of our 1974 anniversary series later this year. Hopefully, with an extra surprise or two in-store.

Q: What else is coming up on the schedule that you’re excited to have people see?

“We’ve been running a year-long capstone series called Time Capsules, where we focus on a few anniversary years from 1974 to 1999. We’ll reach 1989 this summer, which was a seminal year for pop, indie and international filmmaking. “Batman,” “Do the Right Thing,” “UHF,” “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!,” “Road House” — it’s an embarrassment of riches.

Name: Jake Isgar

City: San Francisco

Job: Film Programmer, Alamo Drafthouse

Formerly worked at: Austin Film Society, Florida State University’s Student Life Cinema

Hobbies: Basketball, record collecting, reading and watching movies

Jake Isgar 5 things:

1.  Jake has two cats, Duke & Dwight, with his fiancee Natalie. “I may not be their real dad, but I’m the one who stepped up.”

2.  He lived in Orlando, Florida, and Austin, Texas, before moving to San Francisco in April 2019. “Move west, they said.”

3.  While he has a fondness for the Warriors, he is forever a diehard Orlando Magic fan. “You don’t see a lot of people proudly displaying Magic fandom in print, that’s for sure.”

4. He is ambidextrous. “I have zero clue why I play sports left-handed — at least it surprises everyone else for a few plays.”

5. He got COVID for the first time after seeing U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas this past January.

It tells listeners what were their most-played artists and songs, as well as the number of minutes that they spent streaming on the platform.

And, in a fun twist, Spotify also assigns you a city/town that most matches your musical tastes.

I was one of those eagerly devouring the data and comparing my totals with those of my daughter. (Spoiler alert: She listened to FAR more music online than I did in 2023. That said, however, she didn’t listen to nearly as much vinyl — except what she heard through the wall between my office and her bedroom.)

Here are some of my results, in case you may wonder what your friendly neighborhood music critic spent his time listening to on Spotify this year.

My Top 5 Songs in 2023

1. “A Pearl,” Mitski

Credit my daughter for this one. She’s the person who introduced me to this talented singer-songwriter a few years back and pushed for her to be in regular rotation during our car trips and such.

2. “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” Jimmy Buffett

Buffett’s death in September hit me — and millions of other fans — quite hard. It also spurred a listening spree of the legendary performer’s two best albums — 1974’s “A1A” and 1978’s “Son of a Son of a Sailor.”

3. “SOS,” SZA

The title track to SZA’s second full-length kicks off one of the most thoroughly enjoyable R&B/soul albums of recent years.

4. “Vulcan Worlds,” Return to Forever

I was on a real RTF kick for a long stretch, returning again and again to this brilliant Stanley Clarke-penned song that so nicely showcases one of the most powerful groups that the jazz world has ever known.

5. “Mariners Apartment Complex,” Lana Del Rey

It’s one of the most mesmerizing songs I’ve ever heard. I truly thought that this would come in at No. 1 on my Wrapped list — if for no other reason than I spent one long bike ride basically just listening to “Mariners Apartment Complex” on repeat.

My top 5 artists in 2023:

1. The Dandy Warhols

What can I say? I have excellent taste in music. That’s why I spent 452 minutes listening to the Dandys on Spotify in 2023. The Dandys tune that I listened to most, by the way, was “Genius” — which is definitely a track that lives up to its title.

2. Bruce Springsteen

Inspired by seeing two great Springsteen shows in the Pacific Northwest early in the year, I apparently just stayed on the Boss train all year long.

3. SZA

The SZA show back in March at Oakland Arena was one of the best I saw all year long and it inspired me to keep the talented singer in heavy rotation.

4. Bob Seger

There probably aren’t many years where Bob falls out of — or, at least, far from — my Top 5. I’ve been listening to him since grade school and he remains one of my absolute favorites.

5. Mitski

This one makes me smile, because it signals that my daughter (the big Mitski fan in the family) and I spent a goodly amount of time listening to music together in the car this year.

The town that echoes my listening tastes: Burlington, Vermont.

The first band that most people think of when it comes to Burlington is, of course, Phish. And I am most definitely a Phan. Yet, Spotify assigned me to Burlington because “people there are more likely to be fans of the Grateful Dead, Television and Jimmy Buffett.” Sounds like a smart place.

“Throughout those experiences I’ve overseen the crafting of best in class fan experiences, as well as the behind-the-scenes operations of major organizations,” says Hughes, who has worked on such massive events as the Los Angeles Marathon over the years.

All of that served to prep Hughes for her latest role — executive vice president and general manager of Levi’s Stadium.

She’s only a few months into her first NFL season, yet she’s already impressed with what she’s witnessing in Santa Clara.

“After joining the San Francisco 49ers (earlier this year), I can already tell there’s no fanbase or building quite like the ‘Faithful’ or Levi’s Stadium, so it’s a privilege to get to do that work for this organization,” she says.

We recently had the chance to talk with Hughes about her new job.

Q: What’s the best thing about your job?

A: The best part of the job is getting to work with an incredible team, who handle everything from ensuring fans get delicious concessions, to keeping the stadium safe, clean and sustainable. They’re the best in the business and work hard making sure our building runs smoothly, and they’re also wonderful human beings.

Q: What’s the hardest thing about your job?

A: The hardest part of this role is also one of the things that I love about it — days at the stadium are completely unpredictable. You never know what new challenges might arise. That’s why my experience at other venues is so critical — I’ve just about seen it all. So our team spends a lot of time preparing for every possible eventuality, and developing protocols and strategies to anticipate as much as we can.

Q: Your time at Dodgers Stadium was marred when San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was brutally beaten by some L.A. fans in 2011. What are your memories of that situation?

A: That was truly horrible, and I will always keep Bryan and his family in my thoughts.

Fan violence has no place in sports, and protecting fan safety has always been my No. 1 priority day in and day out.

First responders serve a critical role in our ability to protect public safety during stadium events. I’m grateful for the security and medical staff who were able to reach Bryan at Dodger Stadium that day, and for our continued partnership with the Santa Clara Police Department here at Levi’s to ensure that all fans can continue to confidently enjoy events.

Q: What’s your goal as a GM of Levi’s?

A: Our organization’s mission is to create meaningful moments that inspire and connect. My part of that mission is to ensure that every visitor who comes through our gates has a safe and memorable experience they will look back on fondly for years. We want everyone to be glad they came, and to look forward to the day they return, regardless of whether they attended a concert, a football game or a company holiday party.

Q: What’s an average day look like for you during the football season?

A: I don’t think I could ever say I’ve had an average day during the season, but my days mostly consist of a significant amount of planning, coordination and conversations with my team and other departments in preparation for large scale events.

Q: How does that change in the off-season?

A: Once football is done we pivot towards our concert and event season, which often includes soccer matches and major musical acts. The demands for those look much different. We also use that time to work on big projects around the building to improve the fan experience and ensure our venue stays modern and up to date. We can’t do construction when we’ve got 70,000 people in the building every Sunday, so we have to be organized and get to work on those improvements as soon as football is over.

Q: Why did you want to work with the 49ers organization?

A: The 49ers have an incredible legacy of connecting with fans and representing the Bay Area, and Levi’s Stadium is the center of gravity for this fan community. This stadium is an economic driver for the region, a cultural attraction and an industry-leading venue across the country. So I am thrilled to be able to contribute to that legacy in a leadership role at Levi’s Stadium.

Q: What’s it been like since taking the job?

A: Since I joined the team, we hosted several world-class events over the summer, including (Taylor Swift’s) The Eras Tour and (Beyonce’s) Renaissance Tour. And now that football is back in the building, I’m getting to feel the energy of the Faithful firsthand — and they are every bit as passionate as I’d heard. So it’s been a busy few months getting up to speed but overall it has been incredible so far. I’m lucky to have joined a best-in-class operations team, who are already experienced professionals and who have been generous partners.

Q: You’ve had a huge concert season in your first year on the job. What’s that been like for you?

A: It’s been awesome — Levi’s Stadium is a world class venue for all major events, as proven by the fact that we had two of the biggest tours in the world, Taylor Swift and Beyonce, here just a month apart from each other.

We also hosted the highest number of attendees at any event in Levi’s Stadium history for the Ed Sheeran concert. Across our events, we showed the full spectrum of what Levi’s Stadium is capable of from different sports, to different stage setups, and different types of crowds. I could not be more proud of those accomplishments and of the team that pulled it off.

Q: Talk to me about the economic impact that these concerts have on the area?

A: It has always been the organization’s mission to build and manage a stadium that could be an economic driver for the region. As we play the 10th season in the building, we’re happy to share that the stadium has generated more than $2 billion for the local economy. And with Super Bowl LX and the FIFA World Cup around the corner, that’s truly just the start.

Q: Do you get to watch the shows? Or are you too busy?

A: Just like the rest of the staff, during concerts I have a job to do making sure thousands of fans are able to enjoy the show. So I’m typically too busy to catch much of the performances. But we can always tell who is playing a particularly incredible show because you can feel fans’ excitement throughout the building.

Q: How is 2024 shaping up in terms of the concert calendar?

A: Our goal is always to have a full calendar and schedule, and we’ve already got Luke Combs visiting Levi’s for back to back shows in May 2024. I can’t say more than that for now, but everyone should stay tuned.

Q: Any chance we’ll see the Bay Area’s greatest rock band — Metallica — perform at Levi’s soon?

A: We’d love to have them! Their music is consistently part of our soundtrack at 49ers games at Levi’s Stadium so it would be fitting for them to perform.

Q: What are your thoughts on the curfew issue? Seems like that is always a topic when it comes to concerts at Levi’s.

A: The bottom line is that it’s a balance between working with artists so they can perform their shows as the fans want and as they envision it, and to minimize disruptions to the local area. We do our best to work alongside promoters and artists to help them understand the importance of these rules, and to help us ensure we are being respectful neighbors for our community.

Q: Talk to me about the 49er Faithful. What’s it been like dealing with these fans?

A: They’re the best in the world, put simply. We enjoy an incredible home field advantage that stems from their energy and excitement for every single play in every single game. And on top of that, we’ve seen the power of the Faithful who travel to games on the road. It’s humbling to experience and makes the long days of work leading into games worth it.

Francine Hughes 5 things:

1. She finds motivation in building things. “I’ve had incredible opportunities throughout my career to work with very talented people who have allowed me to (work) alongside them on some really fun projects.”

2. Hughes is a fan of hot yoga. “There’s nothing better than spending 90 minutes in 105 degrees stretching.”

3. Food plus family equals fun for Hughes. “I enjoy spending time in the kitchen with my family cooking meals alongside my son and daughter, who are amazing cooks.”

4. She loves Tahoe. “My favorite city to visit is Lake Tahoe in the winter. I love navigating the mountains on a snowmobile.”

5. But since it’s not quite winter yet … “If I could get on a plane tomorrow and fly anywhere I’d go to Prague. Prague has amazing architecture, great food and really nice people.”

Profile

Name: Francine Hughes

City: San Jose

Job: Executive vice president and general manager of Levi’s Stadium

Formerly worked at: Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles

Hobbies: Hot yoga, travel, cooking, snowmobiling

The crowd, however, will be substantially larger.

In fact, it might wind up being the biggest concert crowd the venue has ever seen.

Yes, you read that right. Two of America’s biggest popular music stars in history are about to be out-sold by an unassuming British folk-pop singer who more closely resembles Alfred E. Neuman than Mick Jagger.

Sheeran is expected to draw north of 70,000 fans when his The +–=÷× Tour (aka the Mathematics Tour) hits the home of the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara on Saturday. Beyonce, by comparison, reportedly drew about 50,000 fans to her Levi’s gig on Aug. 30, while Swift brought in around 58,000 fans each to her two concerts in July. (Both Swift and Beyonce broke the stadium’s nighttime curfew, which has been a source of controversy at the stadium for sometime)

Emily Eskin, head of Levi’s Stadium Events, confirmed that Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour would mark “our most attended show of the summer concert season.” And it could well wind up as much more than that.

Surpassing 70,000 concertgoers would establish Sheeran’s concert as one of the biggest crowds for any event at the stadium.

The current concert attendance record was set in June 2015 by Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead, which featured surviving members of the Dead and other musicians long associated with the band. The show brought in nearly 76,000 fans per night during a two-night stand. Earlier that same year, WrestleMania set Levi’s overall record with roughly 77,000 in attendance.

How is this possible? Doesn’t a “sold out” venue represent the same number of people sitting in the same number of seats?

Not hardly, when it comes to stadium events.

Unlike with amphitheaters and many theaters, the stage size and configuration at stadiums are routinely altered for each event, which goes a long way to dictating attendance.

Swift (whose tour has been captured in a new movie) and Beyonce were limited in the number of seats they could sell due to the massive stages utilized on their tours. In each case, a tall stage was erected at one side of the stadium floor, and promoters couldn’t sell the seats behind the stage because people sitting in them wouldn’t have been able to see the show. Swift countered this to some extent by installing screens on the side of her stage, which allowed her to sell some seats that remained vacant for Beyonce. (Read a review of her show here.)

Sheeran, who also performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Sept. 15, doesn’t face those issues because his current tour uses an “in-the-round” setting, where the stage is placed at the center of the field, affording a decent sight line on all sides of a stadium. Metallica has been using the concept for years — including on its current concert tour, which recently drew a record-breaking 80,000 fans to SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles area.

This is not to diminish Sheeran’s considerable musical accomplishments. With a knack for catchy, poignant folk-pop songs, he’s sold an estimated 150 million albums worldwide. His recent show at Lumen Field set a new concert attendance record for the Seattle venue, which had previously been held by Swift, reports the Seattle Times.

“In the past decade, Ed Sheeran has defied the odds as, debatably, the most popular meat-and-potatoes songwriter on the planet,” says Daniel Kohn, editorial director at Spin magazine. “His catchy melodies and blending of different genres that check all of the boxes for pop singles, along with a likable public persona and a willingness to experiment, appeal to different fan bases and have allowed him to retain, and grow, his audience.”

And the numbers he’s putting up seem all that more impressive given that he doesn’t exude anywhere near the type of blinding star power as Swift or Beyonce, and his concerts are lower-key affairs.

“As opposed to the spectacle of Taylor Swift and Beyonce shows, Ed Sheeran’s concerts celebrate simplicity — an unassuming performer whose music style brings pop into hummable melodies with lyrics that his fans can relate to,” says Sanjay Sharma, an adjunct professor of finance at the University of Southern California and an expert on the touring industry.

But despite the huge crowds expected to turn out at Levi’s to see the singer, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority isn’t expecting quite the public transit draw seen with Swift’s shows.

The first night of her sold-out Eras Tour broke VTA ridership records with an estimated 23,400 people taking light rail to and from the stadium. That obliterated the previous daily ridership record, the 2015 NHL Winter Classic, which had more than 15,000 passengers. In comparison, Super Bowl 50 in 2016 had roughly 10,000 riders.

VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross said that it would be running the same extra service it ran for Swift and Beyonce — 30 percent more capacity, which is the highest level of service the transit agency can deliver.

Swift’s VTA record, though, probably isn’t going anywhere, Hendler Ross said, because her concert drew many fans without tickets who camped outside across the street to capture a small glimpse of the phenom’s show.

She also ignited a spending spree worth tens of millions of dollars to the local economy.

And more of the same is in store when Beyonce brings her Renaissance World Tour to the stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 30, and Ed Sheeran performs there Sept. 16 (the British pop star also plays at the Fox Theater in Oakland the night before).

Elite superstar acts are running the concert world like never before in 2023, taking their shows to the next level as they sell hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of tickets and fill huge stadiums around the globe. And they are sharing some of the enormous wealth-generating opportunities with the Bay Area.

“Levi’s Stadium was built to attract major sporting and entertainment events to the region and be an economic engine for the Bay Area community,” says Al Guido, president of the San Francisco 49ers, which operates Levi’s Stadium. “The Eras Tour generated $33 million in economic (local) impact and is a perfect example of the value this venue provides the city and its local businesses, working families, and community members.

“These major events translate to real world benefits for the surrounding area and, with Beyonce and Ed Sheeran as the final two concerts this season, we believe there is much more to come.”

While projections were not available for Beyonce and Sheeran’s local economic impact, the two shows are set to draw another 100,000 fans to the stadium. And these don’t just go to the show. They also eat at local restaurant, book hotel rooms, fill up their gas tanks and, in general, spent enough money to make a real ripple effect felt across the local economy.

In an era of post-COVID “revenge spending,” big-name performers aren’t the only ones benefitting from consumers’ hunger for live entertainment after the long shutdown. It’s also the areas that host these superstars, as the city of Santa Clara and neighboring areas are finding out due to an extremely hot stretch which finds three of the biggest music acts on the planet playing Levi’s Stadium in the span of three months.

How big? Swift’s and Beyonce’s tours are projected to gross more than $2 billion each, which would make them the top two road shows of all time. And Sheeran’s tour has been drawing packed houses — his recent show at Lumen Field in Seattle broke the venue’s concert attendance record, which had previously been held by Swift, reports the Seattle Times.

Santa Clara officials have been abuzz about this season’s lineup and its economic impact. Christine Lawson, the CEO of tourism group Discover Santa Clara, said it’s seen an “unprecedented response” when it comes to hotel bookings for Swift and Beyonce in particular. Beyonce’s Beyhive has helped sell out almost every room in town. That’s not the norm for concerts at Levi’s, according to Lawson.

“It’s tremendously beneficial for our hotel community and it says a lot about Beyonce’s pull — especially since it’s on Wednesday night,” she said.

Artists like Beyonce and Swift have also seen an influx in fans willing to travel to see the same concert tour a second, third or even a fourth time.

“It’s not just if they live in New York they only went to that show,” Lawson said. “A lot of people want to see the show more than once.”

And that’s despite the eye-popping prices for tickets these. The average ticket price for Swift’s tour on the primary and secondary markets is reportedly around $450, while Beyonce clocks in at an even higher plane — around $700. For Sheeran’s show at Levi’s, tickets in the secondary market are starting at around $90.

“This year has seen the concert business roar back,” says Daniel Kohn, editorial director at Spin magazine. “Thanks to tours by some of the biggest artists in the world, concerts have become events that only compare in terms of cultural impact to the Super Bowl and World Series.”

The windfall of touring success isn’t being felt by artists at all levels, however, Kohn said. “For the middle class and emerging artists, touring and making money is tough and unfortunately, they’re the ones who are being squeezed,” he said.

But in a summer coded Barbie pink that has shown the spending power of women, Beyonce and Swift have shown that women are more than holding their own in the entertainment economy.

While stadium shows have been going on since at least the heyday of the Beatles, the experience of attending these large-scale concerts has definitely changed over the decades.

“Stadium music shows have evolved from being listening to a performance live for the music to being spectacular productions, like the Superbowl Halftime Show or the Olympics opening ceremonies, but here they are the main act,” says Sanjay Sharma, an adjunct professor of finance at the University of Southern California and an expert on the touring industry. “I believe that this is a genre of entertainment that is evolving from massive investment, it is just not about the pyrotechnics anymore, or dresses, it is a lot more, and you only feel it in the stadium.”

Although noise and curfew-breaking have generated controversy at Levi’s performances, the concerts underscore what an powerful impact stadiums can have on a regional community.

Gilmore suggests the windfall is being felt well outside Santa Clara.

“People will extend their vacations,” she said. “They’ll stay in San Francisco or San Jose, they’ll eat in Sunnyvale or Campbell. It’s not just Santa Clara. I think we all benefit in terms of hotel rooms and sales tax.”

That’s right, after months of (somewhat) patiently waiting, Bay Area fans will finally get the chance to experience Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour on Aug. 30 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Showtime is 8 p.m.; ticketmaster.com.

The multiplatinum superstar is out on the road in support of her seventh studio album, 2022’s “Renaissance,” which is her first full-length solo outing since 2016’s “Lemonade.”

To help pass the time while we wait for the royally talented artist to arrive at the home of the San Francisco 49ers, we’re offering up a little something we’re calling “Beyonce by the Numbers.”

It’s a stats-and-figures-based look at the career of this amazing entertainer, who, in basically every category imaginable, ranks among the most popular music superstars of all time. We’ll also dish up some details about the current tour.

Here we go!

2.1 billion

That’s as in dollar, folks. Yes, the Renaissance World Tour could reportedly bring in about $2.1 billion in ticket sales, according to a Forbes article. That would make it the top-grossing road show of all time — some $500 million more than the trek that currently sits at the No. 1 spot, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

200 million

Beyonce has sold more than 200 million albums during her career, which squarely places her among the best-selling music artists of all time.

60 million

Prior to launching her solo recording career, Beyonce was part of the amazing group Destiny’s Child. That great vocal outfit was also a smash hit, selling some 60 millions albums over the years.

700

How does generate the top-grossing tour of all time? Well, a good start is by charging as much as $700 for tickets, which is reportedly what some fans are paying to see Beyonce this time around. (Currently, prices on Ticketmaster are listed as $171-$601, subject to change.)

88

The star led the field with nine nominations at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in February, pushing her career total to 88. The latter figure tied the all-time record for nominations with, appropriately enough, Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z.

32

With her four victories at the 2023 show, Beyonce passed Georg Solti for having the most Grammy wins in history. The singer now has 32 Grammys, compared to the Hungarian-British conductor’s total of 31. Next on the list is Quincy Jones with 28.

10

By our count, Beyonce has starred in 10 feature films, including 2006’s “Dream Girls,” 2008’s “Cadillac Records” and, our personal favorite Bey movie, the tense psychological thriller “Obsessed” from 2009.

9

The Renaissance World Tour is the ninth road show in Bey’s solo career, including the two she’s done with hubby Jay-Z (2014’s On the Run and 2018’s On the Run II) as well as the co-headlining Verizon Ladies First Tour with Alicia Keys and Missy Elliott in 2004.

8

That’s where Beyonce ranked — eighth — on Rolling Stone magazine’s 2023 list of the 200 greatest singers of all time, trailing only (in ascending order) Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Mariah Carey, Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, Whitney Houston and — at No. 1 — Aretha Franklin.

7

With the success of her most-recent studio album, 2022’s “Renaissance,” Beyonce became the first solo artist to have their first seven studio albums debut at No. 1 in the U.S.

5

This will be the fifth time that Beyonce has played at the Santa Clara stadium. She last performed there with husband Jay-Z with the On the Run II Tour in 2018. She also brought her solo Formation Tour to the venue for two nights in 2016. She made her Levi’s Stadium debut earlier that same year as part of the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show.

1

Queen Bey ranks as the No. 1 winner of all time at several award shows, including MTV Video Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards and the Soul Train Music Awards.

“It is with profound sadness that Adobe shares the passing of the company’s beloved co-founder Dr. John Warnock,” Adobe announced in a news release on Sunday. “Dr. Warnock passed away on Saturday surrounded by his family.”

No cause of death was mentioned.

Warnock will be remembered for co-founding Photoshop-maker Adobe in 1982 with Charles Geschke. In a classic Silicon Valley tale, the two visionaries, who had first met while working at Xerox, reportedly started the company in the garage of Warnock’s home in Los Altos. (As the story goes, the company’s name came from the Adobe Creek that ran behind the house.) Before the year was out, they were fending off a takeover bid from Apple’s Steve Jobs.

The company’s first product was Adobe PostScript, which helped spawn the desktop-publishing revolution.

Under Warnock’s watch, San Jose-based Adobe grew to become one of the world’s biggest and most important software companies.

“John’s brilliance and technology innovations changed the world,” Adobe Chair and CEO Shantanu Narayen said in an email to employees. “It is a sad day for the Adobe community and the industry for which he has been an inspiration for decades.”

Warnock retired as Adobe CEO in 2000, but remained on as co-chairman of the board — with Geschke — for the company until 2017.

His many recognitions over the years include President Barack Obama awarding him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2008.

“John has been widely acknowledged as one of the greatest inventors in our generation with significant impact on how we communicate in words, images and videos,” Narayen said.

Word of Warnock’s passing was greeted with sorrow from Adobe employees.

“He really was an amazing person,” said longtime Adobe employee David Blackmon. “(He) equally understood and loved people and technology. Very sad to hear of his death.”

The news also spread quickly on social media, prompting tributes from a number of people who worked with him through the years.

“The world lost a pioneer and legend today. @jewarnock was an inventor and visionary, a determined leader, left his mark on the world in innumerable ways,” @scottbelsky posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “He (was) also a mentor and had a great impression on me since joining @Adobe in 2012. a loss to mourn and a life to celebrate.”

Born Oct. 6, 1940, Warnock was raised in Salt Lake City and went on to earn several degrees from the University of Utah. He moved to the Bay Area, and began working at Xerox, in the ’70s.

Beyond the business world, Warnock’s many hobbies and passions reportedly included skiing, hiking and photography.

Warnock is survived by his wife Marva Warnock and his three children. Service/memorial information has not made public.

the world lost a pioneer and legend today. @jewarnock was an inventor and visionary, a determined leader, left his mark on the world in innumerable ways. he we also a mentor and had a great impression on me since joining @Adobe in 2012. a loss to mourn and a life to celebrate. https://t.co/bBpnoRQxib

— scott belsky (@scottbelsky) August 20, 2023

The popular East Bay venue has been renamed the Toyota Pavilion at Concord.

The new name is sponsored by the local Northern California Toyota Dealers Association, which is comprised of 58 local Toyota dealers operating in Northern California.

“The Toyota Dealers of Northern California are really excited for this great opportunity to support the local passion points of our communities. Long live, live music!” said Dave Johnston, Toyota Dealer Association president.”

The venue, which is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025, boasts a storied history of hosting concerts. Over the last (approximately) half century, the pavilion has drawn fans to see such amazingly talented acts as Roxy Music, Gojira, Iron Maiden, TLC, Danny Gokey, R.E.M., Brian Wilson, Phish, Metallica, Phil Wickham, Mary J. Blige, REO Speedwagon, KISS and Lil Wayne.

Upcoming artists set to appear at the pavilion include Sting, Snoop Dogg, Jelly Roll, Culture Club and Beck.

“We’re thrilled to announce Toyota as our partner for this beloved venue,” said Andy Peikon, LiveNation’s Senior vice president and head of venue sales. “With over 40 years of involvement in the Concord community, this partnership allows Toyota to connect with local fans during memorable live music experiences that matter so much to them.”

Find the venue on social media platforms by looking for @ToyotaPavilionatConcord.