Remembering Steve White: A Celebration

Steve White

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

White was a fixture of the Folk Heritage as well as restaurants, cafés, 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.

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.

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.

Photo by Steve Covault

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. “I was at the Folk Heritage’s Train Song Festival, and Joe Rathburn was singing his song “This Train,” which he wrote about Steve,” Polin says. “And as I was listening, I thought it would be really nice to do something remembering Steve.” 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.

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

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. “Joe Rathburn has two songs about Steve; Dave Beldock has one, and Luisa Corredor is working on one,” says Polin. The evening will also include a showing of Painting the World with Music, filmmaker Clint Burkett’s documentary about Steve White.

A New England native, White spent much of his childhood in Laos and Cambodia, where his father made films for the U.S. State Department. Life in Southeast Asia inspired many of the themes the singer-songwriter used in his compositions throughout his life. A gift of a ukulele lit the spark that led to a lifetime of singing and strumming.

White played slide guitar in a rock/blues band on the East Coast early on. Music and life took him to San Francisco, where he took a songwriting class, and then to Lake Tahoe, where he worked in hotels and honed his musical skills. In the late eighties, White landed in Leucadia and performed in coffeeshops and restaurants.

Robin Henkel & Steve White at the 2007 Troubadour Holiday Party.

At that time, he had yet to develop the use of his signature foot-percussion soundboard. He stood (most folks remember him sitting down to perform) and clomped his feet—usually wearing wooden clogs—back and forth. He had yet to amplify this addition to his singing, strumming, and harp playing.

During the rest of his life White continued to advance this percussion, adding the soundboard, rattling shells on his ankles, as well as developing as a musician on guitar and harp. Most of his songs were written when he lived in North County. Steve lost his life to cancer in 2011.

As the volunteer coordinator for the Folk Heritage, Polin remembers White’s willingness to help out. “Steve would say, ‘Hey, if I don’t have a gig and you need me, call me. I’ll be happy to set up and tear down for concerts.’ He was very generous with his time,” she says.

Polin encourages all the old-timers who may remember White and his music to join in the celebration. She says that younger folks should join the celebration as well. “Steve is part of our history,” she says. “And people should know about that.”

Please join us for a celebration of Steve White’s life (with a concert and a film screening) on Sunday, March 15, at the Pilgrim United Church of Christ, 2020 Chestnut Ave., 4pm. Doors open at 3:15pm. More info: www.sdfolkheritage.org