When it comes to performing live, singer-songwriter-musician Tamar Berk typically has bothpositive and not-so-positive feelings, since playing in front of an audience can be a nerve-wracking – even overwhelming – experience.
“When you’re playing live, you’re (both) stressed and excited,” she told Times of San Diego in a recent interview. “I prefer being in my studio versus playing live shows, to be honest,” she said. “So when I do play live shows, it’s kind of a big deal for me.”
And a big deal for her is coming up on Sunday, when she takes the stage for her next show,along with a handful of other San Diego artists, at The Casbah.
Tamar Berk’s “ocd,” nominated for Best Album at the San Diego Music Awards. (Image courtesy of the artist)The show is the second in a series of concerts promoting the upcoming San Diego MusicAwards, which take place May 6 at Humphrey’s by the Bay. Other artists on the bill for the Sunday show include The Farmers, Go Scarlet and The Reckless, all of which, like Berk, are 2026 SDMA nominees.
The showcases kick off with a Friday show at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido and continue at various venues in and around San Diego through April 24.
What excites Berk about her showcase is the venue, as well as the other performers on the bill.
“I love the Casbah and this whole show is going to be great because they’re all people that Iknow,” she said. “I love that club so much. It’s like one of the best places to play, with a greatsound system.”
Berk is nominated for Best Pop Album for her latest indie pop-rock release, “ocd,” which cameout in September. The album is her fifth in five years, and this is the fifth straight year that she’s been nominated in the pop album category.
“I’m so honored to be to have been nominated and so honored to be able to play ashowcase,” she said. “I think this city has embraced me even though I’m not out there like some other bands playing all the time. The city has embraced me as a songwriter and producer.”
The album is very personal, intense and reflective, with the title track and other songstouching on her struggle with obsessive–compulsive disorder. She said her type of OCD isn’t as extreme as other kinds in which a person feels the need to perform certain behaviors repeatedly to relieve distress caused by obsessive thoughts. She does, though, have particular quirks.
“There’s a range of things I have issues with,” she explained. “I like kind of have spiralingthoughts and obsessive thoughts. I repeat myself a lot and I talk out loud a lot and oftentimesrepeat the same things a lot over to people, particularly my husband.
“And when it comes to music, it shows up in a really interesting way because I’ve becomeobsessive compulsive about songs and it overtakes my life, like it just becomes the only thing Ican think about and it actually can affect my moods and everything,” she continued.
“If I don’t complete the song properly, if it’s not going the right way, if I can’t figure out a lyricline, it’s hard for me to take,” she said.
Berk, who grew up in Cleveland, moved to San Diego with her husband Steve and their childin 2018. She released her debut solo album, “The Restless Dreams of Youth,” in 2021, followed by “Start at the End” (2022), “tiny injuries” (2023), “Good Times for a Change” (2024) and “ocd.”
She writes, records and produces all her own music. And her latest release is her most personal yet. In the liner notes, she said that the album “digs into the spirals — my anxiety, obsessions, fears, memories, dreams — all of it. It’s raw, loud, messy, sometimes funny, sometimes devastating. Just like my mind.”
“If there’s a thread that runs through all my work, it’s that I try to turn emotional chaos intosomething melodic and honest,” she added. “That’s what I’m doing here — inviting you insidethe mess with me.”
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