As the dog days of summer draw to a close, so do the summer music festivals and outdoor concerts that we look forward to all year long.
Culver City’s Summer Music Festival saw it’s lineup of concerts shrink from eight to four concerts.
With a narrowed focus and a shorter window of shows, the live performances seemed to have even more of an impact on its loyal fanbase who felt the need to relish each show, knowing that the series was going to be sliced in half this summer.
Highlights of this year’s festival was the superb jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel and his fine group of players, along with west side favorites, the Argentinian rockers Los Pinguos.
It will be interesting to see what happens to next year’s festival, with all California cities now having to deal with the impact of having their redevelopments monies cut to zero.
The always popular and well-funded Santa Monica Pier concert series is still going strong, and welcomes in the Hot 8 Brass Band, plus the Gumbo Brothers. Hailing from the Crescent City, the Hot 8 Brass Band has been playing swinging street music for over a decade, with music infused with traditional New Orleans brass, along with funk and soul.
Members of the band have been featured in both Spike Lee documentaries, “When the Levees Broke,” and “If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise.” The show is free and also features the Venice Beach based funk group, The Gumbo Brothers.
One of the many fantastic things about light rail coming to Culver City, is the easy access to downtown Los Angeles and Exposition Park. Taking advantage of concerts in these areas has never been easier.
One to consider over Labor Day weekend is the the indie band-focused FYF Fest. Now in its ninth year, the festival is returning to the Los Angeles State Historic Park in downtown L.A.
The lineup is an eclectic mix of old and newer acts from, many of which are veterans of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Top-billed artists this year include reunited local rock veterans Redd Cross, electro-soul artist James Blake, indie darlings Sleigh Bells, 90’s indie rockers Dinosaur Jr. and hard-core act Quicksand. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art continues it’s eclectic free concerts leading into Labor Day weekend, with Latin music ensemble BombaChante. Their tight rhythm section sets the foundation for the band’s screaming horn section soulful vocals.
BombaChante features Gabriel Gonzalez on lead vocals, with credits that include performing with Stevie Wonder, Los Lonely Boys, Juan Gabriel, Francisco Aguabella, and Los Van Van.
The Broad Stage at Santa Monica College presents the Luciana Souza Quartet. Hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, Luciana Souza grew up in a family of Bossa Nova innovators and was recording by the age of three.
Souza has been the recipient of four Grammy nominations and one Grammy Award, as well as eight critically acclaimed albums.
