More music in the park

This week's presentation at the Twilight Summer Concerts was "Suave the Band." They performed a variety of different music genres including jazz, rock, swing, and Latin. You can learn more about them here. The park was packed with avid music goers.





There were plenty of dancers and lots of food to make the warm summer evening a pleasant event for the whole family.

Next week's concert series continues with the Downey Symphony.

2016 International Food & Music Festival

This past Saturday a wide swath of Downtown Downey was cordoned off for the 2016 International Food & Music Festival. There was music for almost every taste and volume level. In addition to music and food there was also art for you to express yourself.

This group, called The Pasadena Transit, entertained the audience with their renditions of Chicago hits.

There were plenty of photo opportunities to show off your Downey pride.

And everywhere you looked there were events for the kids to participate in. This rock-climbing attraction was a big hit with both the parents and kids.

The last performance

The Downey Symphony gave its final concert of the season this past Saturday. A young violin soloist, Hao Zhou, was the featured artist for the evening. His performance of Sibelius's Violin Concerto was engaging and entertaining.

Jess Zakira Wise was the winner of the 2014 Baton Auction and led the orchestra in Strauss's Radetzky March.

Sounds of America

Last Wednesday evening the City of Downey put on a rooftop event on the top level of the parking structure behind the Krikorian Theater. It was the first in the rooftop concert series. The Swing Kings Band played music from the 40s. After the performance, a special screening of the movie Grease was shown.

I thought it was a great venue. You get to enjoy an evening above the town, watching the sun set, listening to music....does it get much better than this? Go to the city link to find out information about the next rooftop concert.

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done

The Wise Guys....Big Band fun

The Wise Guys were the band for the final Wednesday night Concerts in the Park at Furman. They were a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed their version of "Mack the Knife"!

Not only was their music great, they were fun to watch too!

Make Music Downey

Today was the second "Make Music Downey" event. It was a fun day with bands and groups spread around downtown Downey in a variety of venues from the Civic Center to Porto's Bakery. We enjoyed the beautiful afternoon as we walked around and listened to a variety of music.

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." 
~ Berthold Auerbach

Stay for the music

Tonight my wife and I went to another concert here in Downey. This time the concert was at the Stay Gallery on Downey Ave. The band in the above picture is a group called "New American," a local Downey band. Another band was to follow but I needed to get home to write this post and then get to bed. The other group is called "Fathers & Suns" and you can see their video on the Stay Gallery website here.



The audience seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The fabulous Esquires

Today we were at a friend's wedding. Both the bride and groom and many of their friends are into swing dancing. So, they arranged to have the Esquires play at the wedding. The Esquires play big band swing music. And, they play it well.

The Esquire Music Foundation was established in 1967 as a non-profit training program to teach young musicians how to play authentic dance music of the "Big Band Era." The conductor, Downey resident Eric Brundin, was fun to watch. Check out their website here.

The reception started with swing lessons for everyone. What a fun experience!

We danced the night away...some of the dancers were amazing and the rest of us just had a great time. I was personally inspired by the little girl in the first picture. She danced to every song.

"Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance"
~ Dave Barry

Christmas music

Every year we are treated to Christmas carols by the Warren High Marching Band and Color Guard. It's a great tradition for them to visit the neighborhoods around Downey.

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

Music and lights

This house, located at 12023 Morning Ave., is decked out with 50,000 LED lights! It is a veritable show. You can tune into FM 89.1 for the music that goes with the light show, or just listen to the one the house shares. According to the Downey Patriot Facebook page, the shows run every night from 5:15 - 11 pm.

It all starts dark, and then the lights start to come on little by little as the music progresses. It is an impressive display. The owner of the house, Jose Luis Carillo, invites you to come by and check it out.

Fiestas Patrias

Fiestas Patrias, a celebration of Mexico's independence from Spain. Stonewood Center sponsored this event with Folklorico dancers, mariachi music, contests, and food. My favorite were the dancers. They were colorful and fun to watch. Clearly they were enjoying themselves.



Of course, the kids were adorable.

Latin dance beat

Another Summer Concert Series night at the park for us. This week we listened to Sonoclip, a Latin American band. From their website, "Sonoclip is a band formed by six professional musicians from Venezuela, who combine the genre with its roots [in] POP [and] Latin-American rhythms, giving the result of a dance beat, contagious and easy to digest for audiences of all ages." You can view their website here.

The congas certainly enhance the dance beat.



These members of the audience certainly agree that the band creates a dance beat.

The Music Van

I spotted this van in the parking lot the other day. It was so intriguing to me that an artist would spend so much time to decorate his vehicle in this way. Notice the statue of Liberty on the back...what kind of car do you drive? Are you in the market? This one's for sale...



sic gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything" ~ Plato

My Big Fat Greek Food Festival

This weekend was the annual Greek Food Festival. We try to never miss it! It is always a fun event with traditional Greek music, dancing, food and more.

Unfortunately, we went late this year so I missed the roasting of the lambs, but they were still chopping away at a mountain of meat when we arrived.

Of course, there were the standard blue and white striped tents lining the area. And, the food...I simply could not resist. I had both moussaka and a spanakopita! Both were yummy.

And, I bought some great smelling cream from a booth called "Holy Honey." But, my favorite is always the dancing.



"Dance is the hidden language of the soul"
~ Martha Graham

Wednesday concerts in the park

This week's concert held at Furman Park was Mariachi Monumental de America and Folklor Pasion Band Mexicana de Los Angeles. They were fun to watch and the audience clearly enjoyed the performance.

Here we go a caroling

Tonight we were greeted (at our door) by some members of the Warren Band and Color Guard playing Christmas music and spreading holiday cheer.

What a nice treat it was to have them share their gifts...we actually begged for a few extra songs! The musicians are going door-to-door caroling for the month of December.

As with all school music programs, they need community support. You can donate when they come by your door or you could send in a check to the Warren High School Band and Color Guard - Caroling Donation Drive 2011 (8141 De Palma Street, Downey CA 90241).

There is also an upcoming free concert to be held at Downey Theatre on January 19th at 7pm. You can email to reserve tickets - dniemeyer@dusd.net.

A little dinner music

Dinner tonight was tapas at Granata's & Tapas...but the best part was the music.  Her instrument tooked like an electronic violin (I didn't know they existed),  but it sounded great and the musician was fun to watch. I didn't get a good shot that was in focus, but hopefully this one gives you the feel of how expressive she was. It looked like she was having as much fun as we were.  

Musique de Paris

In every day dream I had about Paris, there was theme music. I just knew that surrounding the city was a constant state of romance and harmony. And I was not disappointed!

He plays a haunting melody that stirs emotions within me. He plays what he wants to play whether a passerby stops or not. He doesn't have a name to me and never will. He is part of Paris. All I want to do is sit under the Eiffel Tower with a cafe au lait in hand and listen to him serenade the masses.

Singing the blues...

One of Don Lamkin's creations.... Otis Rush, famous blues performer, is depicted on the back of a guitar. This guitar, along with many other art pieces, are on display (and for sale) at Mari's wine bar on Firestone Blvd. for several more weeks to come.

Downey Symphony in the park

I finally made it to one of this summer's  Wednesday night "Concerts in the Park"! This week the Downey Sympony Orchestra performed. For a list of the musical line up, click here for the Downey Arts Coalition.

I like the whole experience of the concerts in the park. You can bring dinner, chairs, blankets, pets, friends...and it's free!

While trying to take pictures without blocking anyone's view, I placed myself in front of a tree. Not really thinking about it, I leaned back against the tree—bad idea. It didn't take long at all for me to figure out the tree was "alive" with ants. So, the orchestra was playing a Cuban mambo song, the audience was shouting "Mambo," and I was doing what I'm sure looked like some kind of interpretative dance as I was attempting to get ants off my arms, my back, and out of my hair.