Weekend Preview: 8.2.12- 8.4.12

Fruit of the Trees, Salt of the Seas | 8.2.12 @ 12PM

We're getting our taste buds ready for olive oil and salt! This is the only summer event that requires an RSVP, and we're at capacity already! If you didn't RSVP, you're still welcome to attend and listen to the talk.

The event will take place at the Spiral Court, which is located on the plaza level to the North, adjacent to the Omni Hotel and next to Grand Avenue (closer to MOCA). From the WatercourtStage, walk north so you pass the Famima convenience store on your right side. The Spiral Court will be on your left after the elevators.

The Belle Brigade | 8.3.12 @ 12PM

This Friday, we'll continue with our noon time Lunch Box Series where we're brining you the best up and coming indie, pop and folk bands. Grab a bite to eat and meet us on the plaza for the brother and sister duo, The Belle Brigade. Click here for parking options during our noon shows. 

A Symphony of Hope | 8.3.12 @ 8PM

When 25 of today’s most accomplished Hollywood composers banded together to benefit the victims of 2010’s Haitian earthquake, they created Symphony of Hope, a unique masterpiece that begins with a Haitian melody and culminates in an original opus brilliantly performed by a 70-member orchestra and 40-member choir. The score was co-written by 25 of Hollywood's Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy award-winning composers

Ride your bike! The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will have a bike valet set up on our plaza at this event.

Niyaz and Strunz & Farah | 8.4.12 @ 8PM

 Ride your bike! The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will have a bike valet set up on our plaza at this event.

Weekend Preview: 7.27.12- 7.28.12

Lady Danville | 7.27.12 @ 12PM

This Friday, we'll continue with our noon time Lunch Box Series where we're brining you the best up and coming indie, pop and folk bands. Grab a bite to eat and meet us on the plaza for the sweet voices of Lady Danville (they're a GP staff favorite). Click here for parking options during our noon shows. 

Mastery & Legacy: The Music of Hawai'i | 7.27.12 @ 8PM

We're brining the Hawaiian beaches to you this Friday with four-time Grammy winner George Kahumoku Jr. He'll come together with Owana, Bobby Ingano (slide steel guitar), and “Uncle” Richard Ho’opi’i (ukulele and Hawai’ian falsetto) to share music, stories, culture, and joy for everyone from keiki (kids) to kupuna (elders).

Ride your bike! The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will have a bike valet set up on our plaza at this event.

Bibi Tanga & The Selenties and Breakestra | 7.28.12 @ 8PM

Get down and get funky this Saturday night. Fresh off of a New York City Summer Stage performance, Bibi Tanga and the Selenites will open the evening. Tanga's style is a funky fusion of Price, Cee Lo Green and Fela Kuti all in one. You don't want to miss these Frenchies! Closing out the night will be the L.A. hometown heros, Breakestra.

 Ride your bike! The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will have a bike valet set up on our plaza at this event.

Grand Park Opening

Join us for the opening of the first two blocks of Grand Park, one of Los Angeles County's largest parks, bringing a welcome green space to dwontown Los Angeles (just down the street from GP). The event is FREE and open to the public.

Sunday Music in the Park

Sunday, July 29 from 11:30AM- 3:00PM

Here's the line up, programed by yours truely.

11:30AM- 12:30PM - Quetzal and Friends with La Marisoul (La Santa Cecilia), Maya Jupiter, César Castro (Cambalache), Nikki Campbell and Evan Greer (Balandugukan)

12:45PM- 1:45PM- Fanny Franklin and the Gents

2:00PM- 3:00PM- Fool's Gold

For parking and directions, click here. Remember, this concert does NOT take place at our usual California Plaza.

Israel "Cachao" Lopez

About Israel "Cachao" Lopez

Legendary Israel “Cachao” Lopez is the prodigal mastermind who transformed the traditional Cuban danzon into the upbeat, globally-infused mambo form that has since become practically synonymous with Cuban music itself. Cachao was also responsible for the conception of descargas, the energized Cuban jam sessions during which Latin musical masters improvise freely and create uninhibited masterpieces which fuse jazz, Cuban and Afro-inspired beats.

Born in Havana in 1918 to an expansive musical family, Cachao began his 80-year performance career playing bongos in a children’s septet; by the age of ten, he had already begun his 30-year stint as the bassist for the Havana Philharmonic. With his brother Orestes, he performed routinely with the noted Cuban dance orchestra Arcano Y Sus Maravillas, and the brothers composed over 3,000 danzones for the orchestra, including the very first mambo in 1938. The contagious song became a smash hit that transcended across both cultures and generations as musicians everywhere altered and incorporated the infectious energy of the style into their own performances. 

As political climates shifted in Cuba, Cachao eventually ended up in the United States, where he spent decades performing as a sideman with big name musicians in New York City, Las Vegas and Miami. In the 1990s, he experienced a sudden resurgence in his own music’s popularity due to the admiration and assistance of actor and producer Andy Garcia, who organized recording sessions, tributes and documentaries for Cachao.  Although Cachao passed away in 2008, his music and legend is still very much with us

¡Vamos al Mambo! | July 21 @ 8PM

The artists playing at the Cachao tribute are made up of the band that ANdy Garcia named the Cineson All-Satrs, plus a couple of ringers just to sweeten the deal. Simply put, it's the best of the best.

Ride your bike! The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will have a bike valet set up on our plaza at this event.

Peace Go With You, Gil

About Gil Scott-Heron

Born in 1949 in Chicago, Gil spent a majority of his childhood experiencing racial tension in segregated Jackson, Tennessee, before moving to New York City for high school. Although he was an exemplary student and pursued a higher education at Lincoln University- the alma mater of his literary idol Langston Hughes- Gil dropped out after his first novel Vulture was published in 1970, in order to pursue an artistic career. He soon recorded his first album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, which received critical acclaim for its unabashed societal critiques and confrontations of contemporary American culture. Small Talk was also the first of Gil’s longtime collaboration with Brian Jackson, whose electric piano and flute accompaniments were integral to many of Gil’s musical compositions, from the polemic The Revolution Will Not be Televised to pop culture sensation The Bottle. Although Gil underwent a prolonged recording hiatus in the late 1980s, he continued to record and appear semi-regularly until his untimely death in May of 2011. 

Peace Go With You, Gil | 7.20.12 @ 8PM

The Revolution will be coming to you Live right in the heart of Downtown LA, in this celebration of the late great Gil Scott-Heron’s legacy exploring the soul, vitality, power, humor, social activism, humanity and fiery messages through an enthralling musical, poetic and visual journey.

On the Upper Plaza:

- HIT + RUN live screen-printing, bring your fave shirt or get a new fresh T printed
- The Last Holiday : A Memoir on sale from Grove/Atlantic books
- GIL 180 gram vinyl + rare vintage gems & CD's on sale from AMOEBA

 Ride your bike! The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will have a bike valet set up on our plaza at this event.

On the Lower Plaza:

- Sweet treats from Big Man Bakes