“Friday Nights LIVE!” a new series of free outdoor concerts in downtown Livermore featuring a variety of music and dance, will open on Friday evening, June 3, 2011 and run throughout the summer. Sponsored by the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, the performances will be held on the Shea Homes Stage outside the Bankhead Theater from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. each Friday night. The live concerts cover a broad range of musical styles from big band and classic rock, to contemporary folk and Latin jazz. On three of the Fridays, a local studio, It’s All About Dancing, will showcase salsa, tango and swing dancing, with 30 minutes of instruction followed by 60 minutes of open floor dancing so everyone has an opportunity to try these popular styles.
“Downtown Livermore has become increasingly lively in recent years with the introduction of new restaurants and popular events. We’re pleased to be able to launch “Friday Nights LIVE!” which will highlight local groups and add live music to the excitement of weekend evenings this summer,” said Len Alexander, Executive Director of LVPAC. In conjunction with its year-round schedule of world class entertainment at the Bankhead Theater, LVPAC has collaborated with local businesses to develop entertainment and hospitality packages that build awareness of the Tri-Valley region as a destination for visitors.
All “Friday Nights LIVE!” performances run from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on the Shea Homes Stage in front of the Bankhead Theater and are free to the public. The performance schedule is:
June 3 All About Dancing Salsa
June 10 Gabe Duffin Band Rock
June 17 Blind Dog Folk
June 24 El Desayuno Latin
July 1 All About Dancing Tango
July 8 Gabe Duffin Band Rock
July 15 Blind Dog Folk
July 22 El Desayuno Latin
July 29 Cool Tones Big Band
August 5 All About Dancing Swing
August 12 Gabe Duffin Band Rock
August 19 Blind Dog Folk
August 26 El Desayuno Latin
All About Dancing is a vibrant dance studio in downtown Livermore offering lessons in nearly every ballroom and couples dance style – from waltz and foxtrot to samba, salsa and swing. With a hardwood floor below and a chandelier above, dancers learn and practice at every level from beginner to expert, and enjoy weekly dance parties.
The Gabe Duffin Band, “Livermore’s Classic Rockers,” have been building an enthusiastic audience over the past six years. Headed by lead guitarist Duffin, the band has evolved into a tight knit group who rock some of the most popular 1960s and 1970s hits, from the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison, to Pink Floyd and the Eagles.
Blind Dog, a five-piece acoustic guitar band from Livermore, plays a broad mix of popular favorites including contemporary folk music, Celtic rock, blues and country music. With their smooth vocal harmonies, fiddle, harmonica, guitar and drums, they’re “five friends who love playing music and sound good doing it.”
El Dasayuno fuses Latin jazz with soul and salsa, easily crossing cultural and musical borders. With crisp brass sound and vibrant vocals, this Bay Area band’s lively, improvisational take on both familiar Latin music and original compositions has pleased crowds at events from private parties, to night clubs and street fairs.
Cool Tones is a 17-piece big band group offering everyone’s favorite big band and jazz classics, swing tunes, and the sultry ballads of the era. For the last nine years, audiences large and small throughout the Livermore-Pleasanton area have been enjoying their irresistible music at concerts, dances, parties and special events.
