Culver City Summer Sunset Music Festival

QUICK! Get out to this last evening of family fun (8÷25÷11 local SALSA legend Poncho Sanchez), with cool breeze, spacious area, less crowded than SM Pier, bring your chairs, picnic baskets & blankets, and dancing feet! I was here for Machina Loca and it was so so fun, the crowd was attentive, appreciative, and gracious. Dancers were spread all over the peripheral area, and people walked in from easy neighborhood parking, lots of bicycles. Culver City is a welcoming community that supports local artists and a sense of togetherness, that’s why my Mom loved living here for 22 years. I will mark my calender for next year, for sure!

The Culver City Summer Music Festival is A LOT smaller when you compare it to the Santa Monica Twilight Dance Series. Both are free concerts that occur on Thursdays in the summer.
I prefer the Santa Monica concert more, because it’s at the pier. Or, you can also watch the concert on a megascreen on the beach!
The Culver City concert is located at city hall. Minimal grass space. Mostly concrete for you to sit on. There is free parking underneath city hall. Or you can park at the nearby Culver City Garages for 2 hours free.
We got there at 6:30, when the concert was scheduled to arrive at 7. There was no place to sit. Every inch was taken. There isn’t too many places to stand either, without blocking the sea of people sitting down. Luckily we managed to find a tiny spot in between two groups near the stage.
If you get there early enough, the city of Culver City puts out chairs right in front of the stage for people to sit on. (About. 30 – 40?)
I don’t know if I would come back. It’s nice. And parking was relatively painless. And the concerts in Culver City have better acoustics. I guess I would. .. if there was a good band playing that night.
*Two thumbs up*

IT’S FREE!
The music festival is a lot of fun. Bring a picnic (or just buy Chipotle), a bottle of wine (I don’t know if alcohol is technically allowed, but as long as you aren’t being a jerk, nobody seems to mind), a lawn chair and sit outside and listen to music.
Usually, the bands play ethnic or genre-​specific music. These aren’t local high school bands playing Greenday covers or anything. It’s stuff you might not otherwise hear, like Latin Jazz or Zydeco. Some of the music I don’t care for, but some is really fun.
The problem is that the venue really isn’t big enough for the event. If you get there late, you’ll be standing on the sidewalk listening and not seeing anything. They need to find something a little bigger. But I can’t complain because, after all, it is free.

If you, like:
1) music (jazz, swing, salsa, folk, brazilian…)
2) being outdoors
3) meeting people
4) dancing
5) the summer
6) free things
Stop by the Culver Summer Sunset Music Festival. Every Thursday night there are different live performances. It can be anything that you want it to be. Wild and crazy! OR relaxing and chill… Start off the weekend right listening to good music with good company.