Summer Concert Series Takes Over Garfield Park

Last Sunday, more than 1000 South Pasadena residents ventured to to salsa the night away with Suavé.

Attendees munched on picnic fare and as the Latin band performed dance-worthy crowd favorites including Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” Earth Wind and Fire’s “Reasons” and Etta James’s “At Last.”

The band’s lead singer Andrea Guerrero frequently ventured into the crowd, dancing and chatting with attendees young and old. 

“They really love us out here,” said Guerrero as she leaned down to pet one of the many pooches in attendance. “Hopefully, we’ll be out here every summer.”

Suavé is one of the five bands participating in the city’s annual concerts in the park series.

“It’s an event that provides low-cost or no-cost opportunities for residents to spend time with their loved ones in a fantastic setting: Garfield Park on a late Sunday afternoon,” said Assistant City Manager Sergio Gonzalez. “Everyone can be entertained without paying a dime.”

The concert series, which , is currently in its twelfth year. Each concert is funded entirely through sponsorships with local businesses and individual residents.

“We send letters out soliciting donations from businesses,” said Lucy Hakobian, the city’s Community Services Coordinator. “Over the last ten years, we have accumulated a list of all the names and addresses of everyone who has donated. We send another letter asking for donations and get whatever we can out of that.”

This year, the city received a grant from Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich’s office that funded one of the five concerts. The four remaining concerts were funded through sponsorships. (Click here to view a list of sponsors.)

“We are very fortunate that we have such a generous business community and individuals that sponsor these concerts financially,” said Gonzalez. “We are also fortunate that our residents know a good thing when they see it, and they come out and support every summer during the summer concert series.”

Over the past twelve years, the concert series has expanded from two to five concerts throughout the summer. The July 10 and July 17 concerts both had an estimated 1000 people in attendance.

“We have been very impressed,” said Gonzalez. “I believe the first two concerts were overwhelmingly attended. Usually, a lot of people take vacations during the summer, but we noticed that at first two concerts attendance has increased for the most part. Maybe with economy, people can’t afford to take expensive vacations so they’re taking staycations and doing something fun and low cost.”

The parks and recreation commission select the musical genre and band for each week.

“We usually have a swing band and a Latin band, but the other genres alternate,” said Hakobian. “The bands send the city demos, and we keep them on file. When it’s time, we pull them out and pick a top five or a top seven and have the committee listen to all those and make their selections.”

There are . Sunday, July 24: The Wiseguys (Swing); Sunday, July 31: The Skinny Little Twits (Country); and Sunday, August 7: Cody Bryant with the Riders of the Purple Sage (Western).

Editor's note: The lead singer of Suave, Andrea Guerrero is Jennifer Smith's cousin.