Santa Barbara & Central Coast: Summer tunes

Did you notice that August is here, and it feels like summer is already speeding to a finish? Get out there while you still have time and tap your feet under a sunset glow or the stars at various spots along the coast, from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz.

Deal: Every Thursday night in Santa Barbara, the city’s parks and recreation department puts on free Thursday concerts starting at 6 p.m. in Chase Palm Park, with jazz and show tunes (Aug. 9th), bluegrass (Aug. 16th) and roots rock (Aug. 23) shows coming up.

Farther north along the coast near Paso Robles, “Makers of Dam Fine Wine” at Castoro Cellars throw a winery shindig on Saturday nights starting at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.). Come listen to Italian guitarist Peppino D’Agostino (Aug. 18th), pop artists Nathan McEuen Band and Kenny Edwards (Aug. 25th) or the bluegrass sounds of Druha Trava (Sept. 29th). Buy tickets ($20-25) in advance. The vineyard also sponsors free Sunday afternoon concerts by local musicians, including Native American flutes and storytellers (Aug. 12th) and SoCal singer-songwriter Jess Nolan (Sept. 9th).

To celebrate the 100th birthday of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, bands perform for free right on the beach every Friday night. There are two shows each week until the end of August, starting at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., with surfer crowds rockin’ out to the sounds of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

Any other outdoor summer shows not to miss? Let us know by posting in the Comments section below.

When: These summer concerts take place until the end of August, sometimes continuing into September.

Contact: Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation, (805) 897-1982
Castoro Cellars, (805) 238-0725, 888-DAM-FINE
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, (831) 423-5590

Related Los Angeles Times links:
Destination: Santa Barbara & Central Coast
Santa Barbara Travel Guide
Destination: California Wine Country
Santa Cruz Boardwalk runs fast at 100

– Sara Benson, L.A. Times Travel Deal Detective

[Photo credit: Courtesy of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3, 2007 at 10:48 am by admin and is filed under Gourmet, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.