concert

The City of Temecula prides itself on providing residents and visitors with the highest caliber of entertainment and education in the fine and performing arts. With world-class orchestra members as well as special musical guests, the California Chamber Orchestra’s new season is a perfect example of the stellar artistic offerings available in our own back yard.

For the last decade, the goal of the Old Town Temecula Community Theater staff has been to bring the best in arts and culture to the Inland Empire and, as their reputation of being a coveted performance space continues to grow, the quality of the entertainment each year always seems to exceed the one prior. Celebrating their 10th anniversary on October 4th, the 2015-2016 theater season is shaping up to be the best yet.

The popular classical music series, Classics at the Merc, is concluding a summer filled with quality performances with two shows in August by some of the best musicians in the genre – the Jung Trio and the Novellus Ensemble.

On a warm summer’s eve, on a train bound for nowhere, the hero of country music legend Kenny Rogers’ epic musical narrative, “The Gambler,” met a drifter who taught him the meaning of life, at least the way he’d chosen to live, and the rules you had to follow just to get by in the world. For Rogers himself, personal fulfillment is not about knowing when to hold ‘em or fold ‘em or how to make a quick buck. For Rogers, a winning hand is a full house.

Berlin was on the cutting edge of the early eighties music scene; their New Wave sound was unlike anything out there and although brilliant and revolutionary for their time, an industry more interested in commercial success than musical innovation didn’t quite know what to do with them.

The streets of Old Town are heating up again and it’s not just due to the rising July temperatures. A returning seasonal favorite, the City of Temecula’s Hot Summer Nights always signals that summer is in full swing, with live entertainment taking over some of Old Town’s most popular locales on Friday nights through August 28th.

After finding moderate success with a rotating roster of musicians, it was the discovery vocalist Jani Lane that seem to be the missing cog in Turner’s quick-moving machine. Turner had found his solid line up with himself and Lane, along with drummer Steven Sweet, bassist Jerry Dixon and guitarist Joey Allen and his band, known as Warrant, was ready to rock. And they rocked hard.

Toad the Wet Sprocket changed the landscape of alternative music during the 1990’s with what some might say was a softer, more sensitive approach to the popular genre. With chart-topping singles like “Walk on the Ocean,” and “All I Want,” Toad’s third and breakthrough album, “Fear,” released in 1991, catapulted four high school friends into the spotlight; a place where Phillips was never prepared to be and that transition took its toll on his emotional well-being.

Appearing on stage at Harrah’s Southern California Resort on February 16th, the members of Air Supply can boast seventeen studio albums. Their consistent tour schedule has garnered legions of fans all over the world. Each of these accomplishments is that much more impressive if you know about their humble beginnings.

This summer, the weekend entertainment starts a few days early with the return of the City of Temecula’s annual Summer Sunset Concert Series, every Thursday evening in June and July. On stage at the Temecula Amphitheater at the Community Recreation Center, the concerts are free and open to all ages.