music

The 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 26th.

For 2016, the Temecula Valley Music Awards have grown from nine categories to twelve including acoustic, blues, country, pop, rock and more, even including categories for local cover and tribute bands, which have become a favorite amongst wine country audiences in recent years. Currently on the TVMA, artists can submit themselves or their band for nominee consideration.

Easily the biggest and most anticipated annual event in the valley, Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival packs Lake Skinner Recreation Area with tens of thousands of guests itching to partake in the festival’s culinary creations and potent potables, sunrise balloon sails across wine country and other adult as well as family activities; all while enjoying great entertainment from some of the music industry’s biggest names and hottest up-and-comers.

From May to September, on the third Saturday of the month from 5:00 to 10:00 pm, Refuge invites their loyal devotees as well as newcomers to enjoy their exclusive brews, live music and great food. Outside on their patio, as well as inside the tasting room, Summer Nights visitors have the chance to not only enjoy the atmosphere of all the summer fun, but they can also be the first to sample newly released beers; one of which is debuted at each Refuge Summer Nights installment.

On Sunday, March 22nd at 2:00 pm at the outdoor amphitheatre of the Community Recreation Center, slack key guitarist and vocalist, Kawika Kahiapo returns to the area to spread the spirit of aloha around the Inland Empire.

Kicking off with the Rod Run earlier this month, the City of Temecula’s Springfest is in full swing, with festivals and activities from March through May that cause Old Town to burst at the seams with revelers, entertainment, food and fun. This weekend, March 21st and 22nd, banjo players, fiddlers and other musicians will take over Front Street when the popular spring fling, Temecula Bluegrass Festival, returns.

Aaron Copland was one of the most well-known composers of the 20th century and, as a tribute to his life and works, the California Chamber Orchestra, now in its 10th season, presents a “Copland Celebration” on Saturday, March 14th at the Murrieta United Methodist Church. Under the director of Artistic Director and Conductor, Dana Zimbric, the California Chamber Orchestra prides itself on bringing the highest caliber of classical music to the Inland Empire and, in that pursuit, they routinely invite talented musicians to join them.

Violinist Maria Kaneko Millar, Flutist Shawn Wyckoff and Cellist Nan-Cheng Chen were all accomplished musicians in their own right, having played solo performances in some of the most highly regarded venues in the country including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and even the Library of Congress. It wasn’t until this trio of Julliard graduates joined together to form Sonic Escape that something truly unique was born.

When I say the word “ukulele,” what comes to your mind? Perhaps you imagine a large Polynesian guy on a hammock, strumming the strings under a palm tree at sunset? Well, the ukulele has come a long way, baby, and you can see exactly how far when The Ooks of Hazzard come to the Old Town Temecula Community Theater this Friday night.

I remember once talking to my mom about what it was like to be a teenager in the late sixties and she always described about how girls back then were identified in one of two ways; Beatles fans or Rolling Stones fans. According to Mom, the “good girls” were gaga for The Fab Four from Liverpool and there was, of course, the eternal debate about whether you were “a Paul” or “a John.