Rossi Music Presents Galleria Live Summer Music Series – now in it’s fifth year.

Memorial Day is fast approaching, and with it comes the dubious joy of bikini season, sunburns, and triple digit weather. (Have I mentioned the hot and dry Santa Ana winds?) If you are like me, you are probably already looking forward to October, when the air will – finally – start to cool down and the layers can come out of the back of the closet. However, take solace winter warriors, because summer may just redeem itself. After all, what better time than summer for free out-door music?

Monday nights bring more and more happy dancers to the Galleria

Enter the Sherman Oaks Galleria, an oasis at the crossroads of the world. This hub of fine dining, fabulous cinema, and ample shopping is a hard enough place to stay away from any time of the year. During the summer it becomes even better due to The Galleria Live Summer Concert Series.

Sexy French Lounge with Esperanto

Monday nights bring music ranging from swing bands to salsa bands to blues bands, complete with dance floor for the many dancers who swarm the courtyard.  Friday and Saturday nights bring classic Top 40,  dance bands, world music, jazz quartets,  R&B bands – in short this concert series never disappoints. The only outdoor, live music concert series in the San Fernando Valley, it has created a devoted following of dancers from all over the LA area who look forward every summer to dusting off their zoot-suits, fedoras, and dancing shoes and coming out to hear the unfailingly fabulous bands.

Produced by music booking agency Rossi Music, the bands are handpicked by the owners – both of whom are highly acclaimed musicians in their own right. (Rick Rossi is a Grammy Award winning saxophonist and has worked with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, and Brian Setzer)

Proving that great music has no age range, the Galleria Live Concert Series attracts people from every decade and demographic. A truly family friendly event, there is a dance floor (also known as the run around and jump in circles excitedly floor) specifically for children 7 and younger adjacent to the adult dance floor so that if you have tater-tots, you can both have an unhindered good time without worrying about who is underfoot. If all of this isn’t enough to convince you to hop in your car and head down for some amazing music, have I mentioned that it’s free?

Rick Rossi leads his crowd-pleasing R&B band

There is only one way to lose during the Galleria Live concert series, and that’s simply by missing out on the incredible smorgasbord of talented local musicians who, for three months every year, infuse the hot dusty Valley with the cool breeze of fabulous music. So, slap on your SPF 30 (or in my case SPF 75), take that sundress out of the closet, and get ready for a summer filled to the brim with sleepy days, long nights, and a calendar of great bands to see at the Sherman Oaks Galleria.

Blogged by singer/songwriter Arielle Dollinger