Segerstrom Center For The Arts Launches Summer Sounds Concert Series

Enjoy warmer weather and feel-good music at Summer Sounds, a casual and welcoming series of sunset concerts reflecting the global communities and diverse musical influences found in Southern California including Latin, pop/rock, R&B, hip-hop, and more. Grab your beach chairs and picnic blankets, then join in on the fun with friends and family at this outdoor concert series!

• Artist: J. Mike and Friends
• Date: Friday, June 18, 2021
• Time: 7:00 - 9:00PM, Plaza opens at 6:00PM

J.Michael O'Neal is a Los-Angeles based pianist whose sound traverses jazz, pop, and gospel with a fresh approach that blends intricate harmonies with urban-rhythmic undercurrents. His music can best be described as soulfully authentic, passionate, and imaginative. His unique talent has given him the opportunity to work with artists like James Ingram, Melissa Manchester, Jon Gibson, Tyrone Wells, Peabo Bryson, Cece Winans, and Brian Duncan. His conceptual groove stirs listeners to reimagine music, bridging the genre gap and fusing together diverse musical elements to create unique sounds in the music industry.

• Artist: Upstream Music
• Date: Friday, June 25, 2021
• Time: 7:00 - 8:30PM, Plaza opens at 6:00PM

Upstream spreads their message of love and positivity through their exhilarating Caribbean music, from reggae and calypso to soca and steel drum. Through the years, they have mesmerized audiences throughout the world and have brought many to kneel at their altar of ultimate enjoyment. With a multi-talented lineup of some of the most experienced and enlightened musicians in their camp, they continue to spread joy to an unsuspecting public. Bandleader and lead singer/guitarist Haile Blackman is originally from The Republic of Trinidad & Tobago and is the son of the legendary creator of soca music, the late Ras Shorty I. Steel drum extraordinaire Derek Brewstafari is also a Trinidad and Tobago native and will tug at your heartstrings with his melodic steel drum tones. Upstream currently has six CDs available: "Upstream", self-titled CD release in 1995, "Life" released in 2000, "Jump to the Rhythm" in 2001, "To Da Maxx" and "Pick Up Yourself" in 2007, and most recently "21st Century -Live" in 2013.

• Artist: Very Be Careful & DJ King Steady Beat
• Date: Friday, July 16, 2021
• Time: 6:30 - 8:30PM, Plaza opens at 5:30PM

A Caribbean soul and a California heart have sustained two decades of ceaseless romp-downs and raucous times for L.A.'s vallenato veteranos, Very Be Careful, inciting thousands to boogie to the Colombian coastal beat. From the debaucherous streets of Austin's SXSW, Germany's World Cup Tour '06, L.A.'s Sunset Junction Street Fair; to the cultural pinnacles of Chicago's Summer Dance Series, New York's Central Park Summerstage, L.A.s' Grand Performances & Levitt Pavilion, London's Hammersmith Apollo; colossal concerts including L.A. Sports Arena Cumbia Fest, Glastonbury Music Festival & Bestival UK, Fuji Rock Festival & Asagiri Jam Japan; clubs and hubs from N.Y.'s SOBs, to L.A.'s HOBs and backyard BBQs, Very Be Careful has tamed the beasts within or unleashed the ones without, helping to popularize the beauty of the 1950s-1970s sound of Colombian vallenato and cumbia. Pumped at the clubs across the Americas and ripped in cyberspace and airwaves around the world, Very Be Careful forges ahead, bringing together people from around the globe who know early roots sounds and a stripped-down parranda are the fiercest and funniest way to party.

Before Very Be Careful takes the stage, celebrate Colombian Independence Day with DJ King Steady Beat from 6:30 - 7:30PM, spinning cumbia, salsa, champeta, porro, and other Colombian rhythms on vinyl for a rootsy, old school, Colombian-Caribbean party!

• Artist: Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles
• Date: Friday, July 23, 2021
• Time: 8:00 - 9:30PM, Plaza opens at 7:00PM

Led by director Carlos Samaniego, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles treats audiences to the highest level of musicality in mariachi and Mexican folklore. Billed as the world's first mariachi band comprised entirely of LGBTQ musicians, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles is proud to have Natalia Melendez, the first transgender woman in the history of mariachi, as one of its members. Natalia has been featured in a two-part special for Univision news, which depicts her life and struggles as a transgender woman in the mariachi world. Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles has been invited to play for Univision's morning news on multiple occasions, including a performance on LAnzate. With a passion for representing the LGBTQ community, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles has also performed for Los Angeles and Long Beach Pride, Transgender Pride at the LGBT Center in Los Angeles, South Bay Pride, Oceanside Pride, The Abbey, Club Tempo, Hamburger Mary's, and as part of the #SchoolsNotPrisons tour for the California Endowment.

• Artist: Dengue Fever
• Date: Friday, July 30, 2021
• Time: 7:00 - 8:30PM, Plaza opens at 6:00PM

The roots of Dengue Fever began in the late 1990s with a six-month trek through Southeast Asia. Returning to Los Angeles with a suitcase crammed full of Cambodian cassette tapes, keyboardist Ethan Holtzman reunited with his brother Zac, who had discovered the same music while working at a record store in San Francisco. Bonded over their love of vintage Cambodian rock, the brothers founded Dengue Fever in 2002 with saxophonist David Ralicke (Beck/Brazzaville), drummer Paul Dreux Smith, and bassist Senon Williams (Radar Brothers). Their search for the ideal chanteuse to complete their outfit led them to a Cambodian nightclub in Long Beach, CA, where after a short period of musical courtship, Chhom Nimol joined the band when she realized the guys shared a genuine passion for the music and culture of her homeland. That passion is a cross-pollination of Khmer rock, garage rock, psychedelic rock, and the British Invasion sound that has pushed the band to heights they could only dream of. With band profiles in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Mojo, Uncut, Magnet, Wired, NPR's "Fresh Air", Radio Australia, KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" and World Café Live, Dengue Fever electrifies stages around the world, breaking down musical barriers along the way!

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