Laguna Live! keeps the music going all year long
By MARRIE STONE
This story is a part of our Arts section. For more stories as well as our arts calendars, visit www.stunewslaguna.com/arts.
Summer concerts may be fading away, but the stage remains hot for Laguna Live! Their fall line-up ensures local audiences have plenty of opportunities to get up close and personal with world-renowned and nationally recognized musicians. Every month they’re bringing something new and wholly unique.
“When Cindy Pruitt started Laguna Beach Live!, she was trying to make Laguna as much a music town as it was an artist town. Now, 25 years on, Laguna Beach is very much a music town,” said Associate Producer Ava Burton. “Thanks to Cindy, Susan Davis – who did an incredible job with the music scene at the Festival of Arts – and the live stages at the Sawdust Festival, our town is full of live music. With that in mind, Laguna Beach Live! has to remain quite creative.”
Fortunately, with Burton and Pruitt at the helm, creative programming isn’t a problem. Their fall schedule proves the point. Laguna Live! is the only organization to offer regular chamber orchestra events in town, as well as free, weekly musical events for kids at the library. Here’s a sampling of what else is coming this fall.
The Greek Rebetiko Trio at Laguna Art Museum on September 7
Rebetiko is sometimes called the “Greek blues,” songs that carry the weight of hardship and resilience. The Greek Rebetiko Trio was born out of friendship and a shared desire to bring this soulful music to life in the United States.
“We first came together out of a need to connect with our Greek culture and heritage, or simply from feeling homesick, but soon realized there was something bigger at play – a connection across cultures and generations,” said Dimitris Mann, who founded the Greek Rebetiko Trio in 2014. “Taso and I have been on this journey together for 10 years. With the addition of our new singer, Anastasia Malliaras, the group has expanded its emotional range and broadened its cultural resonance even further.”
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Photos courtesy of Laguna Live!
The Greek Rebetiko Trio performs at the Laguna Art Museum on September 7
Based in Los Angeles, Mann plays the bouzouki and sings alongside Anastasia Malliaras and Taso Comanescu, who plays guitar. The band has performed more than 200 shows across the U.S., including prestigious folk gatherings like the Montana and Lowell Folk Festivals.
“We’re the only rebetiko band in history to have sold out performances at both a Western saloon and a sushi bar,” Mann said. “A reminder that this music seems to find a home wherever people gather.”
But LAM provides the perfect setting for the trio. “There’s a wonderful resonance in playing songs of memory and longing in a space surrounded by paintings and sculptures that carry their own stories. It feels a lot like a dialogue between the past and present, between sound and image,” Mann said.
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Not to mention Laguna Beach itself. “Perhaps it’s the sea air, perhaps it’s the openness of the audiences. We always feel welcomed when we perform here,” Mann said. “People lean in, they listen deeply, and in those moments, it feels less like a performance and more like a shared celebration. Rebetiko is essentially a bridge between worlds. It’s quite special when you realize that songs born in the ports of Greece find new life on the shores of Laguna.”
The concert takes place this Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. Tickets are free for LAM and Laguna Live! members, $14 for non-members. For tickets and additional information, click here.
Shadows and Strings: Melissa Hasin Quartet at The Rivian on October 30
There’s no better way to set the mood for Halloween than taking in Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror on the holiday’s eve. The 1922 silent German film was inspired by Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. In the film, a young man is summoned to a vampire’s distant castle by his employer as his innocent wife falls under the spell of a terrifying shadow in her dreams.
Eager to take advantage of the Rivian’s idyllic stage, Burton described her plan as “a bit mental.” But colleagues quickly endorsed the idea. What if they screened Nosferatu and hired live musicians to accompany it? “I even found a score for a string quartet, because the original Nosferatu is a symphony,” she said.
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Melissa Hasin’s String Quartet accompanies the scary screening of “Nosferatu” on October 30
Burton landed on Melissa Hasin, a virtuoso cellist known for her brilliant improvisation and cross-genre skills, who told Burton she would do her one better. What if they didn’t use the score, but improvised it live?
Hasin’s quartet – consisting of a cello (Hasin), two violins (Larry Greenfield and Mari Haig) and a guitar (Ed Kusby) – started performing together more than 10 years ago for various special events at Disneyland. They’ve also worked together in Pixar movies, symphony orchestras, choral ensembles and theatrical productions.
Hasin often enters recording sessions without music and crafts spontaneous scores. She has collaborated with music icons like Tori Amos, No Doubt, The Smithereens, Victoria Williams and Steve Wynn – most famously writing the string arrangements for No Doubt’s hit “Don’t Speak.”
“It’s freeing to be able to improvise versus having to adhere to written notes and/or following a conductor,” Hasin said. “The combination of instruments blending sounds together in a creative, spontaneous approach is thrilling for both audiences and musicians.”
Burton said the idea was born of their need to be creative. “What can we do next?” she asked herself. And then, excited by Hasin’s proposition, decided to run with it.
Burton describes the evening as “chilling visuals meet a fearless improvised string soundtrack – composed on the spot, played live and never the same twice.” You’ll experience the original horror movie with a killer new musical reimagining.
The event takes place on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). Due to the nature of the event, it is not recommended for audiences under the age of 13. For tickets and additional information, click here.
Generational Jive II at the Artists Theatre (LBHS) on November 18
In 2019, Laguna Live! debuted “Generational Jive,” which brought together professional musicians (who happened to be LBHS alumni) with current students for an unforgettable evening of cross-generational jazz. Six years later, they’re doing it again.
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Don’t miss the collaboration of some of Laguna’s legendary musicians and the LBHS Jazz Band on November 18
Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Billy Mohler currently tops the list of good gets for Laguna Live! The LBHS alumnus attended the 2019 event. A jazz bassist, Mohler has worked with Dolly Parton, Macy Gray, Lady Gaga, Nile Rogers, Sia, Awolnation, Mavis Staples, Kelly Clarkson, Steven Tyler, Jon Brion and a host of others. He studied with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and other luminaries at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz where he was chosen as one of only five students. Now, at age 50, he has plenty to teach up-and-coming jazz musicians.
“We’ll put all these different generations into a pot and stir it up,” said Steve Wood, noting that planning is still underway for November’s event. “We’re just not exactly sure of all the ingredients yet.”
Steve and Beth Wood are well-known stars around town. They’ll also perform on stage that night. “I really want to have an interchange between the older generation and the new generation,” Wood said. “Because most artists who are in it for the art (as opposed to commercial artists) want to have an artistic experience. That’s what Billy has been able to do. It takes a lot of nerve to dive into the deep end with no mask or snorkel. He’s that guy and he’s so much fun.”
The performance takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Artists Theatre, 625 Park Ave., Laguna Beach. Tickets are $20-$100.
Concerts are partially funded by the lodging establishments and the city of Laguna Beach.
Visit www.lagunalive.org for more information and tickets.
This story is a part of our Arts section. For more stories as well as our arts calendars, visit www.stunewslaguna.com/arts.
