SCVNews.com | Opinion/Commentary: ABCs of the SCV: J is for Jammin’

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1907 - Mark T. Gates Sr., founder of Eternal Valley Cemetery, born in Nebraska [story]

ABCs of the SCV: J is for Jammin’

The Good Long Road | Commentary by Jennifer Fischer

Jennifer Fischer | Saturday, Mar 16, 2013

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I hope you have been enjoying my spin on the ABCs of the Santa Clarita Valley with Animals, Bicycle Trails, Central Park, Drums, Education, Family Dinner, Golf, Hiking and Imagination. For J – here we are getting a bit funky – J is for Jammin’. It’s all about live music in the Santa Clarita Valley to get your family movin’ and groovin’.

In Santa Clarita, we are lucky that there are often many free live performances held throughout the year for music lovers. Coming up just next week, a very special live music treat is coming up at SENSES on Main as Vaud and the Villains, a 19-piece, 1930s-style New Orleans orchestra and cabaret show, comes to Old Town Newhall on Thursday night, March 21.

With echoes of Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Session Band, they are Americana Noir meets Moulin Rouge. A genre-bending spectacle – at once seedy and inspiring, gritty and sublime – this is a free performance you will not want to miss. Get a babysitter or leave the kids with dad and have a night out with the girls for a guaranteed good time. (Or dads, maybe you will be able to convince mom to stay home. Like I said, just get a babysitter).

Of course, another major event that people from all over the country come to for the music (and other Western elements) is the Cowboy Festival coming up April 18-21 at the Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio in Placerita Canyon. A couple of major musical acts to look out for include the Hot Club of Cowtown with performances on Saturday and Sunday, and the Haunted Windchimes with five performances throughout the weekend. You can find the full line up and get tickets at cowboyfestival.org – and you can preview the Haunted Windchimes on SCVTV [here].

Also in April, CalArts has some great free performances available including the CalArts Jazz Big Band performance April 13 at 5 p.m. and African Dancing and Drumming on April 27 at 7 p.m., which I think my boys would especially love. Both are free as part of the Wild Beast Concert Series at the California Institute for the Arts.

With summer right around the corner, too, even more free music performance opportunities await us with the Valencia Jazz and Blues Concert Series, which kicks off June 10 and runs every Friday from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. through Aug. 26 at the Valencia Town Center.

The other major live music event in Santa Clarita in the summers is, of course, the city of Santa Clarita’s Concerts in the Park Series at Central Park, which is a hugely popular event. The lineup for this summer will be announced next week. The first concert is July 6 and the final one is Aug. 3.

Sometimes we get out the toy drum and guitar and just have our own jam session or put on some music and get jammin’ right at home. My boys LOVE to dance.

As always, thanks for joining me. Please pop over to The Good Long Road on Facebook to tell me what gets you moving and grooving in Santa Clarita. Also, leave me ideas for K! I need them.

Jennifer Fischer is co-founder of the SCV Film Festival, a mom of two, an independent filmmaker and owner of Think Ten Media Group, whose Generation Arts division offers programs for SCV youth. She writes about her parenting journey on her blog, The Good Long Road. Her commentary is published Saturdays on SCVNews.com.

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