On Sunday evening, Sierra Madre’s Memorial Park will trade its daytime quiet for the sound of the 1960s, as the band Smokin’ 60’s takes the Memorial Park Bandshell for the city’s Summer Concerts in the Park series. The performance is free, and the setting — a 3.5-acre park that has anchored the small foothill town since 1924 — invites the kind of unhurried summer evening that has become a fixture of the season.
The City of Sierra Madre Community Services Department runs the concerts every Sunday through early August, drawing families and longtime residents to the green in front of the historic bandshell. Guests are encouraged to bring picnic baskets, lawn chairs, blankets and, as organizers put it, dancing shoes. Alcohol is not permitted, and seating is first come on the grass.
Sunday’s set leans on the pop and rock hits of the 1960s, a program built for singalongs and easy dancing. The Rotary Club of Sierra Madre sponsors the evening, one of several community groups underwriting individual dates across the nine-concert season.
Memorial Park sits beside Sierra Madre City Hall, roughly five miles east of Pasadena — close enough that the drive takes only a few minutes on the 210 Freeway. That proximity has long made the series a draw for music lovers from neighboring communities seeking a low-key alternative to larger, ticketed shows.
The concerts run from 6 to 8 p.m., leaving time for a leisurely dinner on the lawn before the first downbeat. For families weighing how to spend a warm Sunday evening, the formula is uncomplicated: a free show, an open lawn and two hours of familiar music under the trees.
Summer Concerts in the Park featuring Smokin’ 60’s will run on Sunday, July 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Memorial Park Bandshell, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., in Sierra Madre. For more information, call (626) 355-5278. Admission is free.
