Music, art, food and fun straight ahead as South Pasadena prepares for a very warm 13th Annual Eclectic Music Festival and Arts Crawl, set to blare forth Saturday, April 29. The free, family-friendly festival will host over 75 musical acts, an Artisans’ Alley, a vintage flea market, interactive art activities, a children’s activity zone, beer gardens, food trucks, and special activities at area merchants.
The festival promises to be a celebration of music, art, and commerce, with South Pasadena’s shops, galleries, and eateries treating visitors to pop-up galleries and special performances throughout the day.
It’s all to honor South Pasadena’s 135th birthday, and the city has invited South Pasadenans (and those from other locales) to celebrate its birthday beginning at 3 pm at the City Hall courtyard with a cake cutting at 3:30 pm.
The Artisan’s Alley, a curated marketplace with 80 vendors offering unique and hand-crafted items, and the South Pas Vintage Village, featuring 25 vintage vendors, will give Eclectic attendees more to explore while taking in the music.
The festival will feature an impressive lineup of musical acts on multiple stages, including the Gold Line Stage, the Jeweled Universe stage, and the SOPA Studio Patio. The headliner for the Gold Line Stage is Davina and The Vagabonds, a bluesy, jazzy band led by the fierce and sassy Davina Sowers. With a new spin on an old sound, they have created quite a stir on the international music scene with their high-energy shows. Sowers has been called a unique mélange of Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, and Betty Boop, but all agree she is a true original. The group’s focused, clean sound and emphasis on acoustic instruments is novel to both blues and jazz worlds, and sets the show closer to New Orleans than to Chicago.
For fans of classical music, Calvary Church is offering an impressive lineup from 4 pm – 6:45 beginning with Arroyo Seco String Trio led by Armen Ksajikian, the asocial principal cellist for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Joining him is Miriam Hartman, the principal violist of the Pasadena Community Orchestra, and Peter Chang on violin. Other acts include Soprano Alaysha Fox with pianist Catherine Miller and baritone Daniel Radmacher with violinist Andrea Wang and pianist Courtney Duncan.
The Jeweled Universe stage will offer an early start to the festivities with Peg Leg Love taking to the stage at 1 pm. The rest of the dynamic and diverse lineup includes Corrina Carter, JNJ Band, Jakl, Lorin Hart, Andy Kimbel, David Haerle & Edendale, Alarma, and Flamenco Souls, who will close out the evening at 9 pm with some Latin-infused Jazz dance featuring Latin Jazz, Salsa, and Cumbia hits.
Some local favorites will be at the SOPA Studio Patio, including Joe Davis and Lynn Clark at 3:45 and Sophie Reynolds at 5:15.
