Grand Performances' Free Summer Concerts: Yuna & Aloe Blacc

One of the best things about L.A., besides the awesome year-round weather, is the free concerts. Every summer Grand Performances puts together a fantastic schedule of live performances and this year was no exception.  With the variety of genres scheduled for the summer, there was something for everyone.

California Plaza

The concerts are held outdoor in the California Plaza right in the heart of downtown L.A. With two levels of viewing area, there really is no bad seat in the house. The main stage is separated from the audience by a pond of water. They provide chairs neatly aligned at the lower level viewing with a section reserved for "VIP" and the rest is first come first served. But if you are a little more adventurous like me, you can bring folding chairs/blankets with coolers full of food and drinks, including alcohol, and make a fun evening picnic out of it with a date or group of friends.

Brought all the goods

On weekends, the concerts start at 8:00PM, entrance opens at 3:00PM and at 6:00PM they open the lower level seating. On this evening, me and my group of friends arrived at 4:00PM and got one of the best seats in the house on the second level, centered stage with no obstructed viewing.  With folding chairs in tow and our cooler full of snacks, food and bevvys, we set up our little area comfortably and played Cards Against Humanity, sipping wine and beer, while listening to tunes on our bluetooth speaker.

Cards Against Humanity will always kill time

Wine? Yes, please.

The hours flew by and before we knew it, the concert was starting. Yuna came out and performed first with her powerful voice filling every song she sang. Her mellow but funky music style was absolutely amazing. It's no wonder she has won numerous music awards in her home country of Malaysia.

Caught Yuna's sound check

We were then treated with a second performer, Aloe Blacc, a  soulful R&B singer born and raised in Orange County, California. He's best known for his vocals on Avicii's "Wake Me Up" as well as his single "I Need A Dollar".

Aloe Blacc putting on a great show

With a full house of audience, both performers put on one of the best shows I have ever seen. With the summer concert series at its end, I'm counting down the days until Grand Performances announces their schedule for next years' lineup.