Where to Go on Friday Nights in Carlsbad This Summer

There are playlists for every season of the year. Music defines history and marks important eras. It provides a backdrop for life’s big moments, little moments, and everything in between. Creating mixtapes in the 90’s, burning CDs for friends in the 2000s, and compiling playlists for iTunes have all been ways to personalize music to our everyday lives. Summertime is one the best times to incorporate music into vacations, pool days, evenings on the porch, and weekend barbeques. A day on the beach with a Bluetooth speaker is a day for the memory books. The City of Carlsbad has embraced music as a way to draw the community together and give neighbors a relaxing way to welcome the weekend. As summer rolls around each year, the City of Carlsbad puts on TGIF Concerts in the Park. These concerts are a great way to get outside and enjoy the long summer nights with live music performances, food, and fun.

The City has been hosting these live music events throughout the city for over 30 years. In the beginning, it was called Jazz in the Parks. Over the course of 25 years, the series has evolved and expanded, welcoming hundreds of bands and thousands of audience members. In the early years, Jazz in the Parks rotated locations regularly and was complemented by simple floor boards and minimal lighting. Now, the four largest parks in the city have become home to the summer music series. Stagecoach, Poinsettia, Calavera Hills and Alga Norte community parks each host a set of Fridays throughout the season. With more and more music lovers becoming interested in the Friday concerts, the music selection has grown from jazz to all different sorts of different genres. Now, soul, funk, and surf rock are all part of the lineup.

From late June through mid-August, the concerts are lined up at each of the open-air venues. Guests can spread out with a blanket, dance, and take part in all of the other offerings available at the park. There is a new band featured every weekend. The venues open at 4 p.m. and events get underway at 5 p.m. Bands go on from 6-8 p.m., which allows commuters plenty of time to get home from work before the festivities. All shows are outdoors and 100% free to attend.

Music is just the beginning of the Friday fun at each concert. Family Open Studios is at every event with hands-on art projects for the whole family. Food vendors are there to fill your stomach and complement the music. Bread and cheese, paella, burgers, pasta, pizza and tapas are all on the menu. There is on-site parking for audience members at each venue. If parking gets full, there are walkable options and shuttles so that people can get in and out with ease.

This year, there is one concert left at Stagecoach. Sully and the Souljahs will be performing the day after Independence Day. The Grammy award winning band will bring a touch of R&B, funk, soul and reggae to the park. After that, the Friday series will move to Poinsettia Park with bands like Pop Vinyl, and Urban Renewal Project. In August, the party moves to Calavera Hills Community Park with Rumba Y Soul and Unsteady. Alga Norte Community Park will round out the summer with Gene Evaro Jr., and 80z All Stars and Cassie B’s 90z Remix.

Grab a chair and your dancing shoes and don’t miss the TGIF Concerts in the Park this summer!