For Malibu music fans of all stripes, it will be a blast from the past as The Moody Blues take center stage on opening night at the Hollywood Bowl.
The buzz over the Blues has been non-stop, signaling even more unforgettable events to come.
As usual, the longtime venue serves appetizing entrees for every musical taste.
The Blues, who have made songs like “Tuesday Afternoon” part of American pop culture, will headline the annual hall of fame.
Switching gears, the bowl gets down with a Caribbean beat and will feature Reggae Night XVI with Ziggy Marley plus the orchestra and specials.
For family night, the hills are alive and it’s doe-a-deer — voices will be raised for the “Sound of Music” sing-along.
For ‘70s’ styles, you can go back in time with Queen and Adam Lambert, and you’ll find yourself raging to “Another One Bites the Dust” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” before you know it.
The very next day, we switch the radio dial to Mariachi Fest USA,… Olé!
Next comes the bomb — a Fourth of July Fireworks spectacular spend out into three days from July 2-4.
The bowl has offerings from every decade and they didn’t even leave out the ‘80s. For a little grunge, you can check out Blondie and Garbage.
Next up, a classical gas featuring the philharmonic’s beloved conductor Gustavo Dudamel (“The Dude”) and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on July 13. The very next night, they mix it up with The Dude joining the legendary Tony Bennett.
So, break out those picnic baskets and get ready for another great season at the bowl.
ROCK LOVE
Music can make a parent glow with pride or it can frustrate them out of their wits. I must admit, I fell into the latter category when it was all about glam rock.
Much to my horror now, my best friend Gina Epps and I used to stuff our beds, don our colorful feather boas, floppy hats, shiny bangles and sky high platforms, and would sneak out the back door to hit the town.
Then, we’d walk up to the bus stop on Sunset and Alta and take the 76 eastbound deep into Hollywood at the midnight hour.
Sitting on the bus in all our BoHo finery, we made our way to the only place to see and be seen — Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco.
He was called “The Mayor of the Sunset Strip” and you never knew who would be there. Bowie? Blondie? Lou Reed?
You might say Rodney put the glam into glam rock, and we were all for it.
In recent years, Rods been around with his “Rodney on the Roq” show, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. CBS decided it was time for Rod to retire his satin jacket and sticky fingers tee.
He may be off the radio waves, but don’t expect this rock and roll survivor to fade away. There is talk of a coffee table book, a Christmas collection and TV. No matter what, he brought some of the biggest original acts of glam rock and some of the best music in decades — music my daughter listens to today.
Rod, your flamboyant showmanship will always live in our hearts and, as your friend David Bowie once put it: “Time may change me but I can’t trace time.”