Summer nights in Long Beach: Concerts in the Park(ing lot)

This is the first in our “Summer Nights in Long Beach” series, where we highlight the many fun (and mostly free) ways to spend the summer; no road trip necessary.

Every summer for the last 14 or so years, select parking lots in Bixby Knolls kick out the cars and make room for leisure, lawn chairs and live music.

The Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA) kicked off another series of its summer Concerts in the Park(ing lot) on Monday, June 26 with local band King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns.

An aerial view of the filled Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea parking lot while King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns perform during the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

The beloved Concerts in the Park(ing lot) began over a decade ago as a saving grace for the local concert scene. Blair Cohn, executive director of the BKBIA said that the city scaled down the number of concerts in the park around 2009 due to budget cuts, which left a gap in ways for residents to enjoy live music.

Members of King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns, Pat Mullen on trumpet and Robbie Covacevich on saxophone, perform in the parking lot of Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea in Bixby Knolls during the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

A singer for King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns performs at the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series at Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Lance Jackson, frontman for King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns, looks over to his bandmates during the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series at Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

One pun and brainstorm session later, the BKBIA created Concerts in the Park(ing lot), and a monthly summer tradition was born.

“It’s a guaranteed good time,” Cohn said. “It’s unique. It’s on a Monday night. I think because in the last 15 years, we’ve done so much to connect with the neighborhood that people just respond to it.”

A woman yells out the “Bum Bum Bummm” of the horns in Neil Diamond’s song “Sweet Caroline,” performed by King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns at the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series at Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Families, friends and dogs filled the parking spaces in front of Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea with lawn chairs and coolers, but most attendees were out of their seats and busting dance moves for the duration of the concert.

Roughly 30 parking spots were taken over by the minimal set up, as King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns serenaded the crowd with a cocktail of popular R&B, funk, soul and rock song covers.

Logan (left) and Dylan Rivera dance together in the parking lot of Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea while King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns play for the crowd in Bixby Knolls during the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Wyatt Abell holds onto her dad Sean, while King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns perform at the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series at Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

A man holds his golden retriever while watching King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns play in the parking lot of Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea in Bixby Knolls during the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

The original concerts began in an auto garage parking lot near Dave’s Burgers. For the past couple of years, Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea has been hosting the first two months of shows while the August show travels to Long Beach’s SteelCraft.

Cohn said the parking lots made more sense for the business association since it encourages residents to get food, coffee, drinks, ice cream and more from nearby businesses before and during and after the concert. Especially on a Monday, Cohn said, it’s invaluable to the small businesses that provide dancing fuel for attendees.

“I look around and I see an absolute mix of the crowd in ages and the type of folks I mean, it’s a full rainbow of people,” Cohn said. “They’re all dancing, they’re all socializing with neighbors, they’re just hanging out. That’s the satisfaction right there. It’s just the sense of—the true sense of community.”

Lance Jackson, frontman for King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns, calls on the crowd to continue dancing during the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series at Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

An aerial view of people dancing in Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea parking lot while King Salmon and the Funk Yard Horns perform during the first of this year’s Concerts in the Park(ing lot) series on June 26, 2023. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

Blanco Y Negro will play at the Bixby Joe Coffee & Tea parking lot (4245 Atlantic Ave.) on Monday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m.

The following month, Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra will perform at the Howard CDM parking lot (3737 Long Beach Blvd.) on Monday, Aug. 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Residents will be treated to an extra Concert in the Park(ing lot) this year, as the association is working with district eight to add a second August show. More details will be released soon on the @BixbyKnolls Instagram page and on the Bixby Knolls website.