After three years away, Pasadena Symphony and POPS is bringing back its free Music Under the Stars concert on Saturday, June 4, at Pasadena City Hall’s Centennial Square. Presented with sponsorship support from Bank of America, Music Under the Stars will bring Pasadena’s premiere orchestra free to the community for one night only. This year’s concert will have the city “Dancin’ in the Streets” with popular favorites from West Side Story, Chicago, Hairspray, Greatest Showman, Pharrell Williams and more. Highlights include “All that Jazz,” “Big Spender,” “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” and “Happy” among other classics. 

The family fun will begin at 6:00 pm with picnicking, food trucks and the all-new Kids Korner, featuring free face painting, balloon animals and a musical instrument petting zoo, where kids of all ages can discover the wonder of creating their own music with the instruments of the orchestra. Families who arrive early will also be treated to a special performance by Bob Baker Marionette Theater at 7:00 pm.

The concert will start at 8 pm. The Music Under the Stars orchestra will be led by Resident POPS Conductor Larry Blank, who will welcome the Donald Brinegar Singers, JPL Chorus, and three guest vocalists to the stage. A Disney regular, the multi-Grammy® and Emmy®-winning Laura Dickinson’s voice has appeared on Sofia the First, both Frozen films, Elena of Avalor, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Mulan, as well as on Michael Bublé’s Nobody But Me album. A true triple-threat, Tony-nominated actor, singer and dancer Valarie Pettiford has appeared on Broadway and the West End in Fosse, West Side Story and Chicago among others and has numerous television credits under her belt including The Blacklist, Blackish, True Blood and Treme. To round out the pack, Matthew Johnson’s expert dancing will get the audience on their feet. Trained through Alvin Ailey and by his mentor Debbie Allen, Johnson has performed with the likes of Pharrell, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, Childish Gambino and Stevie Wonder.

Admission to this event is free, and you are encouraged to bring a picnic, blanket, and low-back chairs. Rental chairs will also be available at $5. For more information, visit PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or call 626.793.7172.

For parking, consider Plaza Las Fuentes structure (enter on Union and Los Robles Ave); the parking structure at 330 E. Union (between Euclid and Garfield); Paseo Colorado subterranean garage (entrances on Colorado and Green St.). Metered street parking is also available on nearby streets.

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