SeeCalifornia.com

If you have any doubts that California is the leader in great music production, stick around this summer to see it first-hand. You can travel the globe and hear great music or even attend Palo Alto’s World Music Day this weekend, but nothing can rock you like Santa Cruz Free Concerts ON THE BEACH with rock’s classics and favorites.

Each year I go through a ritual of looking up the summer concert line-ups in California. I check out over 150 cities, large & small, and I make lists of who’s performing where, for you to see. This year I thought L.A. had the it all sewn up with the best free performances.

Los Angeles Free Summer Concerts in the City acts include: The Bangles, Berlin, John Waite and the Fixx. But I hadn’t gotten to “S” in the alphabet till today when I saw the Santa Cruz Free Concerts on the Beach. Among the performers this summer 2012 appearing in 2 shows each Friday night you can see the same acts that appear in L.A. — Berlin, John Waite, and The Fixx– but that’s just the START! Also appearing free ON THE BEACH in Santa Cruz are: Blue Oyster Cult, The Tubes, Warrant, Eddie Money, Modern English, Flock of Seagulls, Great White, Papa Doo Run Run, and Santana original lead singer, Gregg Rollie (Black Magic Woman). Free!

If you can go just one place this summer for free concerts, pick Santa Cruz & the beach. Otherwise, stay home and you’ll be able to listen to cover bands and tribute bands at local parks. That’s not a bad thing at all!  California’s got talent.