SUNSET CONCERTS
Thursday evenings, July 21–August 25, 2022, at 8:00 pm
From beloved Sunset Concerts alumni to up-and-coming international performers, this season offers artistry and storytelling that harnesses music’s unique power to bring communities together, forge cultural bonds, and move hearts and minds. Visit Skirball for more info.
Visitors are encouraged to arrive early to eat, drink, shop, and enjoy complimentary admission to the exhibitions, beginning at 6:30 pm. Currently on view are the exhibitions “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli and Talking Back to Power: Projects by Aram Han Sifuentes. Both exhibitions are on view through September 4 and will remain open on Sunset Concerts evenings until 10pm.
L.A.’s Skirball Cultural Center has the lineup for its twenty-fifth anniversary season of the free series Sunset Concerts (an RSVP is required). This year marks a return to the full six-concert schedule and will feature both path-makers and bridge-builders from around the globe and here in Los Angeles. Presented since 1997 in the Skirball’s idyllic hillside courtyard, Sunset Concerts draws music fans of all ages from across greater L.A. and beyond.
The 2022 Sunset Concerts schedule is as follows: Mamak Khadem (July 21); Rocky Dawuni (July 28); Nefesh Mountain (August 4); Booker T. Jones (August 11); ADG7 (August 18); and Son Rompe Pera (August 25).
MAMAK KHADEM
Thursday, July 21, 8:00 pm (doors at 6:30 pm)
“A seeker of truth, beauty and peace through music.” —LA Weekly
The Skirball welcomes back Iranian American singer Mamak Khadem to kick off the twenty-fifth Sunset Concerts season. Khadem’s striking blend of classical Persian style and diverse contemporary influences traverses musical traditions from Iran to Eastern Europe to the Mediterranean in search of shared humanity. Concertgoers have the opportunity to attend an intimate pre-concert presentation from 6:45 to 7:15 pm with Khadem herself, Rumi scholar and author Omid Arabian, and celebrated Iranian filmmaker Sam Javadi, who directed three music videos from Khadem’s new album, Remembrance.
ROCKY DAWUNI
Thursday, July 28, 8:00 pm (doors at 6:30 pm)
“Dawuni spreads positivity through his music and actions.” —KCRW
Musician and activist Rocky Dawuni—who calls both Los Angeles and Ghana home—has become a local favorite for his infectious, feel-good reggae tunes and globe-spanning “Afro roots” sound. Dawuni has shared stages with Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, and John Legend, and in 2022 he received a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album. Through his music and advocacy, he fights for climate justice, champions social causes, and unites generations and cultures.
NEFESH MOUNTAIN
Thursday, August 4, 8:00 pm (doors at 6:30 pm)
“Nefesh Mountain preach peace, understanding, and acceptance with musical muscle.” —Rolling Stone
Through klezmer melodies and Hebrew refrains, the boundary-pushing bluegrass Americana band Nefesh Mountain shares the beauty of Jewish culture with the world. Their most recent album, Songs for the Sparrows, was inspired by a life-changing trip to Poland and Ukraine, where band leaders Doni Zasloff and Eric Lindberg’s families emigrated from. Exploring a range of experiences from an Eastern European Jewish perspective, Nefesh Mountain uses music to tell stories of humanity with what has been called “old soul wisdom.”
BOOKER T. JONES
Thursday, August 11, 8:00 pm (doors at 6:30 pm)
“One of the legends of soul music.” —The New Yorker
Groundbreaking soul and R&B artist Booker T. Jones occupies an important place in the history of American music. At seventeen, he fronted the seminal Memphis soul band Booker T. and the M.G.’s—a rare integrated group of musicians that served as the house band for Stax Records, working with the likes of Otis Redding, Bill Withers, and Wilson Pickett. Jones will lead the audience through a “Stax Revue” of iconic songs at the Skirball that illuminate an extraordinary career spanning almost sixty years.
ADG7
Thursday, August 18, 8:00 pm (doors at 6:30 pm)
“WOW … A most astonishing show musically and immensely entertaining.”—NPR Music
Impressing audiences with their “candy-colored costumes and bouncy, upbeat, often swinging songs” (New York Times), South Korea–based ensemble ADG7 connects shamanic ritual music and beloved folk songs of the Hwanghae region to the contemporary sounds and influences of pop. In 2020, ADG7 was a featured artist in the Skirball’s virtual concert series, Skirball Stages, which can be viewed on the Skirball’s YouTube channel. As part of this very special evening, the Skirball is pleased to welcome the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, along with Skirball exhibiting artist Aram Han Sifuentes, who will perform with the Korean American drumming group Woori Sori.
SON ROMPE PERA
Thursday, August 25, 8:00 pm (doors at 6:30 pm)
“Mexico’s finest psychobilly marimberos” —Remezcla
Founding Son Rompe Pera members Kacho, Kilos, and Mongo Gama add their own grunge and rock sensibility to the marimba they first played alongside their father while growing up in the deep outskirts of Mexico City. While firmly rooted in the tradition of this historic instrument, the Gama siblings bring a punk-rock edge to classic cumbia rhythms. “Cumbia is like punk,” Mongo Gama explains. “It’s barrio, it’s of the working class, it’s of the people who have dreams.”
2022 SUNSET CONCERTS
Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. in L.A.
(310) 440-4500 • skirball.org
All concerts begin at 8:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm. FREE admission
Reservations
Parking: $20; $15 advance; $5 for Skirball members (prepaid online)
Street parking is strictly prohibited.
Or take Metro Rapid 761/233
In honor of “I’ll Have What She’s Having”: The Jewish Deli, special menu items including hot pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, rugelach, and black and white cookies will be available for purchase, along with a full bar, until 8:00 pm in the Founders Courtyard. Bar service and light snacks will also be available in the Taper Courtyard, where the concerts take place, until 10:00 pm. Guests may bring their own food, but no outside alcoholic beverages or chairs are permitted.
Audrey’s Museum Store will be open until 8:00 pm, offering merchandise inspired by the Skirball’s mission, values, and programming.
