Santa Maria has numerous parks that are more than welcome venues for a relaxing afternoon of lawn chair lounging and barbecue, but come summertime, the city’s Recreation and Parks Department supplements that already fantastic setting and climate with the sound of live music provided by the community’s favorite local groups.
The Concerts in the Park live music series features a different band each Sunday through August, offering a varied taste and style for each concert event. The remaining events all take place at Rotary Centennial Park—with the exception of the last show, which happens at Preisker Park—a nice, open venue for performances, explained Victor Valencia, band leader of Calo, a group that will perform at Concerts in the Park for the third year running on Aug. 2.
“It’s a nice area, it’s big, so a lot of people can kind of spread out, and it’s clean,” Valencia said. “It’s also more family oriented. People come out, and they want to enjoy an afternoon of music, bring their grub, more of a community thing, and it’s really a highlight for me as a musician.”
Valencia has performed with bands in Santa Maria ever since he was a teenager, and he remembers a time when you could find a dance party in Santa Maria every weekend. His group Calo included his two sons until recently—they’re both away for college—but still performs the Latin rock, jazz, R&B, and folk the group is locally revered for.
The band began playing outdoors as they got more requests to play weddings, and before they knew it, Valencia said, they were asked to play outdoor festivals like Concerts in the Park. Outdoor performances offer a vibe he doesn’t get at other venues, Valencia explained.
“It’s a perfect place to be, outdoors, there’s more freedom,” he said. “You’re not restricted either when you’re outdoors at a festival, you have the freedom to stretch, enjoy it, challenge yourself onstage, and be spontaneous.”
It’s also a chance to play a wider range of music, he said, especially since Concerts in the Park attracts a diverse audience of Santa Marians. Calo performs Latin rock and jazz, but doesn’t shy away from Spanish-language folk ballads, or maybe they might pull some Bob Marley out of their back pocket, Valencia said.
The family atmosphere at Concerts in the Park means a lot to Valencia as well. He originally performed concerts in Santa Maria at the Veterans Hall and other venues until the mid 1980s, he explained, but then played for a few decades primarily at church. It was when his sons became old enough to perform a few years ago that he formed Calo as a sort of family band.
Though his kids are off to school, Valencia still enjoys preparing and performing songs with current members Roy Reyes, Chris Welch, and Mike Almaguer. They like to focus on songs that can get several generations dancing or just inspire people with a positive message and a fun groove, which is perfect for the crowd at Concerts in the Park.
“What I want to show through the music is community, unity, peace, and love, I guess you could say,” he said. “A lot of songs that have to do with destruction and the dark side of life, we don’t do those; I just go for the songs that uplift the spirits of people.”
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 16-23, 2015.
