Every summer, cities across Sacramento, El Dorado, Yolo, and Placer counties put bands in parks and on closed streets. Most of these series are free, most are family-friendly, and many allow dogs. The music runs from rock and folk to country and jazz, and several add food trucks or a beer garden so the evening has a shape beyond the set list.
The trick is knowing which series fits the night you have. Here is how they break down.
THE SERIES THAT HAS BEEN RUNNING THE LONGEST
Concerts in the Park, Downtown Sacramento. This is the longest-running free concert series in the region, more than 30 years of Friday nights in Downtown Plaza Park from 6 to 9. It runs through June and books local and national touring acts across every genre. DJs play between bands, food trucks and wine and beer are on site, and the bars and restaurants nearby pick up the crowd afterward.
THE ONES BUILT AROUND A MARKET OR A MAIN STREET
Picnic in the Park, Davis. Part of the Davis Farmers’ Market and held every Wednesday from 4 to 8 through August. It keeps the market and adds live bands, food, and children’s activities. You buy from local vendors, spread out on the lawn, sip local wine and beer, and listen to folk, blues, rock, or jazz.
Downtown Tuesday Nights, Roseville. Every Tuesday from 5:30 to 9 through late July on Vernon Street in Downtown Roseville. Classic rock, country, funk, and R&B bands, plus food vendors and a classic car show. Children get bounce houses, splash zones, and a play area.
Rhythm on the River, West Sacramento. The last Thursday of each month through August, at Drakes: The Barn from 5:30 to 9. Bands run from rock and samba to reggae and dance. Food and drinks are available for purchase, and there is a family fun zone with activities for children.
THE ONES THAT COME WITH A LAWN AND A BLANKET
Twilight Concert Series, Historic Folsom. Every Thursday through the summer, 7:30 to 9:30, and free. Local bands play tribute sets and original songs. Come early for dinner on Sutter Street, or take food to the lawn and make it a picnic.
Summer Concert Series, Auburn. Free, under the oak trees at the Cooper Amphitheater in School Park Preserve. Monday evenings from 7 to 8:30 in early summer, with bluegrass, funk, rock, and world music. Bring a picnic and a low-back chair or a blanket.
Concerts in the Park, Fair Oaks. Village Park, from 7 to 9 on the second and fourth Thursdays of June and July, with a summer finale at Fair Oaks Park.
Live on the Boulevard, El Dorado Hills. Big tribute acts at the El Dorado Hills Town Center on Thursday evenings through the summer, with a different theme each night: a Latin night, a country night, an 80s dance party.
Concerts at the Carnegie, Woodland. On the front steps of the Woodland Library, with local bands across rock, jazz, African, and traditional Irish and Scottish music. Food and refreshments are available for purchase.
Hot Summer Nights, Elk Grove. At Laguna Town Hall on Friday nights in August, 6 to 9.
Folk on the Farm, Camino. At Delfino Farms in the Apple Hill region north of Placerville, on various dates through September. Folk, bluegrass, Americana, and singer-songwriters in a rustic setting, with farm-fresh food, estate-made cider, and local wine. Lawn seating means a blanket or a low-back chair, or you can reserve a table. This one is 21 and over, and no pets are allowed.
THE COMPARISON I REACH FOR, AND WHERE IT STOPS WORKING
I think of these nights as a block party that a whole city is invited to. The same casual feel, the same mix of ages, the same sense that you can wander in halfway through and still belong there.
Where it stops working is the part a block party never asks of you. A block party is on your street. These are not. You drive, you find parking, you carry your own chairs across a field, and you leave when the band stops rather than when you feel like going home.
WHAT TO WEIGH BEFORE YOU GO
Outdoor concerts are cheap or free and easy to enjoy. The trade-offs are the ordinary ones.
- Heat. A 6 p.m. start in July is still a hot evening. Shade is first come, first served, and often there is none.
- Seating. Lawn series assume you brought a blanket or a low-back chair. Some venues have nothing at all.
- Age rules. Folk on the Farm is 21 and over and does not allow pets. Check before you load the car.
- Parking and crowds. The downtown series draw the largest crowds. Arriving early is the whole strategy.
- End times. These run on a schedule, and the music stops when it stops.
If a series here made you curious about the town it happens in, the neighborhoods hub has the area guides. And if you are still working out where you want to be, the buying process page lays out the order things happen in.
Question for you: do you want to walk to your summer concerts or drive to them? That one answer narrows the map faster than almost anything else.
Adapted from Where to Catch an Outdoor Concert This Summer in the Greater Sacramento Region, originally published by Windermere Signature Properties at windermerecalocal.com.
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