Santa Monica Pier board to discuss future of Twilight Concert Series

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Scene from 2016 Twilight Concerts at the Santa Monica Pier (Photo by Carl Pocket)
Scene from 2016 Twilight Concerts at the Santa Monica Pier (Photo by Carl Pocket)

The future of the popular Twilight Concerts series at the Santa Monica Pier will be discussed tonight at a special meeting of the Pier’s board of directors.

The seven-member board will convene at 6:30 p.m. at the Ken Edwards Center, 1527 4th St.

At issue is the scope — and perhaps the very existence — of the series, which draws thousands to the beach for Thursday night concerts. Last summer’s series, co-presented by KCRW, was scaled back to eight weeks from 10. In recent years, the series has attracted top talent, but in 2014, community worries over crowd size and control affected the tenor of the booking (which is handled by SoCal promoters Spaceland Presents) and resulted in the removal of the large video screens that allowed crowds to view the show from a distance.

Early this year, Phil Brock, a member of the city’s arts commission, called for an end to the series, citing security concerns. In an op-ed piece in the Santa Monica Mirror, he wrote: “Our Pier is a success by all measures. Unfortunately, the Twilight Dance Concerts are now a security burden to our city. They must be canceled and reimagined. Above all let’s remember that while we share our Pier with the world it must retain its local flavor.”

In light of that, the website Santa Monica Next had quoted Pier executive director Jay Farrand as saying: “There is no threat to this 32-year community tradition that I see. Every year we work with the city to smooth out logistics and keep costs under control. We are in the midst of the same discussions this year.” The story did detail the escalating costs surrounding the series.

That was in January.

Tonight’s meeting is open to the public.