Santa Monica Pier directors urged to recommend continuing Twilight Concerts series
Kevin Bronson on
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More than 30 speakers urged the Santa Monica Pier board of directors on Wednesday night to recommend continuing the Twilight Concert series, which has brought free shows to the beach city for 33 years.
The Pier’s board met to hear public comment on the series, which in recent years has sparked concerns in the community over crowd size, security and escalating costs. The next step is for the board to make a recommendation to the Santa Monica City Council.
The public input at Wednesday’s meeting came from both longtime Santa Monicans and new residents, along with interested parties and representatives of local businesses. With one notable exception — a representative of the group that owns the oceanfront properties Hotel Casa del Mar and Shutters on the Beach — most professed love for the series and the hope that both budget and public safety concerns could be allayed.
Some embraced the idea of moving Twilight Concerts to a bit later in the summer to reduce crowd size and to avoid busiest natural time for Pier crowds.
The series, co-presented by KCRW and booked by L.A. promoter Spaceland Presents, was scaled back to eight weeks from 10 in 2017. A member of the city’s arts commission, Phil Brock, has called for an end to the series, citing security concerns, and Santa Monica Councilman told Los Angeles Magazine this week, “It has come time to consider whether they remain responsibly appropriate.”
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