KCRW and the Annenberg Foundation’s third annual Sound in Focus concert series launched Saturday, July 25 to an overflowing courtyard of light, photography, performance, and music. Off-duty young professionals, hip music freaks, and stroller-toting families swarmed every space of the grassy lawn in Century Park for U.K. band Boxed In and headliners TV On The Radio.
The mass audience attending the area’s smalltime music festival on Saturday was undetectable from the nearly empty streets of Century City. The assembly adjacent to the Annenberg Space for Photography was a feast for eyes as a blanket, sweaters, or bodies occupied nearly every corner of the office park. If the opening night was a sign for the next three concerts to come, Sound in Focus has easily become one of L.A.’s premier music festivals. Surely the next events with De La Soul, Dwight Yoakum, and Cold War Kids will follow suit.
KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley hosted the evening and spun his trademark blend of electronica, folk, and R&B before one of his favorite new bands of the moment, Boxed In, opened the show to a captivated audience.
Boxed In provided an English air of coolness to the concert as golden hour approached. Producer/songwriter Oli Bayston, the mastermind behind the project, brought his mix of moody, cerebral dance pop to life with the help of drummer Liam Hutton, multi-instrumentalist Jack Benfield and Mark Nicholls on bass.
Wiggle room was tight as TV On The Radio began their nighttime set to a music-hungry audience. Singer and frontman Tunde Adebimpe opened the 14-song setlist with “Young Liars” and working toward the middle with “Wolf Like Me” before closing with “DLZ,” “Repetition,” and “Staring at the Sun.” The quartet hailing from Brooklyn lit up the courtyard with laser beams, smoke, and glowing orbs as light danced off the scintillating Century Towers.
Mothers were dancing with their babies as lovers were embracing each other. It was warmhearted music festival in the heart of an urban oasis, a summertime experience previously exclusively available during these four weeks.
The free, all-ages concert series was inspired by the “Emerging” exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography, which was open to concertgoers until 11 pm.
Organized in partnership with Photo District News (PDN), the award-winning publication for professional photographers, Emerging presents images by more than 90 emerging photographers from around the world who bring fresh perspectives and creative techniques to professional photography.
The exhibition explores how a new generation of photographers examines a variety of topics, from the personal to the global: youth culture, family, the environment, economic uncertainty, conflict and civil unrest, and the nature of the photographic image.
Though it was a night for music, many came just for the atmosphere. Friends and families brought blankets to lie, snack, or play Uno on. The beer and wine gardens filled up quickly, as did the lines for the eight food trucks on site. But everyone was there for a good time, and the mood was elevated and cheerful for the five hours or so people were on their feet.
The line-up continues Saturday, Aug. 1with De La Soul/Quantic, followed by Dwight Yoakham/X on Aug. 8, and ending with Cold War Kids/Other Lives Aug. 15.
KCRW’s site suggests standing in line at 4 pm, but if you’re not going to save a space on the lawn with a blanket, go when the music starts at 7 pm.
For more information, visit kcrw.com/events/sound-in-focus.
