Address: 10 Washington Street
Pricing: Free
Phone: (510) 645-9292
Hours: 12-2 p.m.
Parking:Free 2- and 4-hour parking nearby; paid lots
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Lunchtime Live!: Free Tuesday concerts all Summer at Jack London
Jul 10, 2010
Who wouldn’t want to listen to free live music during their lunch break? That’s the idea behind Lunchtime Live! at Jack London Square, which features two-hour concerts each Tuesday and Friday during the summer months. The outdoor concert stage is set up in the middle of the Square near the Waterfront Hotel and Scott’s Seafood Restaurant. Audience members can enjoy the warm weather on the lawn or at one of many tables set up by the fountain.
On Tuesday, July 6th, Orquesta D’Sol took the stage, playing upbeat Latin Jazz on the sax and keyboard as families danced in the grass. The audience was thin around noon, when the concert first started, and had you been there, you would have wondered why all the office workers in the surrounding buildings didn’t come out of their cubicles in droves for a bit of sunshine and music to brighten their workday. Around 1 p.m., the crowd thickened, congregating on the grass and enjoying their lunch in the fresh air.
Jack London Square (http://www.hellosanfrancisco.com/Articles/Attraction/2982/Jack_London_Square_An_Oakland_waterfront_landmark.Cfm) is the ideal location for such a concert series. Within walking distance from downtown Oakland and an easy stop from the Broadway Exit on the 880 freeway, it’s a cinch to get to and both paid and free parking are readily available.
With paths for walkers, joggers, and bicyclists along the waterfront, a self-guided walking tour highlighting facts about the history of the area throughout the Square, and a wide range of culinary treasures in the surrounding area, it’s a mystery why more visitors don’t take advantage of the free weekday event.
Upcoming performances in the Lunchtime Live! series include those by Joshua Cedar on July 16 and the Lee Waterman Trio on July 20. Subsequent acts include the Mestiza Trio, Fazz, Rafael Ramirez Trio, Pulama, Midlife Crisis, Girl Talk, and more, encompassing a wide range of world-class music.
HelloOakland Tip: Other summer events at Jack London Square include weekly farmers’ markets, a weekly Oakland artisan marketplace, free dance lessons on Friday nights through the Dancing Under the Stars series, and outdoor waterfront flicks on Thursday evenings.
- by Renee M. Rutledge, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro
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Renee M. RutledgeRenee M. Rutledge currently writes articles on local travel and culture for Red Tricycle, Parents' Press, Oakland Magazine, and Alameda Magazine.
