Culver City’s Boulevard Music Summer Festival with the Tony Furtado Band

Summer breezes… an intimate courtyard… free parking… and great music. Escape to Culver City for the 2018 Culver City’s Boulevard Music Summer Festival. Boulevard Music presents 6 free concerts on Thursday evenings at 7 pm from July 12 through August 16 in the palm-lined Dale Jones Courtyard of Culver City City Hall. Also become an entry level sponsor by purchasing one of the 100 premium reserved seats at $10 each per show available at Boulevard Music starting June 20. Tickets may be purchased at Boulevard Music in person or over the phone and probably will not be available online.

Tonight we feature the Tony Furtado Band featuring Luke Price on Fiddle, Rick Moors on bass, and Mike Tempo on percussion.

Very few musicians of any stripe so personify a musical genre as completely as Tony Furtado embodies Americana roots music. Tony is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef (he’s also an accomplished sculptor, but that’s another story). All of the music of America is in Tony’s music. Relix hit the nail on the head when writing of Tony: “True talent doesn’t need categories.”
A native of Pleasanton, California, who now makes his home in Portland, Oregon, Tony Furtado took up the banjo at age 12, inspired by the Beverly Hillbillies TV show and a sixth grade music report. He first attracted national attention in 1987, when he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Not long after that, Tony opted for the life of a full-time professional musician, joining Laurie Lewis & Grant Street. A second victory at Winfield, in 1991, bookended his years with Grant Street.
In 1990, Tony signed a recording deal with Rounder Records, one of the country’s preeminent independent record companies. Beginning with Swamped in 1990, he recorded six critically acclaimed albums for the label, collaborating with such master musicians as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall. During this period, Tony also performed and recorded with the band Sugarbeat and the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza with Tony Trischka and Tom Adams.
Beginning in the late 1990s—influenced by such musical heroes as Ry Cooder, David Lindley and Taj Mahal—Tony added slide guitar, singing and songwriting to his musical toolbox and began leading his own band. He is a tireless road musician who performs in a dizzying variety of formats: solo, in a duo or trio or with his full five-person band. He especially values the opportunities he has had to tour with such legendary musicians as Gregg Allman and with such esteemed slide guitarists as David Lindley, Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth.
Plus Special Guest Luke Price
Luke Price is a talented young multi-instrumentalist known for his great balance of taste, rhythm, and technical ability. He is known for pushing genres, styles, and fellow musicians into new territory while delicately respecting the great musical traditions that have come before.
At the young age of seven, Luke began competing in fiddle contests and quickly made a name for himself winning the National Title at ages 12 and 17, along with a long list of awards from contests all across the country, including The Fiddlers Frolics and the Grand Masters. In 2014, he became the National Old-Time Fiddling Grand Champion.
At the young age of 15, he began teaching private lessons. While continuing to carry on the Texas fiddling and contest traditions, Luke began to expand his playing to many other styles, namely; jazz, soul, blues, funk, bluegrass, and pop.
After completing his B.A. in Professional Music at the esteemed Berklee College of Music, he moved to Portland, OR, where he continues to record and perform his original music with his Old Soul Pop band, Dean! He has performed and collaborated with a host of other musicians including: Tony Furtado, Scott Law, Jesse Harper, Sam Grisman, Jack Dwyer, Love Canon, Tristan and Tashina Clarridge, and many more…
Now, he continues to teach privately, while also teaching at Lewis & Clark College. Luke is passionate about passing on the Old fiddling traditions, and also creating new music measured with taste, technical control, and joy.

Avoid the crowds and parking hassles of other areas on the Westside. Parking is free for one hour (2 hours with festival validation) in designated structures in downtown Culver City, and dozens of dining options are available within walking distance. Culver City’s downtown area is Southern California’s best-kept secret, featuring a wonderful mix of historic buildings, boutiques, theaters, galleries, and unique restaurants opening onto tree-lined streets.

The Dale Jones City Hall Courtyard is located at 9770 Culver Blvd. in Downtown Culver City (corner Culver Blvd. and Duquesne Ave.). The courtyard opens at 4:30 pm. No glass containers or alcoholic beverages may be brought into City Hall Courtyard. For more information, call Boulevard Music.

Culver City’s Boulevard Music Festival is sponsored by The City of Culver City, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Boulevard Music, Culver Studios, Palm Court, Michael Morabito—Compass, John Riordan Plumbing, Culver City Volvo & Mazda, Maxam Properties, Swiss Motors, Sorrento Market, D & E Associates, Mateo’s Ice Cream, Cavanaugh Realty, Dolce Realtors, Marriott Hotel, Michael Kayem Remax, Hillside Memorial Park, LaRocco’s, Music Munchers, Culver Hotel, Dynagraphics, Culver City News, Culver City Observer, Steeldeck Inc, Eastman Guitars, Kremona USA, Ohana Ukuleles, and Ernie Ball.