Swing City II is summer concert July 21

The Idyllwild Summer Concert Series (ISCS) will really get in full swing this week with a concert by “Mr. Summer Concert,” Ken Dahleen and His Big Band Staff. Each year they bring a special program; this year’s is dedicated to “140 Years of Broadway.” The Thursday, July 14, program at the Butterfield Amphitheater starts at 7 p.m. with no opening act.

This year’s series (see lineup listing on A2) is dedicated to the memory of Idyllwild’s departed “Gentleman in Chief” Doug Austin. Doug lives on in the hearts of all who remember his years of service to Idyllwild and his humble and entertaining way with a mic and a crowd at the ISCS.

Dahleen and his band have been entertaining crowds since 1989, and he is justifiably proud of his organization. Anyone who has ever tried to keep a trio or quartet together, and working, will appreciate the leadership necessary to keep 15 pieces on the same page. “We are all studio musicians. We all work together in different organizations and studios,” he said. “They’re first call guys all over the Southern California area. They take the calls at casinos to play for major stars. We’re expected to get it right the first time.”

The band carries on a great American musical tradition, and really takes audiences back in time. A big band needs arrangements or “charts” for all the tunes they play, and while these are sometimes commercially available, the best are often the property of bandleaders who commissioned them, or the arrangers themselves.

Dahleen’s library has over 34,000 charts, many drawn from original sources, including the collections of bandleaders across the country and across the decades.

ISCS began in 2000. Dahleen recounted a little history for the Crier: “In Idyllwild I noticed that other communities had summer concert series, but without a city government it wasn’t happening here … Back in the ’40s or ’50s they had concerts in the center of town, at the old Welch’s Carriage Inn. People would walk on footpaths from their cabins downtown.”

This vision of our predecessors ambling though the woods at twilight to hear music “downtown” on long-ago summer evenings inspired Dahleen to make it happen again. “Every year I thought, ‘We have to do this, we can do this,’ but then it would be too late, the opportunity was lost. Finally in 2000, I decided I had to pull the trigger. I got some community leaders together and floated my idea. Four of them said ,‘I’ll put some money in.’ I did, too. We had to go to the county to get their ‘blessing.’ They got behind it also. That first year was just four concerts. It was very popular. It’s grown from there. Who doesn’t like free concerts?”

Next week, July 21, the headliner will be Frank DiSalvo’s Swing City II, with guest vocalist Terri Olsen. Swing City II, an piece dance/show band, will bring songs from the ’60s and ’70s, with a tribute to Earth Wind and Fire, Chicago, and Blood Sweat and Tears. DiSalvo is an all-around musician at equal ease fronting his great Sinatra tribute band (12 years and counting at the Indian Wells Resort) or a straight-ahead rock and roll show, and has chops as a singer and guitarist.

Helping DiSalvo out with the high notes will be Olsen. A veteran of Broadway and the Palm Springs Follies, she is the featured vocalist with her band The Perfect Blend. Anyone who has caught her show at an exclusive night spot in the desert knows she puts everything she’s got into a song.

Next week’s opener will be Idyllwild’s own Toasted Clovers. The trio includes local legends John King and Steve D., as well as Sam Kesler on banjo and vocals. Kesler said they offer up “… a blend of Irish traditional tunes, drinking songs, toasts and session music paired with some truly rip-roarin’ solos, and toe-tappin’ tunes that will have the entire town singing, clinking glasses and dancing the night away.”

ISCS board member Pete Holzman added, “Even though these are free concerts, we do ask for donations, both from businesses and individuals … We pass the hat at the concerts and those that can contribute do so. So far, we have met our budgets every year, sometimes by the skin of our teeth.” This year’s budget is over $34,000, and the fundraising is just getting started. 2022 major contributors include: Mountain High Escrow, Bob and Gisela Stearns, Roland Gaebert, Phil Strong and Linda McCaughin, Doug and Pat Austin, Stephanie Yost and Steve Olson, residents of Idyllwild Trailer Park, Manny and Linda Rider, Kathy and Will Kleindienst, Donna McLain, Idyllwild Town Crier, Idyllwild Pizza Company and Idyllwild Rotary. Contributions also may be sent, checks payable to “Idyllwild Summer Concert Org,” to P.O. Box 1542, Idyllwild CA 92549-1542.

Remember that temperatures drop in the summer evening. Come prepared with an extra layer. Butterfield Amphitheater, 54201 Ridgeview Drive, access through the Idyllwild Community Center Playground Parking lot on Highway 243 just south of town. Bring chairs, food and drinks.