Set against the peaceful waves of the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica Pier bustled heavily with tourists and locals alike on Saturday evening. As the sun began to set, a crowd patiently waited for Magic!, Rita Ora and Iggy Azalea in Pandora’s “Pandora Summer Crush,” in front of the iconic yellow Ferris wheel. Magic! Canadian […]
Author Archives: Gail Acosta
Sam Boshnack Quintet to make LA debut in JazzPOP series
A quick glimpse of the Sam Boshnack Quintet might reveal a typical jazz band complete with trumpet, clarinet, piano, drums and bass. But the band incorporates more than just traditional jazz music: They also string together influences from around the world, anything from salsa to Balkan music, into the pieces they play. “You might listen […]
UCLA alum’s film score for ‘America’ seeks to evoke emotion
Bryan E. Miller spent the summers of his childhood building houses in 100-degree weather with his father in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With an itch to escape the blistering heat, the UCLA alumnus said he dreamed of working elsewhere, particularly in an environment where he could express his passion for music. Now working in his own […]
Spring Sing Profile: Nessa Rica
Nessa Rica Ramos remembers the very first time she sang in front of an audience. She was in church, sharing the stage with her two brothers and singing Fred Hammond’s “This Is the Day.” Frightened by the watchful crowd, the 4-year-old bolted off stage and cried. But 19 years later, the fourth-year geography student said […]
Album Review: ‘Sheezus’
Five years after her last record “It’s Not Me, It’s You,” Lily Allen offers her listeners new music with her usual sassy lyrics and British accent. In her audaciously named new album “Sheezus,” Allen seeks to become the female equivalent to Kanye West’s “Yeezus” in the realm of pop music and demands that her presence […]
H&M Loves Music’s college tour kicks off at UCLA
Nineties hip-hop blared as fashionistas and music lovers congregated at the intersection of Westwood’s Broxton and Le Conte Avenues on Wednesday for the H&M; Loves Music’s Runway Remix College Tour’s first college campus stop at UCLA. The tour’s events will run at the same location from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both Wednesday and […]
Folk music group Jueves Jaracho emphasizes sense of community
As the searing sun beats down, a collection of musicians assemble with their instruments under a tree outside of Schoenberg Hall. Together, they form what is essentially a little piece of Mexico on the UCLA campus. This assembly is known as Jueves Jarocho, or “Jarocho Thursday” in Spanish, a group dedicated to the folk musical […]