Pop Up! series draws to a close
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City employees were treated to the last of a series of midday concerts on Thursday, a program that organizers say has been well received and will likely make a return next year.
City Manager Scott Ochoa asked local nonprofit Glendale Arts to expand its ongoing Pop Up! summer series of live music performances with a trio of dates at the Glendale Civic Center’s outdoor plaza.
“The idea was to provide something that was fun for the employees, but also for the larger community to come to the civic center,” he said.
PHOTOS: Stund Road closes out Pop Up! concert series
In June, Beatles tribute band the Beatunes were the featured act, while Ghost in the Machine, a Sting and Police tribute band, gave a performance in July.
Stunt Road, a classic-rock and blues act, closed out the series on Thursday.
The idea was to invite bands that performed well-known songs so as many people as possible could enjoy the show, said Elissa Glickman, chief executive of Glendale Arts.
It’s an expansion of the organization’s successful Pop Up! series that has brought events to the Glendale Galleria, Lex on Orange, Recess and the courtyard of the Alex Theatre.
In June, the series featured musical performances on Wednesdays in the courtyard outside the Cushman & Wakefield building at 400 and 450 N. Brand Blvd.
While anyone in the community was welcome to attend the free shows at the civic center, another aim was to try to let city workers step away from their desks during their lunch hour.
About 60 people — staffers and nonstaffers — attended each performance and brought blankets to sit on the grass.
Glickman said she invited the Glendale Arts staff to join her at each performance because what they get out of it goes beyond when the music ends.
“We see more and more employers trying to make an attempt to give their employees a little distraction from the work day,” she said.
Other bosses offer free yoga or exercise classes, but the goal in the end is the same, Glickman said.
“You can go back to work with a better sense of calm and a clear head, and it allows people to be more creative and more productive and so that’s the difference,” she said.
Glickman said she’d look forward to putting together the series again next year if the city asks. Community Relations Coordinator Dan Bell said that will likely be the case.
Next up for Glendale Arts’ Pop Up series will be the return of free yoga classes in the courtyard of the Alex Theatre in September.