Lone Pine tunes up for June 4 Concert in the Rocks

On any given night, your chances of an otherworldly experience amid the eerie rocks and open spaces of the Eastern Sierra around Lone Pine are pretty good.

But on June 4, the odds will improve dramatically. That’s the date of this year’s Lone Pine Concert in the Rocks.

The program, which features the California Guitar Trio and includes dinner, is to be staged in Lone Ranger Canyon within Lone Pine’s scenic Alabama Hills area, where scores of films have been shot over the last 90 years. The site is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles along Highway 395.

Despite its California name, the guitar trio is an international group, featuring musicians Paul Richards of Salt Lake City, Bert Lams of Belgium and Hideyo Moriya of Japan. The music combines elements of classical, jazz and rock. Concert tickets, which include the dinner, cost $80 each and benefit the Beverly & Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History.

The museum also presents the 22-year-old Lone Pine Film Festival, Oct. 7-9 this year, featuring screenings of vintage Lone Pine films, stunt demos, panel discussions, location tours and live music.

Location shooting of western and other films in the area began around 1920. Lone Pine museum officials say recent releases with Lone Pine connections include “Iron Man” (2008), “Resurrection” (2004), “G.I. Jane” (1997) and “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989), Zabriskie Point” (1970), and “Around the World in 80 Days” (1956).