Summertime Tunes at Newport Beach Hotels

Newport Beach hotels are alive with the sweet sounds of music all summer long. One of the most popular events around is the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Summer Concert Series, which presents live music in the great outdoors every Friday evening from June through October. The 15-show series kicked off in mid-June with drummer/singer Bobby Caldwell and singer Morgan James and continues through Oct. 9 at the hotel’s intimate Back Bay Amphitheater, situated on 26 landscaped acres overlooking the Back Bay Nature Preserve. Notable big-name performers coming up include singers Boz Scaggs July 10, Ruben Studdard Aug. 21, George Benson Sept. 4 and Al Jarreau Oct. 2, with trumpeter Chris Botti rounding out the series on Oct. 9. Each concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m., but guests can arrive at 6 p.m. and enjoy numerous vendors offering up food, drinks and more. For more information on the Summer Concert Series and to purchase tickets click here.

Also overlooking the Back Bay Nature Preserve, the Newport Beach Marriott Bayview presents live music throughout the summer, free to all guests every Friday from 5-7 p.m. in the lobby. Coming up: popular SoCal singers Connie Lim (July 3), 
Michael LeClerc (July 10), Caro Pierotto (July 24) and Megan Tibbits
(July 31). While there, be sure to take part in the hotel’s specials on locally crafted beers.

At the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, get ready for the sixth annual Sunset Jazz at Newport Summer Series, presented by The Jazz Cruise. Set for 11 Wednesday nights from July 8-Sept. 16 in the hotel’s Rose Garden, the summer lineup features popular artists from the Newport Beach Jazz Party! — from The Four Freshman to the Wycliffe Gordon All-Stars featuring Don Shelton and more. Doors open at 5 p.m. and performances are from 6-8:30 p.m., with tickets ranging from $23 to $49. Table service for food and beverages also is available for purchase. For additional details, visit www.newportbeachjazzparty.com.

At the Great Room Social Lounge at The Resort at Pelican Hill, guests are invited to settle back into plush seats and enjoy craft cocktails and small bites to the sounds of curated tunes. The action takes place every Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-10 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday from 8 p.m. to midnight, starting with a contemporary energized mix and continuing with a late-evening live DJ mixing mood-matching music (click here to see the lineup.) But that’s not all! Pelican Grill also features a rotating selection of live bands Thursday from 6:30-10:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 7-11 p.m.; the Coliseum Pool & Grill offers a poolside guitarist on summer weekends from noon-4 p.m.; and, for resort guests exclusively, the Villa Clubhouse restaurant Piccolo also has a live guitarist Thursday-Sunday from 6-9 p.m.

Photo Courtesy of Pelican Hill

At Balboa Bay Resort, look for acoustic guitar duos in A&O every Friday from 8-11 p.m. through July, and then Saturday from 8-11 p.m. in August and September, with performances led by both Michael Jade and Lucas Marx.

Finally, head to the Island Hotel Newport Beach to check out Fireside Sessions on the Oak Grill Patio Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-9 p.m. Here you’ll find a rotating lineup of local acoustic players including Andrew Price, Kevin Miso, Kurt Hunter and Colin Armstrong entertaining guests, along with craft cocktails and gourmet small bites from the Oak Grill. Also mixing it up in the Aqua Lounge Thursday from 8 to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. to midnight are popular guest DJs such as DJ Marco Nova and DJ D-Dub. For a full performance schedule click here.