Family-Friendly Performance Series
Rhythmix and the City of Alameda’s Recreation and Park Department bring people of all ages together to experience and explore music, dance, visual art and educational opportunities through a series of free, family-friendly concerts and festivals in Alameda’s City Parks.
Rhythmix in the Parks support the community by:
- – celebrating our diverse cultural traditions
- – uplifting underserved voices
- – supporting BIPOC artists
- – redefining Alameda’s City parks as accessible and safe spaces to be enjoyed by all
- – embracing the City of Alameda’s motto: “Everyone Belongs Here”
Past Concerts
Celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander heritage with live music, dance, food and family art activities at Alameda’s beautiful Bohol Circle Immigrant Park! Experience a lively array of music and dance from local performing ensembles including traditional Hawaiian hula from Alameda’s very own Hālau Makana, folk music from the Philippines with The Sampaguitas, exciting Punjabi folk dance with Dholrhythms Dance Company of Non Stop Bhangra and vibrant drumming from South Korea with Korean Culture Center – Urisawe, and more.
Bienvenido a ‘Round the World: Music, Dance & Art Festival at Chochenyo Park, Alameda! From the sounds of the Afro-Peruvian cajón and rhythms of Puerto Rican bomba, to Brasilian percussion and Colombian-Afro-Latin-Pop, Rhythmix Cultural Works and the City of Alameda invite you to celebrate Latin & Indigenous culture at ‘Round the World – Music, Dance and Art Festival, Saturday, September 21 from 12:00 – 5:00pm at Chochenyo Park in Alameda.
At Tillman Park, visitors of all ages danced along to the traditional sounds of Sekhou Senegal. Sekhou Senegal is a West African music and dance ensemble created by twin brothers Ousseynou and Assane Kouyate. Ousseynou and Assane were born and raised in Senegal, Africa, from a family line originating in Mali and Guinea. They come from a long line of griots — the poets, historians, storytellers, and keepers of West African song and dance traditions.
At Littlejohn Park, we enjoyed a performance by AZA, featuring united traditional Tamazight (incorrectly labeled “Berber”) music, indigenous to North Africa, with the global influences of its diverse members. With elements of indigenous Moroccan musical styles, including Ahwash, Rwais, and Gnawa – among others – AZA’s stirring performance featured deep, danceable rhythms, intricate melodies, and soaring, soulful vocals. Visually dynamic and engaging performers, AZA has been inspiring international audiences for more than 20 years.
We joined Rhonda Benin & Friends at Woodstock Park, and explored the question: What is Freedom? Rhonda helped us discover how the music created by enslaved African Americans expressed their desire and plans for freedom, and how that music helped them survive. An audience of all ages enjoyed this uplifting celebration of Black music and history.
From the sounds of the cajon to the rhythms of bomba, the Rhythmix PAL in the Parks Hispanic Heritage Festival highlights culture, tradition, music, dance, art and food from Central and South America, the Caribbean and Mexico. Featuring performances by the Ka-Hon Ensemble, Batey Tambo, Bululú, La Cumbiamba Colombiana and more!
What would the world of sound be without percussion instruments? Rogue Rhythms brings the vitality of drumming to a whole new level for the young and young at heart! Rogue Rhythms travels around the world, introducing drums and rhythms from different cultures and countries, giving new and veteran drummers thrilling examples of sound, beat, and rhythm! Rogue Rhythms will get you dancing, playing shakers, & grooving to the beats of global drumming traditions, encouraging onlookers to join in the fun of music making for all.
Led by New Orleans-native Michelle Jacques, the Bay Area’s own CHELLE and Friends brings to Rhythmix, a fun filled family show that features the soul of New Orleans. CHELLE! & Friends is made up of some of the most distinguished and accomplished musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Rhonda Crane and Bryan Dyer on vocals and percussion, Donna Viscuso on saxophone, Eric Swinderman on guitar, Kevin Scott on bass and Michaelle Goerlitz on drums. CHELLE! & Friends’ Kids concerts deliver music to make you want to move your feet, play instruments, sing along and join a Mardi Gras parade!
Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s jegog ensemble presents an interactive and engaging program designed to encourage kids and kids at heart to get out of their seats and bang on some bamboo! Jegog is a dynamic and athletic artform from West Bali that uses giant bamboo instruments arranged in a four-tone scale, demonstrating the wide array of musical techniques that are possible with just a few notes. This performance includes exciting jegog standards like “Makepung” (“Buffalo Race”), a crowd-pleasing social dance called “Joged,” and a brand-new 2023 composition called “Bagog Gede” from Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s jegog director, I Gede Oka Artha Negara, which combines traditional jegog with a Balinese bronze instrumental genre called baleganjur. Audience members will get a chance to clap along, dance alongside our troupe, and even try out the instruments for themselves!
Celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with family and friends at Alameda’s beautiful, new Bohol Circle Immigrant Park! Feel the resonant sounds of the kulintang from the Philippines, enjoy the gentle sway of Hawaiian hula, and hear the vibrant stringed instruments from Vietnam – all while enjoying the beautiful waterfront views. Featuring hands-on art activities for youth with the Alameda Education Foundation, Swings & Wings and the Alameda Free Library Book Bike. Food Trucks by: Chef Hits the Street (Poke Bowls) and Ayobowan (Sri Lankan Cuisine).
