Editor:
I was very disappointed to read Charles Andrews' very negative view of the Twilight Concert Series in his column (“Who's playing? Who cares!”) in the July 20 edition of the Santa Monica Daily Press. I'm incredibly thankful and appreciative of the city and the Pier, which put on these fantastic events.
“Who's playing? Who cares!” is actually a great description of my view, but I disagree that not knowing the artists who are playing the concerts is a negative. The artists are always spectacular, and I get the added bonus of expanding my musical horizons. Last week, I went to see an artist who was completely unknown to me and I was so impressed with his music that I've been listening to his album on repeat for the past week.
Mr. Andrews also complains about the youthfulness present at the concerts, but it's unclear if he is complaining about the artists or the audience. If he's complaining about the “younger” artists, I'd like to point out that all legendary musicians were younger and “unknown” earlier in their careers. If it's about the audience, I'm not sure why younger people enjoying culturally enriching experiences is so threatening. The summer Twilight Concert Series is still a local treasure and these concerts were a crucial part of saving the pier several decades ago. I hope Mr. Andrews will overcome his fear of whatever it is he's afraid of and come out to enjoy the concerts with the community.
Natalya Zernitskaya
Santa Monica
