![\"dancininthestreets6\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/dancininthestreets6.jpg\")
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Residents dance in the streets at Summer and Music’s inaugural summer event. Photos by Angela Ratzlaff\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Families danced on chalk-dusted asphalt. Warm 1960s 45s spun on DJ Luthinan Prince\u2019s turntables. Food vendors serving fresh pizzas and beer filled the nighttime air with a savory aroma–summer had officially arrived in the streets of Long Beach.<\/p>\n Summer and Music\u2019s first event, Dancin\u2019 in the Streets, filled the Downtown area with kids, elders and everyone in between. Performers included alternative artist Matt Costa, local country purist Sam Outlaw and folk-star-on-the-rise Reverend Baron.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect as far as coming here,\u201d Orange County-based musician Costa admitted. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a fond connection with Long Beach. Even the first recordings I\u2019ve ever done were recorded in Long Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n Costa was introduced and later joined by the first performer Reverend Baron, who laid out a solo set of sleepy folk songs. He called back to traditional 1930s standards with a red hollow-body guitar and harmonica. Sweet melodies flowed in the breeze, instigating the crowd to clap their hands and sway back and forth.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t claim to be a country guy,\u201d Outlaw justified. \u201cI was born in South Dakota. Quite frankly, growing up there was only one country band I was exposed to, which is this awesome western swing revival band called Asleep at the Wheel based out of Austin, Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n Outlaw, who called Long Beach his home for seven years, participated in 2010\u2019s Buskerfest, a Summer and Music staple. After remnants of honky-tonk vibes slowly dissipated from Outlaw\u2019s performance, Costa took the stage with his full band, which included Reverend Baron on guitar. With poppy undertones and upbeat rhythms, the single \u201cMr. Pitiful\u201d\u00a0off of 2008’s Unfamiliar Faces<\/em> opened up the set, instantly firing up hand claps and foot tapping.<\/p>\n Costa maintained the energy with a joint performance of \u201cGood Times are Coming,\u201d bringing out Sam Outlaw to join in during the chorus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were all mutual friends, and we have a community of us through music we met each other,\u201d Costa said. \u201cI never know what\u2019s going to happen exactly as far as what people are going to come on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n A solo performance of \u201cVienna\u201d rounded out the night, giving Long Beach an intimate moment with the folk genre that they may never forget.<\/p>\n![\"reverendbaron5\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/reverendbaron5.jpg\")
Summer and Music veteran Sam Outlaw took the stage next, fronting a full band that included steel pedal guitar, keys and a stand-up bass.<\/p>\n
Classic country sounds were revived during Outlaw\u2019s performance, which was heavily influenced by artists like George Jones and Buck Owens. Drawled vocals stretched over the twang of steel lap guitar while a hollow stand-up bass thump kept the tunes grounded.<\/p>\n![\"samoutlaw4\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/samoutlaw4.jpg\")
\u201cTo have some newer songs that really impact people, maybe even more than the older songs, that means something,\u201d Costa said. \u201cThe old songs don\u2019t go away, they are still there, but for someone to really feel passionate about something new, that\u2019s important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n