Mike Krum rocks Long Beach summer concert series

By Samantha Dupler

Long Beach’s annual summer concert series continued at National Boulevard beach and the Allegria Hotel on Thursday, July 15, and featured lead vocalist and guitarist Mike Krum and his band.

Krum’s music has been compared to artists such as Jack Johnson and The Fray, and, with a crowd of fans that spilled out of the bleachers and onto the beach, the self-titled indie rock group is proving to be just as popular.

This particular concert was hosted in part by the Allegria, part of its first annual Surf Week events, which ran from July 11 to 16, and included surfing lessons, parties and numerous beach activities. Additionally, Surf Week featured a surf contest in Memory of George “Geeza” Geiser sponsored by Red Bull, and a meet and greet with pro surfers.

The Krum concert took place after the Surfing for Autism initiative earlier in the day, in which pro surfers provided free lessons for autistic kids through Surf for All (See story, page 8).

"It's been amazing," said Allegria spokeswoman Laura Vivonetto. "The pros have been amazing with the kids. This is the first time we've been able to work with the community, and the feedback has been tremendous."

Krum's performance of indie-folk rock songs was the perfect way to end the day, as the atmosphere was warm and concertgoers bonded after the charitable event, Vivonetto said. Krum’s latest album, 110, was released on March 5 and is currently available on iTunes.