They rocked out in hair salons and pubs, they grooved in breweries and at church. They headlined the local Elks Lodge and the library.
Some three dozen spots around Fullerton are hosting more than 140 musical acts on Friday for the annual Day of Music, with concerts lasting well into the evening.
In its ninth year, Day of Music Fullerton is the largest celebration of World Music Day in Southern California, with the most performances and venues participating, organizers said, including acts at Hillcrest Park’s Big Bowl, skateboard shops, a comic book store, restaurants and many other local businesses.
World Music Day is a more than 40-year-old celebration that was started in France and is held each year on June 21, which is also around the summer solstice.
Day of Music Fullerton was started in 2015 by a nonprofit organization, steadily growing in the following years. In 2023, the Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation assumed planning for the event with the Day of Music organization staying on as volunteers.
According to Day of Music Fullerton committee member Todd Huffman, this year’s event was nearly five months in the making.
“In February, we began working with the city. Everybody has been working hard and we learn something new every year,” he said.
All of the venues, musicians and volunteers participate at no cost and all of the shows are free.
Chris Jones, who has volunteered for four years, said it is “nice to see the amount of volunteers and musicians willing to get involved.”
New to this year’s festival was the historic Fox Fullerton Theater, which finished another phase of restorative construction work in time for the event – opening to the public after a five-year closure.
Brian Newell, president of the Fullerton Historic Theater Foundation, spoke to the ongoing efforts to restore the theater.
“We love the idea of keeping this theater going. It was saved by citizens working hard. I can’t think of a better way to show off the theater and to get everybody listening to music,” he said.
At 2 p.m., the Troy High School Jazz and Orchestra, the largest orchestra to play the theater since its opening in 1925, performed for an hour, with hundreds in attendance.
The Fox Theater was set to host four more performances throughout the day, from musical groups Snappy Tappers, Chimera Band, Tragic Radicals and Jessica’s Kaczmarek Band.
“Fullerton is known for its great nightlife and downtown scene, so to have (the Day of Music) here is amazing,” said Huffman. “We are proud to be celebrating music with the rest of the world on this day.”
