TWENTYNINE PALMS — Vocalist and guitar player Alice Howe and fretless bass player Freebo will open the fall free concerts at Freedom Plaza.
The fall concert series, made possible by a grant from the Levitt Foundation, will run Saturdays Sept. 26 through Oct. 24. Each evening will begin with food vendors at 6, followed by music from 7 to 9.
Cassazulu will open for Howe and Freebo Sept. 26.
Born in a rural farming district in South Africa, Cassazulu frontman John Zulu writes music in English and Zulu. He is accompanied by Californian vocalist Cassidy Sargeant.
Their Joshua Tree band mixes English pop and Afro beat harmonies.
Howe and Freebo will take the stage at 8 p.m.
Howe is a singer/songwriter from Boston with a musical style rooted in the Laurel Canyon scene of Los Angeles in the 1960s and ’70s.
She was named Best Female Artist at the 2023 International Acoustic Music Awards.
Her collaborator since 2017, Freebo toured and recorded with Bonnie Raitt for a decade. He has played bass on recordings by John Mayall, Ringo Starr, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Maria Muldaur, Joe Walsh and Dr. John.
Concerts will continue every Saturday through Oct. 24.
• Oct. 3: The Kearns Family Band (Hi-Desert folk); Joshua Josué opens with Chicano rock.
• Oct. 10: Terrell Edwards (motown); Hotel Mercy opens with punk Americana.
• Oct. 17: Hu Dost (world rock and electric folks); Palo Xanto opens with desert groove music.
• Oct. 24: Mark Taylor (contemporary country); Local group Los Poncho Tones opens with “greasy tumbleweed” music.
For more information, go online to www.29palms