By Mary-Justine Lanyon

According to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, there is no better way to exercise your brain than to listen to music.

As stated on the school’s website, “There are few things that stimulate the brain the way music does. If you want to keep your brain engaged throughout the aging process, listening to or playing music is a great tool. It provides a total brain workout.”

The site goes on to say that “research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure and pain as well as improve sleep quality, mood, mental alertness and memory.”

Fortunately for those of us who live on the mountain and those who visit, there is a plethora of opportunities over the course of the summer to listen to music. Two series of concerts take place at SkyPark at Santa’s Village and at Lake Arrowhead Village.

TUNES IN THE TREES

The concert series at SkyPark is known as Tunes in the Trees. It will begin this Friday, May 26 and continue on Fridays through Sept. 29.

First up, on May 26, is Summer of ’69, a tribute to Bryan Adams. June will bring Creedenc’ed (June 2), Dead Man’s Party (June 9), Skynyrd & Company (June 16), Lizard King (June 23) and Michael Austin Band (June 30).

In July it’s Aeromyth (July 7), Steve’s Rock ‘n Roll Time Machine (July 14), Led Zepplica (July 21) and Identity Theft the Band (July 28).

August kicks off with ZZ Tush (Aug. 4), followed by Prince Again (Aug. 11), Steve’s Rock ‘n Roll Time Machine (Aug. 18) and Pyromania (Aug. 25).

Rounding out the summer series is My Generation (Sept. 1), The Police Experience (Sept. 8), Celso & Darryl (Sept. 15), Atomic Punks (Sept. 22) and Heart to Heart (Sept. 29). Just in time to start celebrating Halloween, Dead Man’s Party will return on Oct. 20.

Concerts start at 7 p.m. with music and dancing continuing until 9 p.m. Visit www.skyparksantasvillage.com for more information.

SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

The summer concert series at Lake Arrowhead Village takes place on Fridays and Saturday, with some holiday Sunday and Monday shows.

Memorial Day weekend includes Ragdolls (May 26, Aerosmith tribute), Twisted Gypsy (May 27) and Déjà vu (May 28).

The Spazmatics

In June guests will hear Faux Fighters (June 2), The Spazmatics (June 3), Green Today (June 9), Bee Gees Gold (June 10), Appetite 4 Destruction (June 16), Fan Halen (June 17), Arena (June 23), Gath Guy (June 24) and Rock N Roll Band (June 30).

Jly bring SDB (July 1), Petty & the Heartshakers (July 2), Bruno & the Hooligans (July 7), Start Me Up (July 8), Colour My World (July 14), The Long Run (July 15), Bonfire (July 21), Led Zepagain (July 22), Wanted (July 28) and Cash, Killer & The King (July 29).

August gets things started with 4NR (Aug. 4), Kings of Queen (Aug. 5), Strange Days (Aug. 11), Which One’s Pink (Aug. 12), Hollywood Knights (Aug. 18), Elton the Early Years (Aug. 19), Generation Idol (Aug. 25) and The Spazmatics (Aug. 26).

The series will conclude Labor Day weekend with Southbound (Sept. 1), Fortunate Son (Sept. 2) and Caress of Steel (Sept. 3).

For more information and tickets, visit lakearrowheadsummerconcerts.com/band-lineup-tickets.

THE MARKET AT LAKE GREGORY

There is also a concert series at Lake Gregory on Friday nights through Sept. 15. Information is available at linktr.ee/themarketatlakegregory.