Beat the Winter Blues with Live Music and Performances for Families

Beat the winter blues with these concerts and performances | Alamo City Moms Blog

By our school’s calendar, it’s nine weeks until Spring Break. But it’s going to be okay! Good music will see us through. There are lots of live music shows and amazing performances happing soon in San Antonio. The shows listed here are family-friendly, depending on your kids’ ages, and whether or not you let them stay up late on a school night. If you’re not sure, click through to read more, call ahead to the venue, or leave a comment below. If you try something new, you have the opportunity to experience something wonderful as a family, and keep the winter blues away. And, maybe you’ll find some inspiration for freshening up the playlist in your beloved family vehicle.

Olmos Pharmacy used to be an actual pharmacy; the soda fountain is still there, and now it’s a neighborhood bar (Bharmacy?) and hangout with weekly events, including jam sessions with Small World Jazz on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. and Rod Campbell’s Celtic Jam on Thursdays at 8 p.m. My kids loved Small World Jazz at Sunday Jazz at the Witte last summer; we were swept up in the rhythms, and carried away by the melodic guitar solos.

Small World Jazz at the Witte Museum | Alamo City Moms Blog

Pinkalicious, January 9 to February 21 at the Magik Theatre. A fun-filled play, based on the book, asking the question: Is it possible to have too much pink?

DreamWeek, January 9-20. The week leading up to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative March celebrates our city’s cultures and communities, and includes musical events: BillyRay Sheppard on January 11, a jam session at Olmos Pharmacy on January 12, Jazz: In the Key of Free at Lambermont on January 14, Vijay Ayer at the Carver Community Cultural Center on January 17, and Jim Cullum and Friends at Tucker’s Kozy Korner on January 19. The San Antonio Children’s Museum, the San Antonio Public Library, and the Institute of Texan Cultures are hosting kid-friendly DreamWeek events, too.

The Acoustic Sounds of Sellers & Hymel, Sunday, January 11 at 4 p.m. at Landa Library. Bluesy-folksy sounds, at our favorite library/playground.

Family Concert: YOSA SXS, Sunday, January 18 at 3 p.m. at Trinity University’s Laurie Auditorium. The San Antonio Symphony and members of YOSA (Youth Orchestras of San Antonio) will play side-by-side on stage. Family concerts are designed for kids ages 4-11, but the music is enjoyable for all ages. It’s a free event with no advance tickets required—first come, first seated. Starting at 2 p.m., there will be activities in the lobby, including an instrument petting zoo where your kids can get their hands on real instruments and meet musicians like Bassam Nashawati; learn more in this earlier post.

San Antonio Symphony Family Concert instument petting zoo with Bassam Nashawati, violin | Alamo City Moms Blog

Dinosaur Train Live, Sunday, January 18 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., at the Tobin Center. See the prehistoric characters from the PBS Kids show come to life on stage.

DISCOVER Till Eulenspiegel, Sunday, January 25 at 3 p.m. at the Tobin Center. The DISCOVER series concerts are designed to introduce classical music to new audiences, and kids are welcome—for example, read my son’s comments about Dvořák here. Before each DISCOVER concert, Music Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing gives a lecture about the piece of music, and the orchestra plays live musical selections (e.g., leitmotifs) to illustrate. A big screen above the stage will show close-ups of the conductor and the musicians. The Symphony will also perform Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (a playful, lively tone poem) with other works by Richard Strauss and his contemporaries at two Classics series concerts, Strauss Festival: Don Juan, January 23-24 at 8 p.m., part of the city-wide Strauss Festival.

DISCOVER concert with the San Antonio Symphony | Alamo City Moms Blog

Jack and the Beanstalk, January 27 to February 19 at the Magik Theatre. We caught this show at Landa Gardens Month last year; the cast’s high-energy, creative riffs on the fairy tale just about killed us from laughing so hard.

"Jack and the Beanstalk" with the Magik Theatre at Landa Gardens | Alamo City Moms Blog

Tacky Penguin’s Happenin’ Hawaiian Hula, Saturday, January 31 at 10:30 a.m. at the Twig Book Shop at the Pearl.  Put on an Aloha shirt or hula skirt (if you’ve got one), get a photo with Tacky the Penguin, and enjoy a story and craft with Miss Anastasia of the Storytime Chicks. Save the date for a Baby Mouse Tea Party on February 14.

Miss Anastasia at the Twig Book Shop | Alamo City Moms Blog

Musical Offerings and San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet will collaborate on a Strauss Festival performance in the Leeper Auditorium at the McNay Art Museum on Sunday, February 8 at 2:30 p.m.

Winter Lights, Sunday, February 8 at Laurie Auditorium at Trinity University. The 3 p.m. concert will feature YOSA Symphony, Flute Choir, and Sinfonietta Strings; the 7 p.m. concert will feature YOSA Symphonic Winds, Concertino Strings, and Capriccio Strings.

McNay Second Thursdays, February 12 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Bring your kids (and pets) to enjoy live music and food trucks on the grounds of the McNay Art Museum. Free docent-led museum tours will start at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. See the McNay’s new exhibit, World War II in Photographs, opening January 13.

McNay Second Thursdays

The Addams Family, February 13 to March 15, 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. The Woodlawn Theatre presents a musical based on the spooky but loving family.

The Merchant of Venice, February 13 to March 1, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, at the Classic Theatre of San Antonio. A Shakespeare comedy with a dramatic confrontation over the collateral for a loan.

Romeo & Juliet, February 13 & 14 at 8 p.m., February 14 & 15 at 2 p.m. at the Tobin Center. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Ballet San Antonio presents the Shakespeare tragedy as a ballet with music by Sergei Prokofiev (also known for Peter and the Wolf).

Pentatonix, Sunday, February 15 at 1 p.m. at the AT&T Center. These a capella wonders will be among the many entertainers at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, February 12 to March 1. Brooke’s guide will help you maximize your family’s rodeo fun.

Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. and February 21 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A multi-fairy-tale mashup at the Northside Performing Arts Center; order tickets ($6 each) by phone at 210-284-7765.

Kodo, Friday, February 20 at 8 p.m. at the Tobin Center. Taiko drumming from Japan.

Asian Festival, February 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the 28th year in a row, the Institute of Texan Cultures will host a celebration of the Year of the Ram, featuring dance, music, food, demonstrations, and more, representing cultures across Asia.

Asian Festival at the Institute of Texan Cultures | Alamo City Moms Blog
Branford Marsalis with YOSA, Sunday, February 22 at 7:00 P.M. at the Tobin Center. The YOSA Philharmonic will back up Marsalis, a jazz saxophone legend.

Brandenburg Concertos, Sunday, March 1 at 7:00 P.M. The San Antonio Symphony’s Baroque Series presents early music concerts, conducted by Akiko Fujimoto, in the acoustically lively San Fernando Cathedral.

Need more inspiration? Check Grayson Street JazzHeart of Texas Concert BandNorth East School of the Arts (NESA), Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic ChurchSan Antonio Chamber Music SocietyTuesday Musical ClubU.S. Air Force Band of the West, and 323rd U.S. Army MEDCOM Band. Look back at my post about holiday arts and culture for families. Also, see the events calendars at local universities for faculty recitals.

If you’re willing to travel a little farther, Luckenbach Dancehall has live music just about every day, and families are welcome. A lot farther: Macaroni and Cruise, August 3–7, is a Caribbean journey featuring independent music for families, programmed by Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child, and featuring special guests like LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya.

Now, go out there and find your groove, your jam, your chill, your bliss…and share it with your kids.

Inga Cotton
Inga is passionate about parent-driven education: helping parents be the best advocates for their children, finding the right schools (or homeschooling resources), and enjoying San Antonio's variety of arts and cultural events for families. She was born in California but has called Texas home since high school. She works part time as a lawyer and also blogs at San Antonio Charter Moms. Her eight-year-old son, F.T., and five-year-old daughter, G.N., attend a public charter school in the heart of the city. She married a techie and is a bit of a geek herself.

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