The best part of summer music concerts...

The best part of summer music concerts is their informality. Just grab a blanket, shoehorn your kids (and maybe the neighbors’ kids) into the car and off you all go for an evening of entertainment. Everyone’s in shorts and T-shirts and tennis shoes. Stretch out on the grass. Slip off your shoes. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Relax.

After all, it’s free fun. And maybe that is really the best part. No hassling with getting reservations or standing in line or going early to pick up tickets. You show up at the park. You find a spot with a good view of the band. You munch on your picnic dinner. You listen to the music. No charge.

And you can enjoy this inexpensive entertainment every night somewhere near your home during the next week (see box). Today in Signal Hill and Norwalk. Monday in Whittier. Tuesday or Thursday in Cerritos. Wednesday in Signal Hill. Thursday in La Mirada. Tuesday through Friday in Long Beach. Friday in Santa Fe Springs. Saturday in Signal Hill. Every single day this week. Then it starts over next week, and pretty much continues until the end of the month. Nearly four full weeks of fun. That is probably the best part.

The variety of music that you will hear if you go to all those concerts is amazing. Country-Western. Blues. Big Bands. Marches. Rock ‘n’ roll from the 1950s and ‘60s. Mariachi music. Current Top 40 hits. Reggae. A smorgasbord of songs and styles--a taste of the past 50 years of music all right there for you to sample.

If you don’t think that the music is the best part of the various summer concert series, then perhaps you will agree it is the outdoor setting. Warm evenings and cool breezes. The slight rustle of the trees. Fresh-cut grass. Sunset, then twilight and then darkness. And then stars. Make a wish. Find the Big Dipper. Admire the moon. Search for a shooting star.

And when the concert ends, remind yourself that maybe the world is not such a terrible place when you and your family and friends can still go down to the neighborhood park on a warm summer evening and hear some free music and, well, just put your day-to-day troubles aside for a few hours. And that is definitely the best part.

Outdoor concerts Many cities in the Southeast and Long Beach area offer free outdoor concerts during the summer months. Following is a rundown of this year’s remaining musical events: CERRITOS Concerts Under the Stars series

7 p.m. Thursdays, Heritage Park

18600 S. Bloomfield Ave.

Thursday: Sapadilla--calypso and reggae music

Aug. 22: Popular Demand--’50s and ‘60s rock

Aug. 29: Jeri & the Jets--’50s and ‘60s music

CERRITOS Concerts in the Park series

7 p.m. Tuesdays, Liberty Park

19211 Studebaker Road

Tuesday: Jitters--’50s rock ‘n’ roll

Aug. 20: Tuners--country and Western

Aug. 27: Bobby Cochran & Rhythm Rockers--’50s and ‘60s

LA MIRADA Concerts Under the Stars series

6:30 p.m., east lawn of City Hall

13700 La Mirada Blvd.

Thursday: Society Swing--’40s and ‘50s music

Aug. 29: Howard Reynolds’ Big Band

LONG BEACH Municipal Band’s summer season

6:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, through Sept. 6

Tuesdays: Wardlow Park, 3457 Stanbridge Ave.

Wednesdays: Veterans Park, 101 E. 28th St.

Thursdays: Stearns Park, 4520 E. 23rd St.

Fridays: El Dorado Park West, 2800 Studebaker Road

NORWALK Summer concert series

4 p.m. today, Hermosillo Park

11959 162nd St.

Today: Los Galleros--mariachi band

SANTA FE SPRINGS Summer concert series

11:30 a.m. Friday, Heritage Park

12100 Mora Drive

Friday: Popular Demand--’50s and ‘60s rock

SIGNAL HILL Concerts in the Park series

various days and times, Signal Hill Bandstand

2175 Cherry Ave.

6:30 p.m. today: 19--Top 40 rock

6:30 p.m. Wednesday: Billy & the Bandits--country rock

1 p.m. Saturday: Purple Sky--country-Western

5 p.m. Saturday: M. G. Kelly--’50s and ‘60s music

6:30 p.m. Aug. 21: Pandemonium Steel Drum Band

6:30 p.m. Aug. 25: Rob Rio--blues

WHITTIER Summer concert series

7 p.m. Mondays, Central Park

Bailey Street and Washington Avenue

Monday: Popular Demand--’50s and ‘60s rock

Aug. 19: Danbury Municipal Band--Sousa music, marches

Aug. 26: Horsefeather Boys--country-Western