Enjoy Live Music Concerts in Orange County, CA
Lord of the Strings Concerts has been bringing the finest musicians to Southern California since 2002. The Orange County Register called President & Founder Tim Johnson the "Guitar Hero."
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Upcoming Events
brooks robertson
Brooks Robertson just doesn't need much more than two thumbs, eight fingers and six strings on a wooden box to carry his listeners away.
Hailed by prominent exponents of his instrument like Nokie Edwards, Thom Bresh, John Jorgenson and Mason Williams, the young fingerstyle guitarist embodies the creative vision of a postmodern world: It's the music that counts. Brooks utilizes his superb technical abilities to play bass, rhythm and melody simultaneously and surpass the borders of conventional genres. He merges hauntingly beautiful compositions, country rhythms and jazzy harmonies with funky licks into his very own art form – sometimes delivered with a punch, sometimes with a smile.
Mission Viejo Civic Center
Saturday - August 23rd
Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm
transatlantic guitar trio
The Transatlantic Guitar Trio comprises fingerstyle guitar champion Richard Smith from the United Kingdom, German gypsy jazz virtuoso Joscho Stephan, and the brilliant multi-instrumentalist American musician Rory Hoffman.
These remarkable musicians joined forces in 2019 and have entranced audiences across the United States with their unique blend of jazz ballads, gypsy swing standards, and groovy original compositions.
Mission Viejo Civic Center
Saturday - September 27th
Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm
peppino d'agostino & mads tolling
PEPPINO D'AGOSTINO A young Sicilian artist left Italy over 30 years ago, with the dream of “playing with the greatest guitarists”. Peppino has achieved his dream and he’s now firmly planted in the “who’s who” of the guitar world. Peppino D’Agostino emerged on the acoustic guitar scene in the early 80’s as a leading member of the second wave of the great fingerstylists that helped redefine the instrument in the ’90s. His remarkable technique, penchant for open tunings, and percussive effects are the basis of his unique compositional style which has been inspiring musicians and audiences alike for decades. Add to that his natural warmth, playfulness, and broad musical tastes and you have the recipe for what he calls “minestrone music”. His virtuosity and his emotional charge have also had a significant influence on the younger generation of fingerstyle guitarists. D’Agostino continues to evolve and grow in ways that would have been hard to predict when he first showcased his melodic yet emotionally intense style on the recordings Acoustic Spirit, Close to the Heart, and Every Step of the Way which was named one of the top three acoustic guitar albums of all time by Acoustic Guitar magazine readers. D’Agostino has performed in more than 30 countries, at prestigious international festivals and has played in some of the world’s most important theaters. He has shared the stage with Tommy Emmanuel, Leo Kottke, Laurindo Almeida, Sergio Assad, Larry Carlton, and Eric Johnson, to name a few. His solo recordings include high quality labels such as Favored Nations, Mesa / Bluemoon, and Acoustic Music Records. Recognized as “the guitarist’s guitarist” by Acoustic Guitar magazine and described as “a giant of the acoustic guitar” by the San Diego Reader, D’Agostino was voted Best Acoustic Guitarist by readers of Guitar Player magazine.
MADS TOLLING is an internationally renowned violinist and composer originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, now living in San Francisco. As a former nine-year member of both bassist Stanley Clarke’s band and the celebrated Turtle Island Quartet, Mads won two Grammy Awards, and he was nominated for a third Grammy in 2015. He was the 2016 winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Violin Award. Mads has performed with Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Kenny Barron, Paquito D’Rivera, Leo Kottke and Sergio & Odair Assad. Mads is a current member of Bob Weir’s Wolf Bros & Wolf Pack Band.
After graduating Berklee College of Music in 2003, he was recommended by Jean-Luc Ponty to join Stanley Clarke’s band. He has since been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, and his recordings have received rave reviews in Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Strings Magazine and DownBeat Magazine. Mads has performed for Danish royalty – Prince Frederik & Princess Mary – at the celebration of The Danish Embassy’s 50-year Anniversary. Since 2021, Mads has been a member of Bob Weir & Wolf Bros project as part of the Wolf Pack with tours across the US, including at Red Rocks, The Greek Theatre and Radio City Music Hall. He is featured on Weir’s album Live in Colorado. Mads has written several arrangements of Grateful Dead tunes for the band, some of which are now also part of the Mads Men repertoire.
Mads has twice been commissioned to write violin concertos – for Oakland Symphony and Pacific Chamber Orchestra. He has performed his symphonic works and soloed with orchestras around the US and Japan.
Mads now leads his own groups – Mads Tolling Quartet and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. His release, Playing the 60s, is a reimagination of classic songs from 1960s film, TV and radio, such as “A Taste of Honey,” “Hawaii 5-0” and “Mission: Impossible.” The album features vocalists Kenny Washington, Kalil Wilson and Spencer Day, and it spent two months on US jazz radio’s top 30.
With his groups, Mads has performed over a thousand concerts around the world, including at The Hollywood Bowl, Library of Congress and at the Bay Area’s Paramount and Herbst Theatres. As a featured Yamaha Artist, Mads leads clinics and masterclasses in the US and internationally.
Mission Viejo Civic Center
Saturday - October 25th
Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm
ALBERTO LOMBARDI
Italian virtuoso guitarist Alberto Lombardi is an internationally renowned acoustic solo fingerstyle and electric rock player, a singer songwriter and record producer.
His acoustic solo arrangements are very personal, derived from the different musical experiences Alberto has in rock, jazz, country and pop as a session player. Yet they're rooted in the style of the great Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel. He digs into complex arrangements of Italian and American classics, translating them on the guitar (Georgia on my mind, Volare, 'O Sole Mio), picking up clever harmonic movements from those great arrangers and composers and making them his own, on the six string.
Mission Viejo Civic Center
Saturday - November 22rd
Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm
carl verheyen band
In his 50-plus years of playing the instrument, Carl has created a wildly successful, multi-faceted career. He is a critically acclaimed musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and educator with sixteen albums and two live DVDs released worldwide. Carl is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso capable of playing any style of music with remarkable mastery and conviction. He has been one of LA’s elite “first call” session players for the past 40 years, playing on hundreds of records, movie soundtracks and television shows. Verheyen has graced the pages of countless industry publications and been the subject of numerous articles chronicling his rise to the forefront of the modern-day guitar scene. Carl has won numerous polls and musical honors in the US, Germany, France, Italy and the UK.
Mission Viejo Civic Center
Saturday - December 6th
Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm