Free 103rd Redlands Bowl season opens Friday with an ELO tribute

The Redlands Bowl Summer Music Festival holds a distinction worth knowing: it is the oldest continuously operated music festival in the United States where no admission is ever charged, running since 1924 and drawing an estimated 100,000 people a season. Its 103rd run is underway, with performances every Tuesday and Friday evening at 8 p.m. through August.

Friday, June 26 brings Ticket to the Moon, the group widely billed as the best Electric Light Orchestra tribute touring today, to the Bowl's outdoor stage at the corner of Grant and Eureka.

There is no ticket and no cover. Parking is free, with the largest lot at the Redlands Mall and a smaller lot across from it at Citrus Avenue and Fourth Street; street parking fills in around it. Regulars bring low chairs, blankets, and a picnic and settle in before the music starts.

It is the rare marquee summer institution in the region that costs a family nothing but the drive — and a reminder that Redlands holds one of the IE's genuine cultural anchors.