Saturday, July 18, 2026

Altadena’s Own Carmen Bradford Headlines POPS Rat Pack Night at the Arboretum

Carmen Bradford [photo credit: Pasadena Symphony and POPS]

A Grammy-winning jazz vocalist who grew up nearby anchors the July 25 program of Sinatra-era standards

The Pasadena POPS will present an evening of Rat Pack–era standards at the Los Angeles County Arboretum on July 25, with an Altadena-raised Grammy winner among the three vocalists fronting the orchestra.

Carmen Bradford headlines “A Toast to the Rat Pack” alongside Sinatra interpreter Steve Lippia and crooner Todd Murray, in a program of songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald. Bradford grew up in Altadena and, according to the Pasadena Symphony Association, won a 2024 Grammy Award as a featured vocalist on “Basie Swings the Blues” with the Count Basie Orchestra.

The concert is the third of five in the POPS’ 2026 Rusnak Summer Concert Series, which runs through August 29. Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank leads the orchestra. It is the organization’s first season without Michael Feinstein leading the POPS; Feinstein became Principal Pops Conductor Emeritus in September 2025, according to the association.

Bradford’s return carries a local note. She is the daughter of jazz cornetist Bobby Bradford and jazz vocalist Melba Joyce. According to the association’s biography, she was discovered by Count Basie at age 22 and spent nine years as the featured vocalist with his orchestra. Her 2024 Grammy was one of five career nominations.

The announced set list leans on the era’s signatures, including “Come Fly with Me,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” and “Lady is a Tramp,” according to the association.

Blank rounds out the bill from the podium. A Broadway composer, conductor and orchestrator, he has been nominated three times each for the Tony and Drama Desk Awards, the association said. His guest-conducting credits include the San Francisco Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops and the Chicago Symphony.

The Rat Pack program is one stop in a season built for summer evenings outdoors. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking, and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m., the association announced. Concertgoers may bring their own food and drink or pre-order from onsite vendors. The Arboretum is at 301 N. Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia.

Tickets start at $38 and are available at (626) 793-7172, at pasadenasymphony-pops.org/tickets, or at the Arboretum on concert days, according to the association. Parking is available at Santa Anita Park across Baldwin Avenue, with complimentary shuttle service, for $20.

The Pasadena Symphony Association, founded in 1928, presents its winter classical series at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena. The summer series continues after the Rat Pack night, with an Elton John tribute August 15 and a program devoted to Andrew Lloyd Webber on August 29 to close the season.