Segerstrom Center’s Off Center Festival

Some old favorites, as well as brand new acts, are coming to Segerstrom Center for the Arts as part of the Center’s 2nd Off Center Festival. Billed as fresh works for an adventurous audience, the Off Center Festival features some of the best in contemporary performing arts today.

The series begins with a performance by California rock outfit Rival Sons on January 22. On the 23rd, comedian and musician Reggie Watts, best known for his role as musical sidekick on IFC’s Comedy Bang Bang performs while The Car Plays, a favorite from last year, returns with live plays performed in actual parked cars in the Arts Plaza.

Doug Varone and Dancers perform Stripped/Dressed, first in rehearsal garb and then in full costume. Indie sensation Sea Wolf plays live in Founders Hall on January 28 and performance installation Fleur Elise Noble: 2 Dimensional Life for Her will be in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall from January 30 to February 2. Beginning January 31, Marc Bamuthi Joseph/The Living Word Project: Word Becomes Flesh explores social roles and obligations of women and men through poetry, dance, live music, and hip-hop culture.

And like last year, audience members are encouraged to mingle with the artists after each performance in the Off Center Lounge in Leatherby’s Café Rouge, where a special low-cost menu will be offered to artists and their fans.