Rhythm in the park

Haile Blackman said he had no choice but to get into music. Growing up in Trinidad, he was surrounded by a family of musicians, including the founding father of soca music — a modern version of calypso — who just happened to be dear old dad.

Blackman, 40, started seriously playing music when he was 16. In 1989, he formed Upstream with his brothers while on the island. In 1991 they moved to California, hooked up with their buddy John McKnight and continued playing reggae, dub, calypso, soca and dancehall. Although Blackman’s not sure where his inspiration comes from, he just knows he likes to bring his music to all kinds of people.

“It’s something that I just hear and feel. I just like to create moments with everything, every emotion,” he said. “Sometimes it’s happiness, sorrow, lust; I want people to experience different emotions when I play.”

Haile and his band, Upstream, will play their Caribbean-based music from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Eastbluff Park as the last of this summer’s Concerts in the Park series.

Upstream “has a real full sound that can work well in an open setting like a park,” said Jana Barbier, cultural arts coordinator for the city. The Newport Beach City Arts Commission “thought this band would appeal to everyone, especially at the end of the summer as the lights are changing, the days are winding down, and it’s just a neat opportunity for everyone to get together and celebrate.”

Sunday’s concert marks the end of the sixth annual event and is a testament to the range of music styles each concert brings: it might be the Pacific Symphony or the Russian National Orchestra, or it could be salsa or reggae bands.

Anywhere from 500 to 2,000 have been known to show up at the various Newport Beach parks for the concerts, and the popularity continues to grow.

“I would say they’ve just gained in popularity each year,” Barbier said. “There’s a real following of people who enjoy spending the evening with their neighbors … with their picnics and listen to some great music to wind the week down.”

Upstream will play original songs and some covers at Sunday’s show, including music from their three albums “Upstream,” “Life” and “Jump to the Rhythm.” Upstream has played to many audiences throughout Southern California — Blackman estimated the band plays between 16 and 20 times a month — but is confident that in most cases the audience finds a connection, regardless of if they are familiar with the music.

“If you play good music, even if people don’t know it, they can relate to it if it says something ically,” he said. “If the rhythm is saying something and the lyrics are saying something and you put something on that moves people, it’s OK if they don’t understand because they can move to it.”

On Sunday, Blackman will play rhythm guitar and sing alongside his brother Johnny Blackman on drums, “Professor” Einstein Brown on the steel drums, Stephen Scott on bass, John McKnight on guitar and Jelani Jones on the keyboard. All natives of the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, they come to play the music that lives inside them, Blackman said.

Leave the wine and other alcohol at home, but be sure to arrive early and bring beach chairs, blankets, picnics and the family to listen to Upstream jam at Eastbluff Park.

“Music is all noise that you put together and try to make sense of,” Blackman said. “We all relate to music and I think without music we really couldn’t exist.”