SUMMER CONCERTS : Pleasing tunes will fill the air along the beach on hot days and balmy nights.

Whether you like to swing, be-bop, two-step or groove, the South Bay’s summer outdoor concert season provides toe-tapping sounds for every musical taste.

Throughout the area, free performances will fill the hot days and balmy evenings with the sounds of everything from country and Cajun to jazz and classics.

Children’s “rock” is on the musical menu Saturday on the Palos Verdes Peninsula when the popular duo Greg & Steve present its special program of upbeat songs that educate and entertain. The performance will begin at 10 a.m. and opens the Lemonade Concert Series at the Peninsula Shopping Center.

The series also features jazz from The Billy Mitchell Group on July 24 at 1 p.m., 1950s classics from The Drifters on July 31 at 1 p.m., and bluegrass and country sounds from Smokewood on Aug. 7 at 1 p.m.

The music begins on the grass outside Peninsula Stationers in the Peninsula Shopping Center. Concert-goers will be treated to free music and all the lemonade they can drink, courtesy of Newman’s Own. Information: (310) 544-2395.

In Redondo Beach, music is in the air Thursday and Sunday evenings near the pier.

Each Thursday at 6 p.m. through Sept. 2, the Redondo Pier Assn. will present its 11th annual free concert series where Torrance Boulevard meets the sea.

Next Thursday, A Band Called Zasloff will offer a unique blend of African, Japanese and Jewish be-bop.

The concert series continues July 29 with classic Big Band Swing from Roger Neumann’s Lucky Seven; Nikki Hornsby and the Rangers will offer traditional and original country music on Aug. 5; The Dixie Chickens will play Dixieland swing on Aug. 12; Zydeco Party band, a favorite from last year’s series, returns with their Cajun/bluegrass blend on Aug. 19; a group called 1920s Hot Society Orchestra will offer bootleg classics on Aug. 26, and The Good Boys close the series Sept. 2 with a program of “Top 40” tunes.

Regular concert-goers will witness the long-awaited beginning of the pier’s reconstruction, said Jim Graham, spokesman for the association and facilities manager for the city.

A 1988 Memorial Day weekend fire destroyed 25% of the pier, wiping out 16 businesses and 35,000 square feet of shops. Rebuilding will cost about $8.5 million and take up to 18 months.

Concert seating is limited so concert-goers are encouraged to bring blankets or chairs. Information: (310) 318-0630.

The Redondo Beach Parks and Recreation Department presents Concerts in the Park each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. and on Sept. 2 in Veterans Park by the pier.

This Sunday, Jimmy Beasly will provide classic blues and Max Welton will counter with a contemporary sound. Information: (310) 318-0610.

The Manhattan Beach summer concert season celebrates its 15th anniversary this year in the Polliwog Park amphitheater. Concerts are scheduled every Sunday at 5 p.m. through Sept. 12.

Freddie Ravel plays Latin jazz Sunday; Blues with Doug MacLeod fills the July 25 program followed by big band music from The Jack Sheldon Orchestra on Aug. 1; The Dietz Brothers offer the Caribbean beat on Aug. 8, and The Billy Mitchell Band plays contemporary pop on Aug. 15. The band California plays bluegrass on Aug. 22 followed by the world beat music of A Band Called Zasloff on Aug. 29. Performances by the Freeway Philharmonic on Sept. 5 and Cajun music from the Zydeco Party Band Sept. 12 close out the season.

Concessions will be available for the first time this year with some of the proceeds benefiting local youth, school and community groups.

The concerts are free but donations can be made to support the program at the Parks and Recreation Department. Information: (310) 545-5621, Ext. 321.

In El Segundo through Aug. 8, music lovers can enjoy Sunday afternoons in the park listening to country, jazz, classical and barbershop performances. The concerts begin each week at 2 p.m. in the Library Park bandstand.

Sunday’s show will feature two groups, the Hyperion Outfall Serenaders, offering Dixieland jazz and The Southbay Coastliners, a barbershop quartet.

The Palos Verdes Symphonic Band takes the stage with a program of classical and patriotic music on July 25 and the Pandemonium Steel Drum Band will complete the season with their distinctive sound on Aug. 8.

Information: (310) 322-3842.