Music is in the air and Summer concert series calendar

Summer concerts pop up all over Greater Lansing

Posted
The Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle entertains a crowd at Moore's PArk as part of last year's Concerts in the Park.
Ty Forquer/City Pulse

While summer doesn’t officially start until June 20, we’re already seeing one of Greater Lansing’s telltale signs of summer: lawn chair-toting families emerging from their winter hibernation in search of outdoor music.

Fortunately, Greater Lansing is teeming with outdoor music options. The season kicked off last week with a performance by Global Village at Grand Ledge’s Music in the Park. The series continues Thursday with an appearance by Motown Eagles, a Detroit-based Eagles tribute band. Also on Thursday, down in Mason, the Thursday Night Live! concert series hosts the Mason Orchestral Society. The cities of Lansing, East Lansing and St. Johns also start their summer concert series this month.

Lansing’s summer concerts feature a variety of local acts, each performing in a different city park. A special July 4 program features fireworks and patriotic music from the Lansing Concert Band. East Lansing’s series begins on June 24 with popular ‘80s cover band Starfarm. Also on the docket are local favorites like Root Doctor, Deacon Earl and Sea Cruisers.

"The city likes to help create that sense of place and feeling of community with the residents. Offering downtown events is a way to get people to meet their neighbors and come downtown to see local businesses,” said Heather Surface, community events specialist for the City of East Lansing. “It encourages people to enjoy their town. We're closing down a street in hopes that a lot of people will show up.”

Also hoping to cash in on the intersection of live music and commerce are Eastwood Towne Center and the Lansing City Market. Eastwood Towne Center’s summer music lineup begins Tuesday with a performance by the Sea Cruisers.

Lansing City Market, which started its concert series last year, is more than doubling the number of performances this year. In its first year, Jazz on the Grand featured three evenings of live music. This year, the blown-out Grand Concert Series comprises four Jazz on the Grand concerts and four Blues on the Grand concerts. MSU’s Professors of Jazz and Phil Denny return from last year’s jazz series, while the blues series brings in artists like Twyla Birdsong, Thornetta Davis and Frog & the Beeftones.

For cities on the fringes of Greater Lansing, like St. Johns and Mason, these outdoor concerts have an added bonus. Free, family-friendly events can draw people from rural areas into the cities, or they can pull in new visitors from other cities.

"I think that it gives everybody a good excuse to come out, and it helps promote local businesses because it brings people in from out of town," said Aleasha Wood, program assistant of Mason Thursday Night Live! Courthouse Concerts.

Summer concert series calendar

All concerts are FREE. Attendees should bring lawn chairs, blankets and/or snacks. No alcohol is permitted in city parks.

East Lansing Summer Concert Series All concerts start at 7 p.m. FREE. Ann Street Plaza, corner of Albert and M.A.C. avenues, East Lansing. (517) 319-6888, cityofeastlansing.com/ summerconcertseries. June 24: Starfarm June 25: Alex Mendenall July 8: Sea Cruisers July 9: Gemini July 15: Heartland Klezmorim July 16: Kathleen and the Bridge Street Band July 22: Root Doctor July 23: Dominic and Rachael Davis July 29: Xavier's Jazz Trio July 30: Dragspel Aug. 5: Deacon Earl Aug. 6: Gifts or Creatures and May Erlewine

Grand Ledge Music in the Park All concerts 7-9 p.m. FREE. Bridge Street Plaza, 213 Bridge St., Grand Ledge. (517) 627-2383, grandledgechamber.com. June 2: Global Village June 9: Motown Eagles June 16: Brian Lorente and the Usual Suspects June 23: Toppermost June 30: Life Support July 7: Grand Ledge Bums and Exit 86 July 14: Root Doctor July 21: Taylor Taylor July 28: Delilah DeWylde Aug. 4: The Lansing Unionized Vaudeville SpectacleAug. 11: Showdown Aug. 18: Donny Brown Aug. 25: Three Men and a Tenor

Eastwood Towne Center Summer Music Series All concerts 6-8 p.m. except where noted. FREE. Center Court, Eastwood Towne Center, 3003 Preyde Blvd., Lansing. (517) 316-9209, shopeastwoodtownecenter.com/ events. June 14: Sea Cruisers June 21: Brenda Loomis June 28: Kids’ Night with Tim the Music Man (5 p.m.-7 p.m.) July 12: Showdown July 19: Layers July 26: Root Doctor Aug. 2: Smooth Daddy Aug. 9: Don Middlebrook and the Pearl Divers Aug. 16: Natchez Trace Aug. 23: Life Support

Lansing Concerts in the Park All concerts 7-9 p.m. FREE. Each concert is in a different city park. (517) 483-4277, lansingmi.gov/concerts_in_the_park June 22: The Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle at Moores Park, 400 Moores River Drive, Lansing June 29: Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys at Turner-Dodge House, 100 E. North St., Lansing. July 4: Fourth of July fireworks and Lansing Concert Band at Adado Riverfront Park, 210 E. Shiawassee St., Lansing. July 13: Deacon Earl and the Congregation at Fenner Nature Center, 2020 E. Mt. Hope Ave., Lansing. July 20: Full House at St. Joseph Park, 2125 W. Hillsdale St., Lansing. July 27: Tejano Funk at Frances Park, 2701 Moores River Drive, Lansing. Aug. 3: Toppermost at Sycamore Park, 1415 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Lansing.

Grand Concert Series at Lansing City Market All concerts start at 6 p.m. FREE. Lansing City Market, 325. City Market Drive, Lansing. (517) 483-7460 ext. 234. lansingcitymarket.com/events/grandconcert-series

Jazz on the Grand June 15: MSU Professors of Jazz and MSU Community Music School July 27: Medium Rare and East Lansing High School Jazz Band Aug. 24: Orrick Ewing and Lansing Community College Jazz Band September 14: Phil Denny (and friends) and Lansing School District Choral Group

Blues on the Grand June 16: Twyla Birdsong Band and Lansing School District Band Group July 28: Thornetta Davis and DeWitt Junior High Jazz Band Aug. 25: David Gerald September 15: Frog & the Beeftones

Mason Thursday Night Live! All concerts start at 6 p.m. FREE. Ingham County Courthouse lawn, 315 S. Jefferson St., Mason. (517) 676-1046, masonchamber.org. June 9: Mason Orchestral Society June 23: From Big Sur July 7: Life Support July 21: Sea Cruisers Aug. 11: Backwoods Band Aug. 25: Twilight Memories Big Band September 15: Mason High School Band

St. Johns Concerts in the Park June 15: Sea Cruisers June 22: The Louis Longoria Band June 29: Mountain Town Singers July 6: Blue Water Ramblers July 13: Martha Reeves and the Vandellas July 20: Mid-Michigan Festival Orchestra July 27: My Sweet Patootie Aug. 3: Motown Eagles Aug. 10: Monday’s Supper Aug. 17: Toppermost Aug. 24: Capital City Brass Band Aug. 31: Elvis impersonator Matt King

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here




Connect with us