Familiar tunes will ring out over the bricks on the downtown square, week after week through the long, hot summer. Bands on the Bricks is back for its fifth year of high afternoon fun every Friday through Aug. 12 starting Friday with the Devon Worley Band. Performances run from 6 to 9 p.m. on the corner of M and 13th street.
Committee chair of Bands on the Bricks Sara Sutherland described the community support for the growing local tradition.
“It’s been really consistent,” she said. “We have a really great community, a lot of fabulous business and individual supporters of the event. They are the ones that exclusively make it happen. So each week we will continue to showcase some of the top level sponsors. I just welcome the community to note all of the individuals and businesses that helped make this happen, so that we can continue (to ensure) that it stays a staple for our community for years to come.”
The bands will be performing greatest hits of the past from a variety of genres, mostly with a country-rock sound.
“They all pretty much do covers during the show,” Sutherland explained. “A lot of them do have albums, and they will maybe play a few of their originals during the set. But for the most part, they all do covers.”
There will be a mix of returning and new bands as well as the sounds of children playing. In a designated kid area, there will be hula hoops, sidewalk chalk and bubbles to be blown.
“We are working to bring back the (barrel) train,” she advertised. “We did have that a couple of years ago. It was a huge hit with the kids. So, we’re finalizing all of the details with that as well.”
There will also be a chance for refreshments for people of all ages. There will be two food trucks as well as a bar serving adult beverages.
“We do have the three-foot orange cones with a rope that will mark the designated area specifically for the adult beverages to stay contained within,” she said. “But if you don’t have a beverage in your hand, you’re free to kind of roam around, obviously.”
Sutherland said the event is welcome to all but is mostly for the community to enjoy and relax over the summer.
“We have had people come in from out of town to enjoy the night with us,” she stated. “However the main goal for Bands on the Bricks is for it to be community first. So, although we do some advertising to get the word out, the intention isn’t for it to be a true tourist destination in and of itself. It’s very much for our community, in our community, by the community. Those that travel and find it, we love having them as guests.”
Sutherland encouraged everyone to bring out their families, painting a scene about what they can come to expect.
“It is to be a really enjoyable night out that, even if the temperature gets a little hot during the day, because of where we have it located on the square, the trees provide great shade,” she concluded. “We get a great breeze coming through the courthouse. By the time the band starts playing, we’ve got a really nice night to kind of enjoy being outside a little bit. If you have little ones, it’s a great opportunity to expose them to some live music starting at 6 p.m. so it’s not terribly late.”
