Attendance tops 400 at season finale
The season finale of Bands on the Bricks saw an overwhelming turnout of support by Aurora residents and visitors Friday evening.
Between families enjoying the show from the comfort of their lawn chairs near the bandstand and the children making chalk drawings and dancing on the street, 400 people were confirmed to be present during the final night, according Bands on the Bricks founder Sara Sutherland.
“The very first couple of seasons we actually would count like ‘that’s a table of six and eight’”, Sutherland explained. “We’ve gotten pretty good about eyeballing it, just based on what we feel like we see, because we took some practice during the first few summers kind of ‘guess-timating’ if you will.”
The founder said attendance throughout the six-week season had reached between 350-400 people each night.
“Overall, my guess would be it’s probably our highest attendance yet pretty consistently every single week,” she stated. “For being the last night, this is a great crowd that we have out here tonight.”
The large turnout this year Sutherland attributed to the nearly perfect weather for all six nights.
“It’s been a great season,” she said. “Everything played out perfectly. Even with a little bit of rain a couple of nights, we were still able to have the bands play, so really can’t ask for more.”
Since July 5, each Friday night featured an appearance by a band that would showcase classic melodies and original songs for the local crowd with this year featuring two new bands to the event.
“I try to have a good mix of some fan favorites that return and then some brand new ones to get in the mix as well,” Sutherland said.
Among the returning bands was Friday’s offering, the Jason Mayer Band. The band recently released Mayer’s single, “Kind of Wild”, and will be going on tour across the country starting in September.
“We had a lot of fun doing it last year and they asked us back so it was an obvious choice,” Mayer commented.
Having toured the country in major cities such as Las Vegas and Miami, the lead singer said he enjoyed bring his country rock music back to Nebraska.
“I love the crowd, just looking out and seeing everybody singing and dancing and having fun. It’s just a really good feeling knowing that you’re bringing joy to people,” he said.
During the band’s intermission, the Tempo Performing Arts Studio showcased dancers who had learned a routine for the event during their summer camp.
While the band played, concertgoers had the opportunity to grab food and drinks from food vendors made possible by over 55 local business and individual sponsors.
“Last year, we had 53 that helped make it happen,” Sutherland noted. “We had a few more this year. We needed absolutely every single one of them to make it happen.”
One of the sponsors attending the last night was Brett Mitchell, president of Fontel, Inc.
“Since the event started, it’s been on our radar as a great community event,” Mitchell stated. “While most of our customers are here, we don’t do it for advertising reasons. We just see it as a great event that makes living in Aurora and Hamilton County better. We love supporting it to allow something else for families to come do and enjoy that nice weather this time of year. We’re happy to be a part of it.”
Another sponsor eager to take part in the event was Heritage Bank president Jacob Arendt.
“It’s a wonderful environment that they created,” Arendt commented. “I think they’ve really hit the mark. I know there’s other communities that are trying to kind of replicate something like this and we’ve been doing it for seven years.”
Arendt described Bands on the Bricks as being a wonderful impact to businesses and the community, thanks to the Aurora Chamber of Commerce and Sutherland.
“The chamber putting their time, energy and effort into it is awesome,” he stated. “It’s fun when we’re a sponsor and we get to see our customers or people we to come out and promote it. The bigger part is just for the general public. The general community to be able to enjoy it based off all of the Chamber’s and Sara’s hard work.
Several local residents have made it a goal to attend all six nights for Bands on the Bricks each year. Among them was Deb Vetter, who celebrated the event’s small town togetherness as well as family-friendly environment as a cherished part of Bands on the Bricks.
“We did 20-some years in the Navy,” Vetter shared, referring to she and her husband, Al. “It’s like that, because everybody gets together for a base family. Everybody’s closer and (its fun) watching the kids run, having fun, because you don’t worry about them.”
For Don and Jean Ramsey, the event has been an opportunity for the couple to share a dance or two together.
“The food is good, the music is usually good and you get to see a lot of people, it’s a good turnout,” Don commented.
“People like to come in and if they don’t dance, they like to come down and watch,” Jean added.
The couple was joined by their daughter, Michelle Sutter, who was visiting from Arizona.
“I’ve only been here a couple times and I would say that the music is always entertaining to the people,” Sutter said. “I feel like Sara has a good pull on what people like and the different crowds.”
Other active participants in Bands on the Bricks were Bev and Keith Collingham, who have been attending the event since it started. For Bev, seeing the growth in numbers of people attending and seeing it bring “the community together and being to see friends, family and new people,” is a highlight.
“There’s a lot of new people and it’s drawn people to our community which is a good thing,” Bev commented.
“I do hope it continues, because we do like music and we like bands coming here to meet the people,” Keith said. “And the good weather! We’ve had good weather this year.”
Sutherland announced the opening of next year’s Bands on the Bricks will take place on July 11, 2025.