The riverfront concert series will host 20 free shows next summer, its largest lineup since it began in 1998. Organizers unveiled the schedule on Tuesday evening at a packed announcement party in the old boathouse, where a brass quartet played between speeches and fans cheered as each new act appeared on a big screen. The season will run every Friday and Saturday evening from mid-June through late August, with a few special midweek dates around the holidays.
Highlights include a Fourth of July performance by the city symphony and a late-August bluegrass festival. In between, the lineup ranges from jazz and soul to folk, Latin, gospel, rock and a family-friendly afternoon of children’s music. Every show will be free and open to all, as it has been for more than 25 years.
A season of firsts
The series started with just six concerts on a borrowed flatbed trailer parked by the river. Today it is one of the city’s most beloved summer traditions, drawing families with picnic blankets, retirees with lawn chairs and teenagers who come for the music and stay for the sunset.
Thanks for explaining this so clearly.
Great reporting — please keep following this story.