Dancing in the park!

Gallery

Posted on by

We did our first free concert at a park close to our home last weekend. It was a ten-minute ride. Parking was easy and the field surrounding the bandshell was large and terraced. You didn’t need to go early to get a spot. You had to take your own chair or blanket as there was no seating. It was an easy venue and we liked that. (Did I mention it was close and parking was good?)

The concert was advertised as “island music.” When I hear that I think Jimmy Buffet. We were there for the first set and half of the second. They only played one true Buffet tune, but they did some “island” tunes. I think of “Brown Eyed Girl” as a Van Morrison song but Jimmy did a great rendition too (so does Bruce Springsteen). There was calypso and a lot of 60-70s tunes. They were playing early Beatles when we left.  I did not get to hear “Margaritaville” which may  have been their closing tune. The band was adequate and fun. They weren’t young but they got into their groove.

Aside from toddlers tumbling in the back (seriously are they made of rubber?), we brought down the average age to 80. Tons of seniors (including us) were enjoying the music. Some were swaying precariously in their aluminum chairs (perhaps they should have had medics on alert!) and a few were dancing (or having a heart attack, not sure which) in the back.

There were a group of kids, maybe 10 to 12, hawking homemade lemonade and honey from their hives. They didn’t get many takers as most of the audience brought their own drinks. Seniors think of everything!

The couple next to us brought their supper to enjoy. We reminisced about going to other park concerts with friends. We speculated that one friend would have had a large food spread and made a party out of it. Sort of like tailgating but without the grill and the sports event.

The weather was perfect and the night was free. What more can you ask for?

53 thoughts on “Dancing in the park!”

  3. Got some smiles and giggles from this one. Close and parking? Perfect.
    I like the “bring your own chairs” thing – makes it casual with people not sitting in straight rows – lots of variety to see, too: both people and seating choices! HAHA

    Liked by 1 person

  4. You crack me up. “We brought down the average age to 80.” hahaha. Now there is a concert thingie like that every Sunday next to my daughter’s condo complex. She and her husband and my and DIL go there sometimes. They say it is mostly families with children that go. But you do have to bring your own lawn chairs.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. What fun! You reminded me that we have one of those and I totally forget to check the band schedule. I’ll have to see if they have any over Labor Day weekend. Ours is a little farther than yours, about a 20-minute drive. I like to go see the 80s cover bands. And I usually do some dancing in the park. Glad you got out to enjoy a nice evening of music. Thanks for the reminder.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Sounds like great fun! It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a similar event. I don’t think of myself as old most of the time but the concert in the park does seem kind of directed toward us slightly older persons. I remember those concerts in the park in movies and books with swing bands. I have nothing against swing bands but Island music would be more fun.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. What a wonderful way to spend an evening. I remember going to outdoor concerts held at a local winery and being able to purchase a glass (plastic) or bottle to enjoy with the concert since it was on the winery’s grounds and didn’t break any laws. If the music was adequate, the air was fresh and people-watching was fun, what else more could you ask for? (Well, except if seating was provided, I guess!)

    Liked by 1 person

  10. We have those free concerts, all tribute bands, a block over from me at Memorial Park (where the butterfly and violinist/cellist were). I can hear the music from my house and they are good. You have to take your own chair there too. At Heritage Park at the Botanical Gardens they have bands with vendor trucks – I think they charge $5.00 which helps to support the Gardens. It always looks fun but it starts by 6:00 p.m. and I work ’til 5:30 – maybe when I retire I’d like to go. I haven’t seen Jimmy Buffet come to the Detroit area in a few years, maybe since the pandemic began. I like his music and he has quite a following of Parrotheads here – they dress up with tropical clothes, even hats fashioned to look like a parrot.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’ve seen Jimmy Buffet a half dozen times. Always fun. Guess I’m a parrothead too! The guy puts on an amazing show. All fun and no blitz, no flashing lights or naked women. Just good music.

      Liked by 1 person

      • You are lucky – I love his music. Now I have seen the Beach Boys and Chicago each about six times and in 1976 saw them both in Michigan and then I took a coworker with me to Toronto and we stayed with my grandmother a week and we saw both groups at the Exhibition (an annual huge fair in Toronto). They both put on a great show back in the day as well. The thing with Jimmy Buffet and the Beach Boys and Chicago is everyone knows the songs and they’re up on their feet and singing. We usually had lawn seats at Pine Knob and everyone singing and swaying … good times.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Sounds like you had a nice evening. Our local park has music throughout the summer, but I wish I could say parking is easy because it’s a bear hauling chairs several blocks. I haven’t been in a while because of that. I do see a lot of photos online with locals having a blast, standing, swaying, and dancing.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Our chairs are very lightweight so that’s not too bad. We used to go to some other venues that had good shows but the parking was awful. It felt like we were parking in the next state! I don’t mind walking but it made the whole thing a chore.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Now I would go to a concert like that, Kate. I see in a comment that it was 5:30 -7:30, not too late and it would probably still be daylight. Glad you had a good time even without hearing “Margaritaville.”

    Liked by 1 person

  22. When we lived in Winston-Salem NC, we did concerts in the park like that ~ with picnic dinners, adult beverages, and great tunes. Nice way to spend an evening.

    Here in Florida, we’ve done many outdoor concerts too ~ even some headliners, like Sophie B. Hawkins. There’s something about music out of doors that is wonderful.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Toddlers and kittens are both made of rubber. Thankfully. Kittens are so nuts that I can’t believe they don’t get hurt more often. Sounds like a fun evening!

    Liked by 1 person

    • It was a fun evening. Sadly there is only one more concert and it’s not our kind of music. Next year we’ll start earlier. Watching those toddlers — I had forgotten how rubbery they are and yes kitten, puppies are like that too.

      Like

Comments are closed.