Johnson Park free concert series starts Monday, June 5, runs through Aug. 23

By Russ Tarby

Contributing Writer

For the past 32 summers, villagers and visitors have gathered twice weekly at Johnson Park to listen and dance at free outdoor concerts.

The entertainment, presented by the Liverpool is The Place Committee, begins at 7 p.m. Monday, June 5, with music by student jazz ensembles from the Liverpool Central School District. The concert series concludes on Aug. 23 with the folk duo Two Feet Short.

On Monday, June 12, Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Famer Joe Whiting will impress the park’s audience with his blend of roots rock, blues, country and soul music. 

The theme of this year’s concert series is “Big Band Bonanza,” as several large ensembles have been booked this summer including the Stock Market Swing Orchestra on June 26, Utica’s Easy Money Big Band on July 12 and the Mario DeSantis Orchestra celebrating its 70th anniversary here on Aug. 21.

The biggest orchestra in the series, the Liverpool Community Concert Band, will perform a program of patriotic tunes on July 3. 

Sponsors sought    

Since 1985 when the park’s amphitheater was constructed, the Liverpool is The Place Committee has staged more than 720 concerts there. The committee, chaired for the past 14 years by Colleen Gunnip, sells popcorn, soda and coffee at the concerts, which routinely draw more than 400 music lovers.

Businesses interested in sponsoring a concert this year should contact Gunnip at [email protected] or (315) 652-5029.

“Without the financial support of the local businesses in our community this concert series would not be possible,” Gunnip said. The LITP Committee is a sub-committee of the Greater Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. 

Dozens of Liverpool-area musician and singers will be showcased this year. The June 14 concert features the Liverpool Community Chorus under the direction of John Miller.

Legendary Liverpool rock and roller Jan Fetterly returns June 21, playing drums for The Other Guise, and Liverpool High School alumna Melissa Gardiner brings her award-winning New Orleans-style brass band, Second Line Syracuse, to Johnson Park on July 31.

Liverpool musicians will also be showcased in the Budd Zunga Band on June 28, BeatleCuse – The Naughty Bits on July 10and Diamond Someday bluegrass band on July 19.

The 2017 concert series is generously supported by a grant administered by CNY Arts and funded by the New York State Council on the Arts to foster the continuing development of local cultural programs.

Stage canopy planned

If plans proceed as expected, a “Jubilee” style tent will be installed over the park’s stage sometime this concert season.

The canopy, designed by Colorado’s WeatherPort Shelter Systems, is made of durable composite fabric stretched over a sturdy metal frame securely anchored into the stage’s cement floor.

A $40,000 grant received by the village government from Onondaga County Department of Transportation will more than cover the cost for the stage cover.

The new canopy should allow musicians to set up, plug in and keep their equipment dry in the event of rain. 

The LITP committee hopes it will prevent concerts from being canceled due to moisture. Only one concert was rained out last summer, but in 2015 four of the 24 shows had to be canceled due to wet weather, and the year before, eight concerts were rained out.