Playing for the people

When people think of music, they might think of listening to mp3s or going to concerts with a band on a stage. The music at Peoples Park on Tuesdays this summer is not that kind of music.

It’s more of a hands-on experience, said Bloomington musician Tamara Loewenthal, a member of this week’s Peoples Park Tuesday Lunch Concert Series performance group.

“We’re trying to draw people in to the arts in a way that they can ‘touch it,’” said Loewenthal, a member of the band Fiddle ’n’ Feet. “I think it builds community to feel that art is part of life, not a place you go somewhere, like you go to the theater to see art or you go to the museum to see art.”

Part of what makes the performances in Peoples Park different is that they don’t have a proper stage, Loewenthal said. The musicians perform from under a tent in the middle of the park, while people are free to join in the experience by dancing right up by the performers or just by enjoying lunch outside in the warm weather with the band as background music.

The series, which has free concerts from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday in Peoples Park – located on Kirkwood Avenue opposite Kilroy’s on Kirkwood – runs from May through September. Sarah Nix, the facility program coordinator for the city of Bloomington’s Parks & Recreation, organizes concerts for the series and said the series tries to incorporate artists from a variety of styles.

“It exposes the community to a wide range of artists, different types of music, anywhere from jazz and blues to bluegrass. We have some steel drums, ragtime, polka, just all different types of music,” Nicks said. “It also creates a great community atmosphere. It allows people to come to a park during lunchtime and enjoy socializing with others.”

This is the ninth year for the series in People’s Park, Nicks said. It is only one series in the City of Bloomington Parks & Recreation’s umbrella 2009 Summer Performing Arts Series, which also includes the bigger-scale concert series at Third Street Park and Bryan Park later in the summer, as well as the Evening with the Stars Movie Series that begins in August. 

While the Peoples Park series is meant for smaller-scale artists who are not as well-known in the Bloomington community, Nix emphasized that they are all local artists whom people can enjoy during lunch and relax while listening to.

Bloomington resident Jill Steiner, who was at the Fiddle ’n’ Feet show Tuesday, said she tries to come to the Peoples Park shows as much as possible with her two young children so they can experience the different kinds of music and the eclectic people who live in Bloomington and come to the shows. The atmosphere is great, too, she said.

“It’s a good chance to smell the local food and enjoy the sunshine,” Steiner said.
Bloomington resident Bruce Cassal said he came out because he is friends with the members of Fiddle ’n’ Feet, but he also enjoys the laid-back nature of the concerts.
“It’s pretty casual,” Cassal said. “People just enjoy music and being outside.”