Locals attend BEAD summer concerts

With everything from weeknight orchestral concerts to garage rock during lunch, it’s hard to stay bored in Bloomington in the summer.

For more than 20 years, the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District has promoted two weekly concert series: Peoples Park Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursdays in Third Street from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

“The concerts are a great way to provide an art event for the community at no charge,” said Kristy LeVert, a program coordinator for the City of Bloomington.

Folk music and blues bands are the most common at the concerts, LeVert said, since many local artists embrace these genres.

“We really aim for a variety,” LeVert said. “There do happen to be an abundance of folk and blues bands in the area. The applications for those genres are very high.”

Jenn Cristy, a soul-infused rock artist, has played at Thursdays in Third Street for six years. She is scheduled for a concert Aug. 11.

“People need to know how fortunate we are to have a program like this,” Cristy said. “It’s such a well-oiled machine. I can’t speak highly enough about this program.”

Cristy said playing free concerts in a venue open to all ages attracts a unique audience, which she enjoys.

“It’s not in a bar, which means people are actually coming out to hear music,” Cristy said. “They’re not coming out to drink or be rowdy. They’re coming out for the music, and that makes it fantastic.”

She said she tries to cover a wide range of genres at these concerts because of the different tastes in music they attract.

“We keep it fun, we keep it friendly, we keep it light-hearted,” Cristy said. “We try to cover everything that we can because it’s free and we have a wide range of people coming.”

Artists apply to perform in the summer concerts starting in October, LeVert said. The deadline for applications is in December, and the city starts scheduling performers and contacting sponsors in January.

The City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation department pays the artists at the Tuesday concerts, LeVert said. Local sponsors pay the performers for the Thursday concerts.

She said the concerts give back to the city by promoting both the arts and economic development.

“The concerts in People’s Park are close to the downtown area, and I always encourage people to go pick up lunch downtown. Or Thursdays in Third Street, grab dinner from one of our downtown businesses,” LeVert said. “We always try to encourage people to shop at our sponsors.”

LeVert said the concerts have become part of citizens’ routines since they are offered at the same time and place weekly. She said regulars have attended the concerts all summer despite the extreme heat.

“We have such an abundance of great artists, and it’s a great way to share them with the community,” LeVert said. “There’s no better use for the park.”