East Baton Rouge Parish turns 200 this year, and a series of free summer concerts will ring in the anniversary.
The Sounds of Summer concert series, a collaboration between the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and the mayor-president and Metro Council, will be held downtown at Galvez Plaza every Friday in June.
The concept for the concerts was to offer events similar to other activities that take place downtown, like free weekly concert series Live After Five, which held its last show for the spring on May 28, said Scott Dyer, media coordinator for the mayor-president.
“The idea was to keep the Live After Five idea going as a birthday present for the city-parish,” Dyer said.
Celebrating the 200th anniversary with free music downtown is a way to acknowledge the flourishing entertainment scene there, said Maureen Joyce, marketing coordinator for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.
“This area continues to grow and thrive, and it has a burgeoning arts and music scene and people keep noting how much attendance we’re getting,” Joyce said. “There are more opportunities to see live music and great art, and we’re seeing attendance at those events growing astronomically.”
The acts slated to appear in the Sounds of Summer series will appeal to the college crowd, Joyce said. “A lot of the music we’re choosing is really about creating a place to see people who are writing their own music, which is something young people appreciate,” she said.
Joyce said the focus was on selecting unique, creative bands rather than cover bands one might hear in bars.
“We’re not just hearing live music but coming out and celebrating the culture of musicianship,” Joyce said.
The performing bands span various genres, including brass funk, R&B and zydeco. Mia Borders, who is scheduled to perform June 18, recently performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
“The lineup is pretty good and there’s some diversity,” Dyer said. “There’s something for everybody.”
The first concert was scheduled for June 4 but was postponed because of rain. The remaining shows will take place June 11, 18 and 25.In addition to the Sounds of Summer series, two “Discover Baton Rouge” days were built into the summer celebrations for East Baton Rouge’s anniversary.
The Discover Baton Rouge days, the first of which was held June 6, also features concerts as well as free admission to downtown museums, food vendors and more.
The second Discover Baton Rouge day will be held July 10 at Lafayette Park.
—-Contact Ryan Buxton [email protected].