Bel Air’s parks will be filled with music this spring and summer, and things kicked off Wednesday in Shamrock Park with a performance by the Pineapple Band, a local cover group formed in Bel Air.
The show was the first of 11 dates in the “Music in the Park” free concert series, organized by the Bel Air Recreation Committee.
People can bring their blankets, lawn chairs, even a picnic dinner, to Shamrock Park or the Schlehr Pavilion in Rockfield Park on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month through Sept. 27.
The concerts are scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. each evening. A lineup of the acts, which range from classic rock cover groups to big band, jazz, funk and country is available on the Recreation Committee’s Facebook page.
The Recreation Committee also offers the Summer Concert Series, which will be Sunday evenings in Shamrock Park – admission to those concerts is free as well. That series, which includes symphonic music, big band, jazz, even sea shanties, kicks off June 4 with the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra. The concerts are scheduled for 7 to 8:15 p.m., and a lineup is available on the BARC Facebook page. People can call 410-803-9784 after 4 p.m. on the day of each concert for any information related to a show cancelation or relocation.
Finally, the Recreation Committee supports the Bel Air Community Band and the Bel Air Community Chorus. The Community Band will perform its Spring Concert at 3 p.m. this Sunday, April 30 at Bel Air High School; admission is free. The band is part of the Sunday concert series lineup, with a performance June 18.
The Community Chorus, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, also will be part of the Sunday series, with its “Chart Toppers and Show Stoppers” performance on June 11.
The chorus is hosting a fundraiser, BACC Basket Bingo, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 29, at the McFaul Activity Center. Tickets can be purchased online for $20 per person or at the door for $25.
Ride through the storm
On Wednesday, Pineapple Band played for about an hour under cloudy skies. Three of the band’s five members – Cooper Wade on guitar and lead vocals, Dominic LaFrancesca on keyboards and backing vocals, and Dylan Greveris on drums – performed a medley of covers of classic rock songs, as well as some reggae tunes such as “Could you be Loved” by Bob Marley and The Wailers.
About 20 people, including some families with young children, sat in lawn chairs or played in the park as the band performed in the William A. Humbert Amphitheater – the amphitheater will be the venue for concerts as well as other community events during the summer.
This year is the second for the Wednesday concert series. Recreation Committee officials want to give residents a greater variety of music styles, compared to the Sunday concerts.
“[We will] hopefully draw some different faces out, to see what Bel Air Rec can offer to the community,” said Ben Rynes, who is heading up Music in the Park.
Rain began falling, and the show paused as the band members shifted their gear under the roof of the amphitheater. They played a couple of songs, such as “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors, to fit the weather before stopping. Audience members remained in place, sheltering under trees on the park’s periphery, as the band kept playing.
Richard Hicks, president of BARC, stressed that the committee is about much more than athletics. The purposes behind the concert series include providing a venue for local musicians to perform, an opportunity for residents to enjoy free music in “a nice, family-friendly atmosphere” at the town’s parks, as well as experience “these tremendous venues” such as the Humbert Amphitheater and Schlehr Pavilion. Admission to all the shows is free, too.
“We don’t ever charge,” Hicks said.
Contact Media and Public Relations Specialist David Anderson at 410-688-3020 or danderson@belairmd.org.