Friday, June 23, 2006

Getting' down in the Square




We walked toward the music and saw a throng of people stretching for at least two blocks. We were looking for a restaurant and stumbled on the Sun Down Concert Series, a free outdoor concert series on Thursdays.

I had to stop.

It's kind of like our Alive After Five, but way bigger. They've got big-time sponsors such as Regal Entertainment, the City of Knoxville, Pilot and of course Budweiser. Music ranges from lesser known acts such as Thursdays Rhett Miller and the Believers to such as their April kick off band Little Feat. See their lineup at www.sundowninthecity.com

The series starts in April and runs through June. It picks up again in September and it's called Autumn on the Square. The lineup for that includes Donna and the Buffalo, the Guards and Blues Traveler. www.concertwire.com/autumnonthesquare

Both events are in the Square's shopping and restaurant district in downtown Knoxville. Several restaurants had their doors open and let people sit on their patios. A few shops were open as well. At least a dozen vendors sold funnel cakes, beer and hotdogs. People trying to organize a skatepark were out as well soliciting donations.

What impressed me more than the size and quality of the acts were the people hanging out. Our outdoor concerts, okay most events in Charlotte, tend to draw the same yuppie young professionals, but Knoxville was more eclectic. Walking toward the stage I saw a punk crew and a guy with a Mohawk, I passed the skatepark people, a group of young men and women playing hackysack and young parents with kids. The wine and cheese folks sat in the restaurant patios watching the performance. I met a lady name Karol Hamilton who was dancing her head off and says she has a brother who lives in Charlotte and she travels to Charlotte to shop.

I didn't know anything about Rhett Miller and wasn't overly impressed with his music, but I Ioved crowd's energy was contagious so I hung out there before I discovered a karaoke bar...

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