On August 29, crowds gathered at Fountain Square in Downtown Evanston for the eighth Downtown Summer Sounds of the season.
As Executive Director of Downtown Evanston, Andy Vick plans the event.
“Downtown Summer Sounds is a free concert series that is intended to bring the community into the Downtown and give them an opportunity to share an experience, hopefully a positive experience, with the rest of the community,” he explained.
The event made its debut on July 11, running each Thursday since. The event also aims to attract people to the concurrent Thursday Night Markets.
“We intentionally designed the music series to coincide with three of the four markets…the music is bringing a lot more people to the space,” noted Vick.
For the three nights where Downtown Summer Sounds occurs alongside the Thursday Night Market, music is chosen by Vick. The remaining nine are selected by nonprofit organizations who sponsor the event on different nights.
“It’s the [people] picking the music that they want to hear through these nonprofit organizations that are heavily invested in our community,” acknowledged Vick.
In addition to drawing attention to the local artists, makers and retailers at the Thursday Night Markets, Downtown Summer Sounds strives to support the district’s economy.
“I think it’s really great to have events like this to bring people to the area, drive up traffic and support local businesses,” said Amanda Ainsworth, who attended her first Downtown Summer Sounds on August 29. “We love this community and we want to see it succeed.”
Chris and Jenny Mast brought their children on the same night as Ainsworth, excited to see The Windy City Ramblers, a nonprofit brass band organization, perform. Of course, the food trucks were a hit too. After Bat 17 and La Cocinita, the family planned to stop by the C&W Market & Ice Cream Parlor truck for dessert.
“It’s super family-friendly. Good vibes. Good music,” said Jenny Mast. “It’s a nice way to spend an evening.”
After enjoying the Downtown Summer Sounds event on August 22, Lesley Delmenico asked her friend, Pat Wilkinson, to tag along for the August 29 concert the next week.
“There’s something about it being central, free, lively and looking to attract a diverse audience,” said Delmenico.
Wilkinson suggested that Downtown Evanston focus on publicity for the event in the future, for she never knew the concert series existed until talking to Delmenico. The friends agreed that a bigger turnout would be ideal, but that the atmosphere was still wonderful, seeing everyone out and about.
“It feels like a community, the kind of community you want to be a part of. This is what Evanston is supposed to be: a good mixture of cultures,” commented Wilkinson.
After receiving such “overwhelmingly positive” feedback, Vick hopes the event will continue in Fountain Square next year. He knew it would be the perfect spot, pointing out that the space was “designed without any curbs so that experiences, activities and programming can flow into the streets once blocked off for traffic.”
The last Downtown Summer Sounds is on September 26, featuring Rosalba Valdez and Mariachi Sirenas.
“If you haven’t been downtown in a while,” said Vick, “this is a great reason to come back.”
