Photos ©2014 by Romondo Davis. All rights reserved
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Anita Rosamond at the Old Orchard Gazebo — July 25, 2014 on Flickr.com.
by Romondo Davis
When I am deciding which free concerts to attend, I scan our calendar to look for artists or bands I haven’t yet seen. When I find an act with which I am not familiar, I usually check their website to get an idea of the style and the genre they perform. Another resource I use is Facebook, where I check to see who their friends are. In the case of Anita Rosamond, the decision to attend her Friday night concert at the Old Orchard Gazebo was simple when I saw that her friends include St. Louis music friends of mine like Don Wolf, Joe Mancuso, Vince Martin, Vincent Golomski, John Covelli and many, many more. I was sold.
In her Friday night performance at the Old Orchard Gazebo, Anita Rosamond did not disappoint. She sang sweetly and soulfully, leading her trio through a 90-minute set of jazz and pop standards, and Christmas Music; the theme of the evening was Christmas in July. An additional treat was hearing great vocal solos featuring her reed man, Lew Winer lll and drummer, Bwayne Smotherson.
Click here to see my photos of Anita Rosamond performing at the Old Orchard Gazebo on July 25, 2014.
Note: Please check our calendar for the up-to-date listings.
Click the items below for times, locations, and more details.
Photos ©2014 by Romondo Davis. All rights reserved
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Nigel Mooney of Ireland: We saw guitarist/singer Nigel Mooney in June of 2011 the first time he performed at the Whitaker Music Festival. He returned last Wednesday to play on another cool night at the Missouri Botanical Garden. See our photos here.
David Morris of Great Britain: The Compton Heights Concert Band is rather unique among the bands we feature on this website, performing concerts that remind us of days gone by when bands played John Phillip Souza marches and similar music in parks and town squares in communities all over the area.
Sunday night, The Compton Heights Concert Band, under the direction of Edward Dolbashian, featured guest artist David Morris, the Whistling World Champion 2003. David soloed with the band on a number of pieces including Shenandoah, How Great Thou Art, Trumpet Voluntary and Over the Rainbow. The good news for St. Louis is he’ll be whistling again with the Compton Heights Concert Band on Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Tower Grove Park. See our photos of Sunday night’s concert here.
Note: Please check our calendar for the up-to-date listings.
Click the items below for times, locations, and more details.
Photos ©2014 by Romondo Davis. All rights reserved
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Nigel Mooney — Whitaker Music Festival, July 16, 2014 on Flickr.com.
by Romondo Davis
Deb and I consider FreeConcertsSTL.com to be more than a website — it’s a community of people who appreciate and support the casual arts. And the community isn’t just concert-goers; it includes musicians, bands, sponsors, vendors and the organizations and producers that schedule the shows, fairs and festivals.
Please share: we encourage anyone who has a concert or event-related story to tell, a photograph or video to share, or a question to ask to post them on Facebook or Twitter, in an email message or as a comment on one of the website’s event items or blog posts. And if you know of an event we failed to list on the calendar, please let us know.
Note: Please check our calendar for the up-to-date listings.
Click the items below for times, locations, and more details.
Monday, July 14
Compton Heights Concert Band at Tower Grove Park
Watt Hill at Bellerive Park
by Romondo Davis
Fourth of July week was jam-packed with great outdoor entertainment. With most of the regularly scheduled summer concert series, plus the music presented in conjunction with Independence Day celebrations and Fair St. Louis, area free concert-goers had a larger number and wider variety of shows to enjoy.
Wednesday night Deb and I went to what I believe was the best-attended show of the Whitaker Music Festival. The bluegrass quintet, Old Salt Union, played mostly original music to a huge crowd on a very pleasant night at the Botanical Garden. On Saturday evening we joined members of the Benton Park community for two of the three bands that performed there. We were sorry to have missed the Funky Butt Brass Band, but were glad to hear the Ryan Spearman Band and One More Round.
Old Salt Union — Whitaker Music Festival on July 2
Ryan Spearman Band — Benton Park Summer Concert Series on July 5
One More Round — Benton Park Summer Concert Series on July 5
Our Facebook community is thriving but we can always use more Likes. By Liking our page, you can get concert reminders and find out which concerts we’re attending — we’d love to meet you. Click to go to our Facebook page.
And if you’re on Twitter, why not follow us there? Click to go to our Twitter page.
Note: Please check our calendar for the up-to-date listings.
Click the items below for times, locations, and more details.
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Photos ©2014 by Romondo Davis. All rights reserved
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Photos of One More Round — Benton Park Summer Concert Series, July 5, 2014 on Flickr.com.
Photos ©2014 by Romondo Davis. All rights reserved
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Photos of Ryan Spearman Band — Benton Park Summer Concert Series, July 5, 2014 on Flickr.com.
Photos ©2014 by Romondo Davis. All rights reserved
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Photos of Old Salt Union — Whitaker Music Festival, July 2, 2014 on Flickr.com.