2nd Street Stage: The Great Community Get-Together

The Park Rapids Downtown Business Association invites you to celebrate summer at 2nd Street Stage events Thursday evenings from June 13 through Aug. 15 except July 4th. That week the concert will be Friday, July 5.

This will be the eighth year of the great community get-together that 2nd Street Stage has become. People say they look forward all year long to these special nights that celebrate summer. For some, the concerts have become a place to visit with friends. Others bring a chair and just enjoy the music.

The beer garden opens at 5 p.m. for a social hour, time to meet social hour sponsors and buy this year's collectible button and a 2nd Street Stage T-shirt.

The 2nd Street Stage concerts run from 6 to 8 p.m. except on Aug. 8 when the concert will follow Water Wars. Nightly family activities include face painting, caricature artist and cornhole tournaments with proceeds going to benefit local nonprofits. Band sponsors also offer a variety of activities and give aways as well as a prize at the end of the evening to someone with a lucky ticket.

The line up begins with the following bands:

June 13 - The Joyann Parker Band

A classically trained pianist, Joyann Parker sang in church and with a wedding band until she sang Aretha Franklin's soul classic, "Chain of Fools," at a contest. Parker was invited to join a blues band and immersed herself in the blues. Joining the Minneapolis-based singer, songwriter, band leader and multi-instrumentalist on stage are band members Mark Lamoine, guitar, vocals; Brad Schaefer, bass; Bill Golden, drums, vocals; and Tim Wick, keys.

June 20 - Collapsing Stars

This Twin Cities-based band plays blues, roots, folk and Americana. In the last few years they've played a showcase at the renowned Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles and in 2016 performed for over 120,000 people at Red Bull Crashed Ice. In 2018 they were selected as an official South by Southwest Festival artist out of a pool of over 8,000 applicants. NPR Music named them a top 100 SX artist out of 2,000 showcasing acts. Band members are Ally Strycharske, cello; Mike Langhoff, percussion, Adam Heaney, bass; and Justin Wayne Nelson, guitar, vocals.

June 28 - Kind Country

Kind Country, a Minneapolis-based band that plays American standards as well as their own brand of Cosmic American music. Since their started as a 4-piece string, jamgrass band in 2012, the band has expanded into a 6-member ensemble and dug deeper in exploring how bluegrass can morph and intersect with other genres and gave them the freedom to create a sound that is truly their own. In 2017, they released a 5-track studio EP, Mountains. Band members are Mitch Johnson, guitar; Brandon Johnson, guitar; Max Graham. mandolin; Joe Sheehan, bass; Chris Forsberg, violin; and Chris Wittrock, drums.

July 5 - The Front Fenders

A Fargo-based band, The Front Fenders have been entertaining audiences since 1995 and rocked the 2nd Street Stage last year. Their focus is on fun and great music with Paul Bougie and Christine Huff out in the crowd getting everyone involved, and 5 tremendous musicians on stage playing the greatest hits from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s, plus some of today's hottest pop tunes and country favorites. Band Members are Paul Bougie, vocals; Christine Huff, vocals; Rodger Nichols, drums; Mike Schlick, rhythm guitar, vocals; Cameron Wheeler, bass guitar, vocals; Joe Rudd, lead guitar, vocals; and Lee Massey, keyboards, sax, harmonica, banjo, vocals.

To see the complete summer line up, go to http://www.parkrapidsdowntown.com.