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Hazelwood Now Offers Summer Concerts Under the New Gazebo at Truman Park
Story and photos By Nicole Butler
Sometimes there is nothing better than sitting back in a lawn chair with an ice cold drink and listening to some good music as the sun goes down. The boyfriend and I got to soak in a little bit of that in Hazelwood last weekend.
Just like Florissant’s Music Under the Stars, Hazelwood now has a free summer concert series as well.
The concerts, which are located at Truman Park off of Howdershell Road in Hazelwood, offer a wide variety of great entertainment from classic rock to R&B. The bands perform under the new gazebo at the park.
Everyone in the family will enjoy the music-even the pets.
“We bring our food and our drinks and it’s just a fun night in the park with some free music,” said Hazelwood resident Sharon Roth, whose family has attended two of the free concert performances so far this summer.
The classic rock and roll band Jam Central Station gave a magnificent performance. Ron Baechle, Dave Bohannan, Keith Hempen, Ted May, and Anthony Privitor perform some fantastic classic hits from the 70s and 80s.
Dave Bohannan has been with the band the longest. “We started four years ago. People have come and gone, but this particular group has been together since January,” Bohannan said.
The band’s website ( www.jamcentralstationband.com) states that they are not another garage band, and that is so true! These guys are professional entertainment. They play the good songs, the ones even I, a child of the ’90s and Y2K, have jammed out to on more than one occasion.
The stage, set up under the gazebo and in front of a pond, is front and center in a large clearing with plenty of trees to keep you cool until the sun goes down.
Families, couples, and groups of friends and neighbors gather on the hill. They bring their lawn chairs and their coolers, and a ball or frisbee or two, and they enjoy a relaxing evening in the park while listening to some pretty awesome tunes.
The boyfriend and I set up our chairs in the back, so we could take it all in. People were singing along and dancing to the music in front of us, and children gathered behind us to play kick ball and tag. My personal favorite was a three-year-old little girl, the niece of Hazelwood residents Paul and Sharon Roth, who knew a good song when she heard one and was dancing around with her family.
Hazelwood has a great line-up for their free summer concert series. St. Louis’s favorite Bob Kuban will be performing on July 16.Between the entertainment and the environment, it is definitely a fun and affordable night out for local residents.
For more information, including the bands and musical genres scheduled, visit www.hazelwoodmo.org (See page 4 for the remaining Hazelwood concerts and the complete list of the Florissant Concerts Under the Stars that begins July 4).
You will definitely see me at another concert. I will be in the back, lounging in my lawn chair with a bottle of water in one hand and my camera in the other, just soaking up the music with the boyfriend.
