Live music will be in the air all over Anne Arundel this summer, and most of it is free.
Banks, neighborhood merchants and cultural arts foundations are sponsoring summer concert series at parks, fields and parking lots, where concertgoers can take a blanket or lawn chair and relax with a picnic dinner to the steel guitar sound of Hawaiian swing or country music, big bands, bluegrass, folk or blues.
"This is such a wonderful way for families to enjoy the outdoors and the arts," said Carol Treiber, executive director of the Cultural Arts Foundation of Anne Arundel County, which sponsors a number of the events. She said the number of concert series and their length have grown. A few stretch into September.
"They're in different areas all the way from Shady Side to Linthicum," Treiber said "It makes it wonderful for everyone because everyone can see it and not have to travel too far."
The Bayside Concert Series at Downs Park in Pasadena starts first, lasts longest and offers the most eclectic mix of music. It's also the costliest -- $4 a car, unless you have a county parks pass. Then it's free. Quiet Waters Park near Annapolis has the same parking fee.
Concert organizers at Downs take full advantage of the grassy bowl-shaped "arena" where patrons can get great views of the stage and the Chesapeake and a cool waterside breeze.
"It really is a great evening -- listening to music and watching the ships go by," said park Ranger Dennis Cloutier, who organizes the 14-year-old Bayside series, which began Sunday and continues through Sept 27.
On tap are a steel drum band, the pans, bamboo pipes and synthesized sound of Andean music -- a "cosmic" sound, Cloutier said -- and a returning German Oompah band.
"Always a hoot," he said.
The Annapolis Harbour Center offers a concert series on the first Wednesdays of the month through September. It began yesterday with the Kennedys, a folk and pop music band, and will end Sept. 2 with country line dancing.
The music will be smooth and easy at Arundel Center North in Glen Burnie, which has a series set to begin tomorrow. The series, which continues through July 17, features bluegrass, big band and jazz with a taste of rock, blues and oldies on its final date.
Fort Meade starts June 14 with military bands from the region playing at 7 p.m. each Sunday on the lawn in front of Devers Hall. Expect pop, rock 'n' roll and patriotic music.
Quiet Waters Park Concert Series and the Chesapeake Cultural Arts Summer Concert Series will have performances Saturday nights beginning June 20.
Quiet Waters starts with the Annapolis Opera, then throws pop, reggae, and folk music into the mix and ends Sept. 6 with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.
The Chesapeake Cultural Arts Foundation features jazz, rock 'n' roll and bluegrass and performances from military bands through Aug. 8. Most performances will be at West River Center in Churchton.
Summer concerts in Anne Arundel
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Bayside Concert Series
Where: Downs Park, end of Mountain Road
When: 6 p.m. every Sunday through Sept. 27
Featured music: mix
Cost: $4-a-car parking fee
Restrictions: no pets, alcoholic beverages, bicycle riding, skateboarding or in-line skates in concert area
Information: 410-222-6230
Annapolis Harbour Center Concert Series
Where: Annapolis Harbour shopping center, Aris T. Allen Boulevard and Route 2 South, Annapolis
When: 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month through Sept. 2
Featured music: pop and country
Cost: none
Restrictions: no pets, alcoholic beverages; no bicycle riding, skateboarding or in-line skates in the concert area
Information: 410-266-5857
Summer Concert Series
Where: Arundel Center North, Crain Highway and Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard
When: 7: 30 p.m. Fridays through July 17
BFeatured music: jazz, bluegrass, big band, rock, blues and oldies
Cost: none
Restrictions: no pets or alcoholic beverages
Information: 410-647-0057
0$ Fort Meade Summer Concert Series
Where: Devers Hall, Mapes Road and Cooper Avenue
When: 7 p.m. Sundays June 14 through Aug. 24 (Independence Day concert is Saturday, July 4; no concerts July 19 or Aug. 9)
Featured music: military bands playing pop, rock and patriotic
Cost: none
Restrictions: no pets or alcoholic beverages
Information: 301-677-1361
Quiet Waters Park Concert Series
Where: Quiet Waters Park, Quiet Waters Farm Road, Annapolis, off Forest Drive
When: 5: 30 p.m. Saturdays June 20 through Aug. 29 (June 20 show begins at 6 p.m.)
Cost: $4-a-car parking fee
Featured music: Opera, pop, reggae, folk
Restrictions: no alcoholic beverages; leashed pets are allowed
Information: 410-222-1777
Chesapeake Cultural Arts Summer Series
Where: West River Center, Chalk Point Road, Churchton (July 25 concert at Lula G. Scott Center, Shady Side Road, Shady Side)
When: 7: 30 p.m. Saturdays June 20 through Aug. 8 (August concerts begin at 7 p.m.)
Featured music: country, choral, big band, military bands
Cost: none
Restrictions: no alcoholic beverages
Information: 301-855-7426
Pub Date: 6/04/98