Free Concert News

Last Week’s Featured Free Concert — Rockin’ Chair

by Romondo Davis

Last Tuesday night at St. Louis County’s Faust Park, the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce presented another great event in their summer concert series. On an unseasonal cool evening, a throng of dedicated fans welcomed Rockin’ Chair to the stage for two hours of classic acoustic rock. Their playlist included songs by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, Jackson Brown, Eagles, Loggins and Messina and more.

View our Rockin’ Chair photos here.

This Week on the Free Concert Scene

Note: Please check our calendar for the up-to-date listings.

Click the items below for times, locations, and more details.

Monday, August 4
Compton Heights Concert Band with Those Darn Accordions at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis
Rico at Heman Park in University City

Tuesday, August 5
The Encore Band at Faust Park in Chesterfield
Melissa Neels Band at Civic Park Bandstand in O’Fallon

Wednesday, August 6
Children’s Concert Series at Piper Palm House, Tower Grove Park
Gary Sluhan and the Strangebirds at New Ballwin Park
DJ Nune at Citygarden, 801 Market Street, St. Louis
Power Play at Spanish Lake Park
Gene Dobbs Bradford Blues Experience at Missouri Botanical Garden

Thursday, August 7
Provels at Kirkwood Station Plaza in Kirkwood
St. Charles Municipal Band at Frontier Park in St. Charles
Alone and Dying at Grove Memorial Park in Grafton
Alton Muny Band at Hatheway Hall, Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey

Friday, August 8
The Smooth Roose Unit at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
Coco Soul at St. Louis Zoo
Acoustic Jam at 370 Lakeside Park in St. Peters
Western Satellites at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis
Bottoms Up Blues Gang at Brentwood Park
Dogs of Society at Des Peres Park

Saturday, August 9
Jeremiah Johnson Band at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
The Defenders at Wehner Park in Shrewsbury
Samba Bom at Kirkwood Park
Billy Peek at St. Ferdinand Park in Florissant
Spin The Bottle at Chesterfield Amphitheater
Midnights Calling at Truman Park Gazebo in Hazelwood

Sunday, August 10
St. Charles Big (Jazz) Band at Frontier Park in St. Charles
Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats at Shaw Park in Clayton
Abbey Road Warriors at Carondelet Park in St. Louis
Peach Festival at Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton

Be sure to check our website for more events. We hope to see you at a free concert soon.

Last Week’s Featured Free Concert — Anita Rosamond

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.

This Week on the Free Concert Scene

Note: Please check our calendar for the up-to-date listings.

Click the items below for times, locations, and more details.

Monday, July 28
Compton Heights Concert Band with Johnny Baier, 4-String Banjo Player Extraordinaire at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis
FatPocket at Heman Park in University City
Chris Talley Trio at Bellerive Park in St. Louis

Tuesday, July 29
Mark Biehl Group at Fanetti Park in St. Louis
O’Fallon Community Concert and Jazz Bands at Civic Park Bandstand in O’Fallon
Rockin’ Chair at Faust Park in Chesterfield

Wednesday, July 30
Children’s Concert Series — The Tortoise and the Hare at Piper Palm House in Tower Grove Park in St. Louis
Farshid Etniko Band at Citygarden in St. Louis
Melissa Neels Band at Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis

Thursday, July 31
St. Charles Municipal Band at Frontier Park Bandstand in St. Charles
Matt Livasy at Grove Memorial Park in Grafton
Alton Muny Band at Riverview Park in Alton
Erin Bode at Kirkwood Station Plaza in Kirkwood
That 80′s Band at Bluebird Park in Ellisville

Friday, August 1
Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats at Laumeier Sculpture Park in Sunset Hills
Jeff Allen Band at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
Miss Jubilee and the Humdingers at Music on Art Hill on Art Hill in Forest Park
Mood Swings at St. Louis Zoo
One More Round at Paul A Schroeder Park in Manchester
Route D at 370 Lakeside Park in St. Peters

Saturday, August 2
Diesel Island at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
Dawn Weber at Lafayette Park in St. Louis
Butch Wax & The Hollywoods at St. Ferdinand Park in Florissant

Sunday, August 3
Compton Heights Concert Band featuring Those Darn Accordions at Francis Park in St. Louis
St. Louis Big Band at St. Mathias the Apostle Catholic Church in South St. Louis County
Ragtime Rendezvous at Rosebud Cafe in Scott Joplin House in St. Louis
Alton Muny Band at Haskell Park in Alton
Chaz 45 at Gentry Park in Bridgeton
The Occasionals at Benton Park in St. Louis,
Memories of Elvis at Carondelet Park in St. Louis

Be sure to check our website for more events. We hope to see you at a free concert soon.

Scroll down for this week’s free concerts lineup.

Last Week: St. Louis was treated to two great artists from the British Isles

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.

This Week on the Free Concert Scene

Note: Please check our calendar for the up-to-date listings.

Click the items below for times, locations, and more details.

Monday, July 21
Compton Heights Concert Band with David Morris, Whistling World Champion, at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis
Dugout Canoe at Bellerive Park in St. Louis

Tuesday, July 22
University City Summer Band at Market in the Loop in University City
Wil Maring/Gary Gordon at Fanetti Park in St. Louis
El Scorcho at Civic Park Bandstand in O’Fallon, MO
Whiskey Dixon at Faust Park in Chesterfield

Wednesday, July 23
Children’s Concert at Piper Palm House in Tower Grove Park
Mo E Trio at Citygarden in St. Louis
Three Pedros at Ryan Hummert Park in Maplewood
The Soulard Blues Band at Sailboat Cove in Creve Coeur Park
Augusta Bottoms Consort at Missouri Botanical Garden

Thursday, July 24
Emily Wallace at Kirkwood Station Plaza
St. Charles Municipal Band at Frontier Park in St. Charles
St. Louis Banjo Club at Concordia in St. Louis
Typsy Gypsy at Grove Memorial Park in Grafton
Alton Muny Band at Riverview Park in Alton
Brian Owens at St. Louis Place Park
Funky Butt Brass Band at Bluebird Park in Ellisville

Friday, July 25
iLLPHONICS at Art Hill in Forest Park
Cole Porter Band at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
The VCRs at St. Louis Zoo
Tumbao Tropical Latin Jazz at Plaza 501 in Ferguson
Wade Trent at 370 Lakeside Park in St. Peters
Anita Rosamond at Gazebo in Webster Groves

Saturday, July 26
Old Salt Union at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
One More Round at Kirkwood Park
Bob Kuban Brass at St. Ferdinand Park in Florissant
Well Hungarians at Chesterfield Amphitheater

Sunday, July 27
Compton Heights Concert Band at Francis Park in St. Louis
St. Louis Big Band at Zion Methodist Church in South St. Louis County
Alton Muny Band at Haskell Park in Alton
Gateway Festival Orchestra at Brookings Quadrangle at Washington University
Griffin and the Gargoyles at Oak Knoll Park in Clayton
Mystic Voyage at Carondelet Park

Be sure to check our website for more events. We hope to see you at a free concert soon.

Scroll down for this week’s free concerts lineup.

We Need Your Input

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.

This Week on the Free Concert Scene

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

Tuesday, July 15
University City Summer Band at Market in the Loop in University City
Scott Laytham and Karl Holmes at Tilles Park
Gateway Jazz Quartet at Fanetti Park in St. Louis
GrooveThang at Civic Park Bandstand in O’Fallon, MO
Yessir Band at Faust Park

Wednesday, July 16
The Decades at New Ballwin Park
Cree Rider Family Band at Citygarden, Downtown
Miss Jubilee & The Humdingers in Old St. Charles
Nigel Mooney at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Thursday, July 17
Band to be determined at Kirkwood Station Plaza
St. Charles Municipal Band at Frontier Park in St. Charles, Missouri
Outlaw Opry at Grove Memorial Park in Grafton
Alton Muny Band at Riverview Park in Alton
Tribal Funk at St. Louis Place Park
One More Round, Johnny Cash Tribute at Bluebird Park

Friday, July 18
Brothers Lazaroff at Art Hill
Dusty Brothers at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
Clusterpluck at Tremayne Shelter Creve Coeur Park
Dr. Zhivegas at 17253 New College Avenue in Wildwood
Pennsylvania Slim at St. Louis Zoo
Proud Rooster at Central Avenue and Dreyer Avenue in Eureka
The Sins of the Pioneers at 370 Lakeside Park in St. Peters
North of the Quarter at the Gazebo in Webster Groves

Saturday, July 19
Red Lehr and Friends at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville
Nikko Smith at Heman Park in University City
Retro Nerds at Union Station
Trilogy at Dardenne Prairie City Hall
Exceed Band at Windjammer Point in Lake St. Louis
Jim Stevens Group at Lafayette Park
Ground Flow Fusion at St. Ferdinand Park in Florissant
Crossfire at Truman Park Gazebo in Hazelwood
George Portz and the Friends of Bluegrass at Fort Zumwalt Park in O’Fallon

Sunday, July 20
Compton Heights Concert Band at Francis Park in St. Louis
St. Louis Big Band at St. Mathias the Apostle Catholic Church in St. Louis
Alton Muny Band at Haskell Park in Alton
Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats atGentry Park in Bridgeton
Gateway Festival Orchestra at Brookings Quadrangle at Washington University
Tom Hall and Alice Spencer at Benton Park in St. Louis
Lynn Rose Terry & Friends at Carondelet Park

Be sure to check our website for more events. We hope to see you at a free concert soon.