Music in the Park returns to Myers Park

It’s finally that time of year again, so grab your lawn chairs and bug spray and get ready to groove every Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Myers Park!

The Music in the Park series will kick off July 8 with Tink Bennett and Tailor Made, recent Country Album of the Year award winners at The Sammys in Syracuse. Bennett, Tailor Made’s founder and lead vocalist and guitarist, shared how he and the band are feeling about opening the series.

“Oh [we’re] very excited!” Bennett said. “We’ve done the Lansing Myers Park shows a number of times. We’ve been lucky enough to enjoy some really big crowds, and then, this year, kicking it off is very cool. [It] kind of goes with our theme this year of winning the Country Album of the Year and just getting back out and playing in front of our fans. We have a ton of fans in [the] Tompkins County area.”

The music will continue with City Limits on July 15, The Destination Band on July 22, Iron Horse on July 29, The Ampersand Project on Aug. 5, a special Saturday performance by Marc Berger and Ride on Aug. 7, Bad Alibi on Aug. 12, Smoking Loon on Aug. 19 and Cruise Control on Aug. 26.

All concerts will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be capped at 500 attendees, and those present are asked to social distance, keeping with COVID-19 restrictions, explained Pat Tyrrell, Lansing Parks and Recreation Department supervisor.

“We’ve never really tracked what we get for people, and this year will be an interesting process,” Tyrrell said. “I’m sure we’ll probably be at capacity at least for every concert, depending on the weather, obviously. If it looks iffy, some people might not show up. But yeah, I think we’ll fill up pretty quickly.”

In addition to the great music, there will also be food trucks offering delicious snacks and refreshing drinks every Thursday. These include Mo Mo’s Food Truck, Salt Point Brewing Company, Scott Ward’s Food Truck and the Food and Ice Cream Truck.

Tailor Made’s new CD, “Hate the Game,” will be available for purchase at Myers Park, along with various merch items.

“We’ll be performing at least three or four songs off the new CD at Myers,” Bennett said. “And we’ll have CDs available for sale there, and you can get them before the CD release party by just going to Myers. We do take a short break during the set, so we go down, where the sound mixing board is located, and … we set up a merchandise center and you can get T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, CDs, stickers, you name it.”

Bennett said the band loves to meet fans and sign T-shirts and is so grateful to be able to perform again.

“We will have specials running too, discounts on merchandise and so on just to say thanks for getting back and playing,” he said.

The past year has been difficult for all, and Bennett spoke to how the pandemic affected the band.

“Well, it’s definitely had a devastating impact; we couldn’t perform any live shows,” Bennett said. “I think we did two shows all of last year, and they were outdoor events where people could be sequestered away from the band. … The problem is staying on top of things and rehearsing and playing and things like that because we have one member who is from Orlando, Florida. So, obviously, we couldn’t get all together to practice, so the core would practice and then we’d have Zoom meetings with Derek and do work on harmonies and all those things, so it [was] very difficult.”

As for the new album, “Hate the Game” was recorded and produced locally.

“All the basic recording was done here in my studio at home,” Bennett said. “And then, we partnered with Barncastle Studios, Lonnie Park, out of Freeville. And we finished the mix, and then we mastered there. He just did a fantastic job.”

At this time, there are no rain dates set for the series, but Tailor Made will be performing in the area if you can’t make it this Thursday or you simply can’t get enough of their sound. They will be at The Dock in Ithaca on July 17, Spruce Row Campground in Ithaca on July 24 and at the Groton Summer Concert Series on July 30. Bennett also invites all to come to Greek Peak on July 10 for Tailor Made’s CD release party.

“We’re going to have a lot of special things,” Bennett explained. “We got a little red carpet thing where you can get photos with the band and the whole nine yards.”

Continuing with past Music in the Park series, this year’s programs are free to attend, though the Parks and Rec Department is grateful for all donations.

“It’s provided to the public for free, and we really appreciate donations,” Tyrrell said. “It really does help to go towards the cost of paying the bands. We don’t really make any money on it, so it’s totally open for the community.”

Tyrrell also spoke about other events at Myers Park this summer, adding that he hopes the Watch Fire will be back in September.

“Camping is open,” Tyrrell said. “We are very booked. There are very few days. There might be a couple days during the week that are available, but that’s about it. We booked up very quickly. … Swimming is not open, unfortunately. We had to make a tough call … [because] we have no lifeguards. And this seems to be the theme throughout the state that there are no lifeguards available. … I’m still searching. I sent out a couple emails this weekend about it to try and get a roster of lifeguards and try and open it up sometime in the summer.”

All are welcome to attend the Music in the Park series, and those involved in organizing the program couldn’t be more excited to get back to evenings in the park.

“I think we have a great lineup this year,” Tyrrell said. “It’s probably one of the best lineups we’ve put together in a long time.”

“[We] just to encourage people to get out to Myers Park,” Bennett said. “They’re going to have food trucks … and everything out there, so there’ll be food and beverage, [and] bring a lawn chair. It’s just a wonderful place to hear music in the summertime.”