Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Rumor has it that the sun has been seen in the Lansing sky, and with summer comes concerts in Myers Park.  This year the concerts are scheduled for Thursday nights beginning June 29 at 6:30pm when the Burns Sisters will perform.  People are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, a picnic and blankets to the concerts.  'It's an intimate setting," says Park Superintendent Steve Colt.  "The backdrop is one of the best in the area.  The sunset, the lake.  You can sit right up close to the band.  The performers like it and the people like it because they're right there."

The Burns Sisters is an Ithaca-based nationally known band, known for a lilting country/folk/pop sound, tight harmonies and a focus on an acoustic.  Originally a quintet, Marie, Jeannie and Annie Burns now make the trio that has released over ten albums including one that is due next month.  "We have just completed a new CD which we hope to send off to the manufacturer by Monday," the sisters say.  "We should have them by July 10 or so. They will be available on our website www.burnssisters.com for sale. So we have fifteen new songs we are a singin."

"The Burns Sisters are a great local talent, and we feel fortunate that we were able to get them booked," Colt says.  He anticipates they will draw a big crowd for the kick-off concert of the season.  The sisters are also looking forward to the concert.  "We have all lived in the Ithaca area for over twenty years, our sister Sheila lives in Lansing, Jeannie lives in Lansing and we have lots of family here," says Annie. "So playing for our friends and neighbors is always a nice thing."

Colt says this is the first time the series has hosted a June concert.  The concerts have become a Lansing tradition, rain or shine.  The bands set up in a pavilion that is centrally located in the park.  "People came down with a big cooler, blanket, lawn chairs," he says.  "They had a real nice picnic there and enjoyed the concert and had a nice time."

Rain doesn't deter concert-goers.  "The unique thing about where the concert is is that in the middle it's surrounded by roads and parking that isn't far away," Colt says.  "Some nights you can go down if it's drizzling -- the band's playing away.  There are a lot of cars around and everybody's enjoying the concert in their cars with their windows down."

Colt notes that in the future the concerts will be held in a band stand in the park.  The Lansing Lions Club is currently raising funds to pay for the gazebo-like band stand that will be constructed at a location in Myers Park that the Recreation Department has determined (Click Here for information on donating).  They are selling 'Lansing Throws,' blankets that have scenes from Lansing on them, at the town hall, at Lions events like the 4th of July chicken barbecue, and other events around town.  In addition community members can contribute at any level.  Individuals or businesses contributing $250 or more will get a plaque that will be displayed on the finished structure.


Concerts are paid for by the Lansing Recreation Department and donations from concert-goers.  Colt says, "We hope that people will consistently donate to help offset the cost of the band."  Donations are voluntary, made as you drive into the park before a concert.  Colt says listeners have been generous in past years and he hopes to continue the voluntary policy so that those less able to afford it aren't shut out.  He says the bands also help make the series possible.  "I really appreciate the bands helping us out with their generosity in making it affordable," he says.

After the Burns Sisters, six more concerts will fill out the season.  The Ithaca Concert Band, performing in the Myers Park series since it began, will be playing July 6th.  Steve Southworth and the Rockabilly Rays, The Ageless Jazz Band, The New Orleans Allstar Jazz Band will play the next three weeks.  All the concerts in July begin at 6:30pm.

In August the concerts start a half hour earlier, at 6:00pm.   The Joe Salzeno Band will play August 3.  Salzeno is a former Myers neighborhood resident, so the concert is a bit of a homecoming for him.  Colt says, "Joe is a great multi-purpose musician, but for a while he had a real native American musical production that he did to bring native American music to the forefront."  August 10th Reuben Everidge and the San Antones, who have also played in the series since its beginning, will wrap up the series.

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