If you haven’t yet had time to partake in some live, outdoor music this summer, there’s still a month left to join the al fresco music offerings of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC), the Royal Botanical Gardens, Ireland House Museum, and the City of Burlington.
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is gearing up for their annual Jazz on the Plaza event, a free event on their plaza starting at 2 p.m. on August 12 with singer-songwriter Elise LeGrow, followed by jazz vocalist Heather Bambrick at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 features jazz singer-songwriter Ori Dagan and Micah Barnes and Billy Newton Davis; the Curbside food Truck will be offering up burgers, shawarma, and poutine to hungry music-lovers from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on both days.
The Central Park Bandshell is home to the City of Burlington’s Concerts in the Park every Wednesday and Sunday until August 27. Bring your own chair or blanket to sit on and enjoy the sounds of bands including the George Arnone Big Band (on Aug. 2), Subourbon Street (Aug. 13), Swingline (Aug. 20), the Burlington Concert Band (Aug. 27) and more. (Click here for the full listing.) This free series begins at 7:30 p.m.; if inclement weather results in a concert cancellation, a message will be posted at 905-632-9590.
Then there is the Friday evening Summer Music Series at Ireland House (we feature an interview with the first artist of this series, Hayley Verrall, earlier in July). Still to come are Warren Jones on Aug. 11, singer-songwriter Natalie Reis on Aug. 18, and Dan Taylor on Aug. 25. These events are at the historic Oakridge Farm at Ireland House Museum; admission is by donation and local vendors are on hand offering snack options. This is another one to bring your own chair or blanket to relax on.
On Sunday evenings, the Royal Botanical Gardens’ Hendrie Park is hosting Music in the Gardens; the cost of attending is included in garden admission or membership, and guests should plan to bring something to sit on. The next four Sundays bring different styles of music: rock out to the blues with Little Sam on Aug. 6, listen to The Western Swing Authority’s mix of western swing, traditional country, and jazz standards on Aug. 13, relax to Latin-tinged jazz by Antonella Vizzini on Aug. 20, or dance the evening away to Shawnee Kish’s blues, rock, and soulful pop on Aug. 27. Burgers, hot dogs, sides and drinks are available to purchase on site.
And finally, for something a little different, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, with sponsor Burlington 150+, is presenting a concert series on wheels: the Concert Truck. From Aug. 9 to 13, this 16-foot box truck, created by pianists Nick Luby and Susan Zhang, is a complete travelling music venue, including lights, sound system, and a piano. There will be 10 free concerts over the five days, starting at Burloak Park on Wed., Aug. 9 at noon, with another at the same location at 4 p.m. Each concert in this series is 30 minutes long and aims to engage diverse audiences within their communities. The next stop will be Berton Park on Aug. 9 at 7 p.m., followed by the Central Seniors’ Centre and Burlington Mall on Aug. 10, at noon and 4 p.m. respectively. On Aug. 11, the Concert Truck will visit Mapleview Mall at 4 p.m. and Village Square at 6 p.m.; its final stop will be BPAC’s outdoor plaza on Sat. Aug. 12 and Sun. Aug. 13, with concerts at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on both days.
