The city of Lake Oswego’s Summer Concert Series will strum its opening chord on the Fourth of July and continue grooving through the rest of the summer.
The series takes place from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesdays in July at Foothills Park, 6-7:30 p.m. on Sundays at Millennium Plaza Park and from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays in August at Westlake Park.
The concert series will begin with a performance by Kalimba and a laser light show from 8-10:30 p.m. Thursday, July 4 at Foothills Park. The Portland Festival Symphony will entertain the audience from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, July 27 at Foothills Park.
Lance Hofstad, who books bands for the concert series, said that the Millennium Plaza shows bring in about 500 people, the Foothills shows attract around 2,000 people and the Westlake shows sometimes garner even more attendees.. He said he tries to book bands that audiences can sing along and dance to.
“In general we try to reach out to larger bands so that we can get more musicians on stage, bands that have a horn section or something that the crowds seem to enjoy,” Hofstad said. “They need to be family-friendly. A lot of them have a repertoire of songs in their catalog that people are going to know. When people come to their shows they recognize their music, which the audience appreciates because they want to dance and sing along. Bands that bring good energy and get people up are essential.”
Hofstad noted a few concerts that the Lake Oswego community should consider attending. These included Curtis Salgado, who will play July 10 at Foothills Park; Hit Machine, which will perform July 31 at Foothills Park; and The Chris Baum Project, which will play Aug. 7 at Westlake Park.
“He has a great band and they have good energy. He also sings some of his own stuff and is a great instrumentalist. It’s going to be awesome to have him,” Hofstad said of Salgado.
He added that Hit Machine will play familiar tunes and that the lead singer and band have a great time on stage, while Chris Baum is a classically-trained pianist who will play songs people will recognize. He also noted Fourth of July performer and Earth, Wind & Fire tribute band Kalimba and R&B and soul artist Andy Stokes are worth checking out.
Along with music, the Wednesday concerts will serve up food from local vendors.
“It’s a family-friendly event. It’s outdoor. It’s very easy going. People bring their own picnic or blankets to set out or chairs and relax and enjoy the outdoors in one of Lake Oswego’s awesome parks and get to see some live entertainment for free,” Hofstad said.
For more information on the concerts, visit https://www.ci.oswego.or.us/concerts.
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