Janesville's 1st Songs in the Park series a hit

With the weather getting chilly and November just around the corner, the books have been closed on an inaugural season of Songs in the Park which was by all accounts a strong success, drawing sizable crowds to Veterans Memorial Park.

Event organizer and founder Paul Voges stopped by Janesville’s City Council meeting to give a brief recap and look forward to 2025, following a series of concerts made possible with the support of the Prairie Lakes Arts Council and several local businesses.

“It went incredibly smooth,” Voges said. “Everybody I worked with was so easy to work with, it was wonderful.”

Held one Thursday a month from May thru September, Songs in the Park kicked off on May 30 with a show from local trio In a Bind, featuring country, pop and rock favorites. Due to rain, the June 27 concert featuring Le Sueur-based classic rock and country band GTX was pushed back to July 11.

Shows on July 25 with Mankato-based band High Strung, featuring 60s and 70s album covers, and August 1 with the Armstrong Boulevard Brass Quintet and August 22 with Generation Gap, a grandfather and grandson duo of Rod Scheitel and Carter Quast, also drew strong crowds.

The final concert of the season was held on September 26 and featured Family Tradition, a local father-son-daughter band featuring country music. As at the other concerts, food and beverage were available for purchase and a donation was taken for the Janesville Food Shelf.

Even with the challenges of accommodating two concerts that had to be moved due to inclement weather and a band which had to cancel due to illness, Voges said that organizing the concert series was still shockingly easy and enjoyable.

While the program was approved by the City Council, it didn’t receive or need any city funding. Voges said he heard highly positive feedback from many concert attendees and offered praise for the city staff who kept the park clean and always ready for upcoming concerts.

Next year, Voges said he is optimistic that sponsorship funds for the concert series will increase, as businesses notice the strong success it enjoyed this year. He said he’s also learned more about potential grants that may be available.

With those additional resources, Voges is looking to increase the number of concerts on the schedule next year, potentially as often as every other week with the exception of during Hay Daze. However, he acknowledged that would lead to more conflicts with other local events.

Voges also said that the heavier schedule would mean going a little further beyond Janesville’s boundaries, especially for food trucks, but he promised to stay as local as possible. By January, he says he’ll return to the Council with more details on funding, food trucks and bands.