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Date: 3/17/2021
SOUTHAMPTON – Southampton Free Concerts recently announced that, if all goes well, their annual summer concert series will return on July 14.
After losing an entire year of concerts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization is planning to host four concerts every other Wednesday at Conant Park pavilion on East Street.
"We usually do one every other week, but we usually start in June,” said Debbie D’Amico, the artistic director for the Southampton Free Concerts organization. “So we’ll be a couple of concerts shy of our normal schedule.”
The concert series, which has been going on in Southampton for a little over 10 years, will feature performances from King Kountry on July 14, Union Jack on July 28, Sarah the Fiddler on August 11, and A Ray Of Elvis Tribute on August 25.
With the help of Sue Kozub, the financial director of Southampton Free Concerts, the organization will be sending out donation letters in town with the hope that vendors in the area will assist them in any way they can.
Kozub is usually the one who goes out into the community to raise money for the series, according to D’Amico.
“We’re really just going to maintain our usual approach,” said D’Amico, who added that they usually spearhead around six or seven concerts every year. “We’re just doing everything a little bit later than we normally do.”
Outside of preparing a grant request, which is something they do every year, the organization could not remain as active throughout the course of 2020 because there just was not enough going on.
“I always keep my eye out for anything new that might be available for us to hire,” said D’Amico, whose main job is to search for and book the local talent. “But of course, I wasn’t able to go out and see any bands or connect with somebody new.”
D’Amico said that cancelling the concerts in 2020 was extremely sad because the series has become a staple within Southampton for over a decade. Despite this, the organization is optimistic about the future, especially since crowds have continued to grow over the past few years.
“Our Facebook page is getting a lot of attention, and people seem really excited to have it come back,” said D’Amico. “Everybody missed out on last year, so we’re really excited. People are getting enthusiastic.”
For updates on the summer concert series, visit the organization’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sohofreeconcerts/.