As winter approaches, and we look outside our windows to see the first bit of snow covering the streets and sidewalks, we tend to miss the warmer days. We reminisce of cookouts and bon fires, night swimming and road trips. Well, this week’s post I wanted to bring a bit of the warm weather back to everyone. It might seem a bit “off” to post about a concert series that took place all summer, but it’s too fun to pass up.
Between the months of June and August on Thursday nights, Cranberry’s newest and hottest shopping plaza, The Streets of Cranberry, was alive with something different- a merging of music and community. Of course townships like Cranberry are very community-oriented, but The Streets of Cranberry Summer Concert Series brought an eclectic group of people together who share one common trait; they are all music lovers.
The plaza itself boasts a beautiful fountain and sitting area, great shops, a farmer’s market, and some great restaurants. Couple all of that with a night out in the great summer weather with the kids, the family, and all of your friends, and you’ve got yourself one great time! On select nights, there was even a petting zoo that captivated the little ones, which included pony rides. On the nights of the petting zoo, face painting was available for the kiddos, compliments of Kellie O’Laughlin. It was a big hit!
For me though, the music is where’s it’s at. The summer concert series highlighted some of the most fun, energetic, and unique bands from the Cranberry area, as well as some acts from Pittsburgh. The mix included everything from great rock and roll covers to amazing soulful blues, to folk and alternative. A list of the bands and acts that played included the following:
- Acoustic Diversion
- Sean McCormick & Friends
- These Lions
- Victor Mercado
- Shea Butter
- Terry & Alex
- III Legged Dog
- Tim Mulhern
Each show was a lot of fun and brought so many different types of people. What was amazing was seeing everyone who was just at The Streets of Cranberry to shop, come over and see what was going on. Some even ended up staying the whole night! One of the memorable nights included a father-son jam session with III Legged Dog. ‘Dog’ member Taylor Jennings invited his son Shane to the stage to play with them. That’s what it’s all about. Seeing Taylor and Shane play together for a crowd of people was truly awesome and touching. The audience thought so too, as they cheered throughout the entire performance.
Aside from the great musicians that supported the concert series, both 94.5 3WS and ALL HITZ 97.7 came out and helped with promotion and giveaways. On the last night of the series, even Maniac favorite, Pizza Sola, came and donated 10 boxes of free pizza from their new Cranberry location for the concert-goers! It’s all about the community!
We commend The Streets of Cranberry for what they are doing, and allowing great musicians to be heard, along with bringing people together. At the end of the day, building a strong community is so important, and The Streets of Cranberry Summer Concert Series is doing just that. For more information regarding plaza and the concert series, please visit www.thestreetsofcranberry.com.
~~ By Dominic Janidas
~~ Photography By Rich Waters, April Hubal and Cody Wiegand
