THE HALF MOON JUG BAND performs July 9, the latest in the line up for the Bowdoinham summer concert series Sundays at 6 p.m. at Mailly Waterfront Park until Aug. 27.
Bowdoinham’s summer concert series continues this season with free concerts Sunday evenings in Mailly Waterfront Park along the Cathance River. The concerts run from 6-8 p.m. Sundays until Aug. 30 and feature a variety of musicians and music genres — everything from blues to reggae to rock- ’n roll.
Organized by Watersong Music of Bowdoinham, the concerts feature local organizations that provide food at the events as well. During the July 9 concert, Passion for Pets Rescue sold food and planned to return July 23 with puppies or some “ambassador” dogs.
The Half Moon Jug Band returned to the venue on a recent Sunday evening, the weather perfect as the played their humorous original songs, spurring young children to dance and roll in the grass.
Troy Bennett of The Half Moon Jug Band said after the band’s performance that “this kind of concert that they have here, we used to do a lot of this kind of thing,” Bennett said. Perhaps the funding for these type of town concerts has dried up, “but it’s so important. I think that these days people are kind of encouraged to stay at home by themselves and watch Netflix.”
It’s important to have real community events where people can come together and sit on the grass, “and listen to world class entertainment,” Bennett said. “Not every town has this.”
“We’ve been doing this since 1997,” Bennett said. “We wanted to be a family band,” and appeal to a range of ages.
Not only did The Half Moon Jug Band get the audience to sing along at times, it was a good opportunity for Lilly Small, 6, to use the skills she’s learned at various dance lessons.
“I love to dance,” she said. She and some of the younger children were even invited on stage at one point to dance to the band’s Tuna Noodle Baby. She plans to attend future concerts as well.
The concerts are held at a good time when it’s not to hot and there’s a real stage, Bennett said.
“At our age, and I’m 45 years old now, just to be able to play in a band and still have opportunities like this where someone calls you and says do you want to play a nice show for nice people in a nice park for some money? Not everyone gets to do that,” Bennett said. “We try to remember that when we take the state that it’s kind of a privilege to get to do this.”
Bennett said he’ll play alone in his room if he has to, but it’s more fun with nice people.
“We just want to get people involved and singing and remind people that music is for everybody. It’s not just for famous people on the radio or on MTV,” he said. “Music is a community event and if you can get everyone singing along, even if it’s just ‘Country Roads,’ everybody putting their hands in the air at the same time and waving them around like they just don’t care, I’ll be high on that until Wednesday.”
dmoore@timesrecord.com
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
