Lace up your dancing shoes or bring your lawn chair.
Whichever way you want to enjoy them, summer concerts throughout Colonie are rock ‘n’ rolling in a neighborhood near you.
Kicking off the summer concert season, Ron Cremisio and Friends performed during the Tuesday Nights in the Park concert series at the Frank A. Leak Amphitheater in Cook Park in the Village of Colonie Wednesday, June 11. Although the concert was originally planned to be held Tuesday, as indicated by the title of the series, threatening forecasts of high temperatures and tornadoes put a one-day hold on the beginning of summer musical fun.
Attendance-wise, we lost very many audience members because they came last night, not knowing that the show was canceled, said Ron Cremisio, whose band typically performs out of Waterford.
Mayor Frank Leak said Wednesday night was a `beautiful night` for a concert, and he plans to attend the concerts every Tuesday.
Cremisio and his band performed a variety of tunes, including hits from Michael Buble.
Leak said the concerts are put on at no cost to the village, and all expenses are paid for by various sponsors, including Delmonico’s Italian Steak House, Colonie Fire Company, Vellano Bros., and Hart Alarm Systems.
While the rain may have cast a cloud over the first concert of the season, several other concert series throughout Colonie will be occurring all summer long, rain or shine.
`We’re starting off with a Sunday afternoon this year, which is different,` said Pruyn House curator Diane Morgan, of the free concert series hosted at the historical Buhrmaster Barn.
According to Morgan, the Pruyn House has been hosting a summer concert series for the past 20 years. Unlike many other concert series that feature performers of any type of music on any given night, Pruyn House concerts are centered on cultural themes ` a different theme for each concert.
Some examples include Polish Night (July 9), Italian Night (July 16) and Irish Night featuring Hair of the Dog (Aug. 6).
`We usually get about 500,` said Morgan about attendance at the concerts. `We see about 900 at Hair of the Dog Night.`
She said that on bad weather nights, the concerts usually still attract about 300 people.
The first concert in the Pruyn House summer concert series will be held Wednesday, July 9, at 6:30 p.m. Authentic Polish food will be available before the bands begin.
Aside from amphitheaters and concert venues, there will even be concerts for people who do not want to travel any farther than their own backyards.
Thursday Night Concerts at the Crossings, a concert series being hosted by the Vellano Brothers, in the gazebo of The Crossings of Colonie will feature the music of several local performers, who, according to Kevin Morgan, park manager of the Crossings, `bring this entertainment to the good graces of the park and to the people of the community.`
Morgan said that the performers entertain the crowds, which fill the park, at no cost to the park or the public.
`We’ve got a real good mix, I think, from good bands to classic rock. Terrific to hear them play,` said Morgan. `This is real talent.`
While no food or refreshments will be served during the concerts, ice cream will be available. Morgan said that this is the second year the concert series will be running.“