Wild West Concert Kicks Off St. Cloud Summer Music Series

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A long-standing tradition makes its return to St. Cloud this week. The Friends of Barden Park and the St. Cloud Municipal Band (SCMB) will present the annual Summer Concert Series at Barden Park starting on Thursday. For over 55 years, the two groups have been presenting the series at the historic park.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

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Do The Concerts Feature A Theme Each Week?

The St. Cloud Municipal Band will start the series on Thursday with their "Wild West" themed show. On July 17th, the Meire Grove Band will take the stage, and then the Municipal Band returns on July 24th with music from "Around the World." July 31st's theme is "It Don't Mean A Thing, if it Ain't Got that Swing," and the Rock City Big Band is on hand on August 7th. The Municipal Band closes out the series on August 14th with a "Golden Oldies" themed concert.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

The SCMB's Conductor, Andrew Nelson, says:

"When you think about it, this is such an amazing concert series with a rich history. Earlier this year, one of the band members showed me a picture of the band performing in 1970 in the exact same spot that we played today. I was born in 1970. It was really cool to know that much history exists here."

All the shows take place at 7:00 p.m. and are free to attend. There will be root beer floats for sale with proceeds benefiting the Friends of Barden Park.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

St. Cloud Municipal Band

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