The Sounds of Summer Concert Series continues in Byron Center with three August shows starting on Thursday, Aug. 1, with country band Prior Noon at Bicentennial Park at 7 p.m.
(Courtesy, Sounds of Summer)
The FREE community concert also will have food available from Tony’s Tacos.
“Tony has helped us out for a couple of years now,” said Patty Williams of P. Williams Productions. “He’s part of the family now.”
P. Williams Productions, which also includes William’s son Lare, prides themselves on providing an entertaining night of not only music, but rounds of Name That Tune and trivia emceed by Lare.
“I’ve had this group of ladies come to me and say that the music is great, but they really come to see Lare,” Patty said. “He’s very entertaining and also takes care of all the sound engineering.”
Sounds of Summer garners fans from far and wide throughout the state of Michigan and even from other states.
“We had a couple drive seven hours from Paducah, Kentucky, to watch our show at Cutler Park,” Williams said. “We have people come from Mackinac, Charlevoix, South Haven, even Detroit. We have many people that have been coming to shows for many years; they own it and make it feel like it’s theirs.”
90’s cover band Project 90 will perform Aug. 8, and Brena will be the grand finale on Aug. 15 to close out the series.
Brena, West Michigan’s premiere party band, is led by duo Craig Avery and Steffan Copenhaver and closed out the Sounds of Summer series at Cutler Park last month.
(Courtesy, Sounds of Summer)
“Cutler Park had a great-sized crowd, if I had to guess, it was more than 500 people,” Avery said. “We have a completely different setlist planned for Byron Center, so we hope to see many familiar faces there.”
Bring your favorite lawn chair or blanket, sit back, relax, and get ready to be entertained by the Sounds of Summer.
“People enjoy going out on a summer evening bringing their lawn chairs and listening to good music,” Patty Williams said. “There’s excitement from the moment you park your car to the time you get to your seat.”
With everything from bluegrass to music of the Beatles, this year’s Sounds of Summer concert series at Cutler Park in Cutlerville will feature “a little something for everyone,” according to organizers.
“Not everybody likes the same kind of music,” said organizer Patty Williams. “We try to hit every genre we can in the four-week period. We try to do something for everyone.”
Concerts begin at 7 p.m. Cutler Park is located just east of U.S. 131 off 68th Street.
Patty Williams with her son Lare Williams (left) and a guest. (Supplied)
“The best part about all of these shows is the price tag,” said Lare Williams, Patty’s son whose company LW Studios helps produce the shows each summer. “They are all absolutely free thanks to our friends at Byron Township.”
It’s a great family event, he added.
“Bring your lawn chairs, bring you blankets, bring the whole family,” Williams said. “Kids are welcome. There’s a big playground there, and they can run around and play ’til their heart’s content.”
“The series has brought fun and livelihood to Cutler Park,” he added.
The Sounds of Summer concert series started in 2008 at Bicentennial Park in downtown Byron Center by Patty Williams, who is a WKTV producer and volunteer and runs her independent P. Williams Productions.
They migrated to Cutler Park in 2015, Lare Williams said.
Lare Williams handles the sound board during one of the Sounds of Summer concerts. (Supplied)
The shows have gathered a following, he added.
“The picnic setting has brought up to 500 guests from the neighborhood and other states to the concerts,” he said.
What’s the reason for its success?
Patty Williams said it’s because they know a little bit about the entertainment business being part of The Williams Family, a local group popular in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s known for its bluegrass music.
She said Lare, for example, is a well-seasoned musician who has recorded CDs of his own. and has been on stage since he was 2-years-old.
It’s the reason why locals love Sounds of Summer, she said, because they always add “a personal touch to each week’s concert.”
“You are entertained from the moment you set up your lawn chair,” she said. “There’s not a dull moment. There is always something going on.”
They might play Sounds of Summer trivia, give away CDs and interact with the audience.
“People love that. It really puts a personal touch on it where they actually feel like they own this concert series. When people come here they say, ‘This is ours.’”
Participants often bring a picnic meal to the popular Sounds of Summer which is at Cutler Park in Cutlerville. (Supplied)
Other highlights: Ken’s food cart will be vending beverages and hotdogs this summer, and “we have the local ice cream truck make an appearance,” Lare Williams said.
Already looking ahead to next year, Patty Williams said they hope to expand the series and include the month of August, possibly back at Bicentennial Park. The concerts in Cutler Park would remain in July.
Regardless, she’s proud of what she started 14 years ago. She remembers the idea came to her when she was touring with The Williams Family band.
“We used to perform at these little town festivals, and I would say ‘Why doesn’t Byron Center have anything like this? We’re a wonderful community. We have beautiful parks.’”
It’s been good for the community, she said.
“It brings a lot of people out, and families, too,” she said. “People love it!”
John D. Gonzalez is a digital journalist with 30-plus years of experience as a food, travel, craft beer and arts & entertainment reporter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also co-hosts the radio show and Podcast “Behind the Mitten,” which airs at 6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM and FM. Follow him on his journey to discover what’s next. You can find him on Twitter as @MichiganGonzo, on Instagram @MichiganGonzo and Facebook at @GRGonzo. He also relaunched his YouTube Channel. Email him story ideas and tips at michigangonzo@gmail.com.
Well the calendar flipped to a new decade — it you start at zero to mark the decade — and with the changing of the calendar, we thought we would take a look at some of the most popular WKTV stories of 2019.
In compiling this list, I took a look at both page views on a story, which indicates the number of people who clicked on the article, and also social media statistics. The result is a mix of both most read and shared articles from the WKTV Journal website.
Ranking Number One
All we can say about the top 2019 story is that everyone must love a good mystery as the “Mystery billboards along US-131 revealed” was the WKTV’s most read story for 2019. The billboards which featured the words “abuse, lonely, neglect, fear, trauma, abandonment” got people talking which according to officials from D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s was the purpose in raising awareness about April’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Top 2018 stories for the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming
There was a lot of anticipation of special events, the City of Wyoming’s annual Spring Carnival, and all of the redevelopment activity at Woodland Mall which included the addition of Von Maur and The Cheesecake Factory.
Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years form now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
The Wyoming Summer Concert series is well underway with the Brena Band performing tonight at 7 p.m at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW. The West Michigan band is known for its large repertoire that includes, country, RnB, rock, pop, and more. Tonight’s theme is Disney with the audience encouraged to have fun with it. Also before the show, there will be a yoga session to get everyone warmed up.
It’s all fun and games
The Grand Rapids Public Museum recently expanded its TOYS! exhibit. More than 15 new interactives will fill the first floor galleria, into the Streets of Old Grand Rapids exhibit and on the Museum’s second floor, overflowing from the TOYS! exhibit. Visitors will enjoy playing giant versions of their favorite games including: Battleship, Lincoln Logs, Chess, Connect Four, UNO, Kerplunk, Tic Tac Toe, Lite Brite and more! Speaking of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, now is the time to scoop up tickets to the museum’s Front Row for the Fireworks event for the city’s July 6 fireworks. Tickets are $15.
A day for remembering
Faith Hospice will be hosting its annual Service of Remembering and Butterfly Release Thursday, June 13. The event will take place at 7 p.m. at Trillium Woods, 8214 Pfeiffer Farms Drive, SW in Byron Center. The Service of Remembrance and Butterfly Release provides just that for those who participate. It is an opportunity for families to gather together to honor the lives of the person or people who have passed away. Because butterflies are often considered deep and powerful representations of life, and the transformation that some people of faith believe, they are a wonderful symbol of the life of the individual.
Mt. Avron is owned by a local paper company, but there is public access to it. Above is a picture of the summit and log book. (Wikipedia)
Fun Fact: Up a Hill, Down a Mountain
Tennessee has the Smokey Mountains, Colorado has the Rockies and Michigan has the Huron Mountains. The Huron Mountains are located in the Upper Peninsula in the Baraga State Forest Area. The highest point in Michigan is Hurons’ Mt. Arvon at 1,979 feet. Interestingly, Mt. Arvon has only had the designation since 1982, when it was determined through modern technology that Mr. Arvon was one foot higher than Mt. Curwood, which was at that time considered the highest point in the state.
With a vast repertoire that features covers from such groups as Cake, .38 Special, A-ha, Fun, and Elton John, West Michigan’s Brena Band is set to take the stage Tuesday for the second Wyoming Concerts in the Park.
Concerts in the Park is at 7 p.m. at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW.
The Brena Band, a popular band for weddings and social engagements, has performed at a number of West Michigan festivals and concerts such as the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival and the City of Walker’s summer concert series.
The group is known for its high energy and extensive song list that ranges from oldies to current top 40 hits, classic rock to smooth R&B, country to high energy dance music and everything in between. The band also has won Revue Magazine’s Best of the West Cover Band for the past three years.
If you can not make Tuesday night’s performance, the group will be back in the area Aug. 1 to perform at the Kentwood summer concert series, which is at 7 p.m. on the lawn behind the Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Rd. SE.
Before the Wyoming Concerts in the Park show, there will be free Zumba. Food vendors will be available as well. For a complete list of the Wyoming Concerts in the Park, visit the Facebook page by clicking here.
Once again the City of Wyoming gets the West Michigan Fourth of July celebrations started with its annual WY-FI (Wyoming fireworks) event tonight at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW.
The evening, which is part of the city’s Concerts in the Parks series, starts at 7 p.m. and includes two concerts featuring the Sweet J Band and the Brena Band, followed by fireworks at dusk. There also will be giveaways, face painting and food from area restaurants.
The Sweet J Band
A familiar foursome, the Sweet J Band has been performing the Greater Grand Rapids for more than 15 years at such venues as the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. The group includes Matt Young, lead guitar and vox, Colin Tobin, lead vox and guitar, Matt Kok, bass and xo and Brian V, drums. The group performs music from the sixties to current and covers blues, rock, and soul.
The Brena Band also hails from Grand Rapids having performed in and around the area. The group offers a range of musical genres, however, expect to pretty much rock out at tonight’s concert as the group gets everyone ready for the fireworks.
The Wyoming Community Enrichment Commission, which organizes the Concerts in the Park, recommends attendees be at Lamar Park by 6:30 p.m. There is plenty of parking on-site. The concert and the parking are free.
