The concert is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, July 6, at the park, located at 6701 Cutler Park Dr. SW with the series set to run every Thursday through July at Cutler Park and then switching over to Byron Center’s Bicentennial Park, 8085 Byron Center Ave. SW, in August.
Sponsored by Byron Township and presented by P. Williams Productions and LW Studios, the community concert series is free. Residents are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets to sit on. The Juicy Wieners will be selling hot dogs and pork sandwiches also will be available.
P. Williams Productions tapes each concert, which are rebroadcasted on WKTV throughout the summer.
July 13: That Beatles Thing – A local cover band transports you back in time to hear the hits of John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
July 20: Ryan Curtis Band – This Michigan-born, Idaho-based artist covers anything from folk to bluegrass to rock to blues through personal stories and life lessons.
July 27: The Soul Syndicate – This party band tributes iconic funk, soul, and R&B artists with electric, high-energy performances.
The August series at Byron Center’s Bicentennial Park, 8085 Byron Center Ave. SW, includes:
Aug. 3: Great Scott! – This Grand Rapids-based party band has something for everyone, playing hits from the fifties through today.
Aug. 10: Carson Peters and Iron Mountain – Traveling all the way from East Tennessee, this award-winning bluegrass group has played at the Grand Ole Opry and around the world.
Aug. 17: The Soul Syndicate – A familiar group in Grand Rapids, the band performs funk, soul and R&B.
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.
Cutler Park was filled with bluegrass fans as Macey Jane Williams, 7, took the stage and was part of the kick-off show at the Sounds of Summer Cutlerville.
Proud daddy, bluegrass singer and songwriter Lare Williams and his band members from New Direction smiled as Macey sang one of Williams’ original songs.
Lare Williams with his daughter Macey Jane.
Sounds of Summer Cutlerville hosts free community concerts every Thursday evening in July starting at 7 p.m. This week the series “rocks out” with the Lakeshore-based band Bettie Paige which is fronted by the ever amazing and entertaining John Merchant. According to organizers it should be a great night of music and a variety for all tastes.
Concerts are taped through WKTV and aired throughout the summer. Television showtimes are 8 p.m. Tuesdays; 10 p.m. Fridays; and 9 p.m. Saturdays.
