Mix of music and fresh air

Brother Henry guitarist Ned Henry isn't used to seeing the kind of crowd that turned out for the first Tunes at Twilight concert of the season.

"It's really cool to see a bunch of heads with gray hair out there bobbing up and down," Henry joked about the mixed Tunes crowd, where ages ranged from infant to elderly. The band normally plays to nightclub crowds full of young adults. At Tunes at Twilight, things are different -- old and young sit in lawn chairs and walk around mingling on the Common Pleas Courthouse lawn, an experience that is as much a social event as a concert.

Joking aside, Henry said his band -- his brothers David and Jeff and close friend Park Ellis -- loved its second straight year as Tunes at Twilight's opening act.

"It's just nice to be out in the fresh air," Henry said.

No official count was taken of how many attended Friday night's Tunes at Twilight opener, but the crowd was sprawled across the courthouse lawn from end to end, some resting on blankets eating picnic dinners, some lounging in chairs. Some ate pizza, others a chicken dinner. Some sipped beer, others drank wine.

A few years ago the crowd wouldn't have come close to filling the lawn, but by the 7 p.m. showtime Friday, the crowd had almost filled the space and continued to grow. Public transit buses dropped off loads of concertgoers and any available parking near the courthouse was quickly filled.

The crowd was a cross-section of Cape Girardeau -- young couples with and without small children, retirees, middle-aged couples enjoying an hour of distraction and plenty of dogs. Local musicians like Bruce Zimmerman, Ken Keller and Mary Ramsey came out to watch their fellow artists.

The concert's following seems to have grown over the years not just because of the music, but because of the nature of the event itself -- free and easygoing.

Dave Walton said the social aspect of the concert series is what really attracts him and wife Marcia to the series. They were out on the lawn an hour before music started, enjoying a light supper and getting a little bonus concert as the band played songs during the sound check.

The Waltons say they attend three to five of the concerts each year. Most of the time they don't know much about the bands, but that's part of the allure.

"We really had no idea who it was playing," Dave Walton said. He compares the series to a potluck, with each musical act bringing something different to the table.

Larry and Jean Underberg organize the concert series under the umbrella of Old Town Cape with a vision the weekly Friday concerts will serve as a jumping off point for the crowds to take their evening downtown after the music is over. Making sure the concerts run smoothly requires some work from the couple -- Jean Underberg serves as the master of ceremonies and both sell band merchandise like T-shirts and CDs during the show -- but Larry Underberg says they get just as much enjoyment out of the event as the crowd does, maybe more.

Larry Underberg has heard the artists before they come to Cape Girardeau but usually hasn't seen them live.

"For me, that's part of the fun," he said. The diversity of the acts -- one year a musician specializing in Turkish music played the series -- is what keeps the crowds engaged, as well as the atmosphere, Underberg said.

The series gives Chris and Lindsey Hutson and 2-year-old son Jack the kind of entertainment they can't get anywhere else in Cape Girardeau -- free music under an open sky. As a bonus, Jack stays occupied by dancing.

"He loves the music," Chris Hutson said.

msanders@semissourian.com

Family and friends of Southeast Missouri native Walt Paquin celebrated with many snacks during Tunes at Twilight because he received a doctorate of social work from Washington University on Friday.KIT DOYLE kdoyle@semissourian.com

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