Outdoor concerts to begin soon in Cape, Jackson parks

Editor's Note: This story has been updated.

The cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson are set to strike up the bands for summertime in less than a week, offering free outdoor musical performances with appearances by local and nationally touring musicians.

Cape Municipal Band Summer Concert Series

The Summer Concert Series begins with the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band and will kick off Wednesday at Capaha Park’s Dan Cotner Amphitheater.

The concerts continue every Wednesday through July.

City of Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation director Julia Jones said the performances attract nearly 100 people each night, depending on weather.

The series is rain or shine, she said.

“I think it’s a wonderful tradition that we have a municipal band that offers free concerts,” she said. “It’s for everybody, but a lot of the older population really like coming out and enjoying the evening.”

Cape Girardeau Municipal Band is made up of musicians, college students and college professors — nearly 45 members — from the community.

Last year, Municipal Band member Jerry Ford said the band built the structure that houses each concert. In 1957, it was known as the Schuchert Cornet Band.

But when the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band moved from what is now Ivers Square in 1957, he said artisans were called in and companies were contacted in order to donate the needed materials for the structure.

Ford said the city donated the location and currently maintains it. The municipal bandshell was renamed in July 2015 to Dan Cotner Amphitheater in honor of Dan Cotner’s devotion to the band. Cotner joined the band in 1940.

The Cape Girardeau Municipal Band is one of the longest, continual, community bands, with it being formed in the 1880s, according to Ford.

Jones said, “It’s the community coming together to enjoy what’s best about the summer.”

Cape Girardeau Municipal Band also will perform during the city’s Fourth of July celebration at Arena Park.

Rock in the Rock Garden

City of Jackson Parks and Recreation director Shane Anderson said Southeast Missouri native Doug E. Rees’ performance will start this season’s Rock in the Rock Garden concert series Friday at Jackson City Park.

The series continues Fridays in June with Jen Friend & Trevor Finlay, Lojo Russo and John Latini.

He described the performers as “all traveling, professional musicians.”

Anderson also said the talent is split between “local and out of town,” with several artists traveling from Nashville, Tennessee.

He said Rees is “of course followed and loved by a lot of folks here.”

“He travels all over the place. He’s in the western states; he’s up north in Iowa,” Anderson said, adding he expects nearly 125 attendees at each concert in the series.

Rainout location for this year, Anderson said, is Stooges Restaurant at 507 W. Main St. in Jackson.

Rees also will perform alongside the Jackson Municipal Band during the kickoff to this year’s season at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Nicolus Leist Memorial Band Shell in Jackson City Park.

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