Mercer Island announces this year’s Mostly Music in the Park Concert Series

Mercer Island recently announced its lineup for the annual Mostly Music in the Park concert series.

It is the Island’s 33rd year celebrating summer through art and music. Each year, Mercer Island Parks & Recreation and the Mercer Island Arts Council work together to provide Islanders diverse musical talents and family-friendly activities each summer.

This year, the concert series will begin July 11 and run through Aug. 15.

Though keeping true to tradition, the concert series will see a few changes this year. For one, the festivities will begin at 6 p.m.— one hour earlier than years past.

“This year’s Mostly Music in the Park series feels like we’re going through a stage of ‘reinvention,’” Arts Council member and co-chair of the Mostly Music in the Park Committee, Matt Lome, said.

Sarah Bluvas, Mercer Island Parks & Recreation Arts & Culture coordinator, said there will be arts and culture activities planned to take place before the music starts at 7 p.m. Those activities include artmaking with the Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL), lawn games coordinated by Parks & Recreation staff, and weekly giveaways donated by New Seasons Market. The Arts Council is also pursuing dance demonstrations, local food vendors and other family-friendly activities to enhance each concert.

“We haven’t formalized exactly what activities will be taking place before the concerts, but it could be anything from hands-on art classes, cultural dance lessons or something else,” she said. “We will announce those things sometime in mid-June.”

Mostly Music in the Park concert series will also be working with some new vendors this year.

“You can expect the same top-quality music, of course but, in addition to band performances, MMIP is working with new vendors and new sponsors to add depth and excitement to the evenings,” Lome said.

Like every year, the Mostly Music in the Park concert series will feature local music artists throughout the summer.

The 2019 selection committee, comprised of Arts Council members, Island residents, and Parks & Recreation staff, received more than 100 submissions from singers and bands from around the world. The committee curated an eclectic concert lineup. Genres range from classic rock to high-energy jazz, country to soul/pop, and a few other styles for different tastes. The 2019 lineup features:

• July 11: Duende Libre – High-energy jazz with global influences and a local connection

• July 18: Donovan Keith – Soul/pop sensation from Austin, Texas

• July 25: Jessica Lynne – “Pure country gold”

• Aug. 1: Joe Blue & the Roof Shakers – East Coast classic rock with West Coast vibes

• Aug. 8: Mōtus – Musical mix of horns, harmonies and grooves

• Aug. 15: Filé Gumbo – “Swamp rocking boogie”

In addition, the Arts Council collaborated with MIVAL to showcase local arts talent in marketing efforts for the series. For this year’s featured artwork, the Arts Council selected “he Hills Fill My Heart with the Sound of Music,” a colorful and whimsical sumi-e painting by Zeynep Banu Alev. Alev’s work will be included in the MMIP poster and other promotional materials throughout the summer.

To learn more about this year’s Mostly Music in the Park concert series, go to the city website at https://mercergov.org/index.asp.