PHOTO: The Mezcal Brothers make use of all corners of Stransky Park last summer at the concert series hosted by Irvingdale Neighborhood Association. Photo courtesy Jim Heydt.
by Michael Todd
If loving your neighbor as yourself takes a little extra incentive, try a summer concert series in a park featuring a manmade mountain, a three-tier waterfall and a gazebo doubling as a stage. The Irvingdale Neighborhood Association hosts its eighth-annual batch of weekly shows in Stransky Park starting Thursday, May 26 from 7 to 9 p.m., offering a change of scenery for the local musicians on the bill.
“Most bands like to come out because it’s literally a breath of fresh air away from the clubs, and bands [in past years] seemed happy even when they weren’t getting paid well,” says concert series director Jim Heydt in a phone interview. “It’s a very pleasant setting to be playing music in, as well as listening to it.”
Heydt says the opening group of steel drum players, PANgea — composed of Lincoln Public Schools students — represents the fruition of the time he and two others spent booking this summer’s concerts. Including more established acts such as The Mezcal Brothers and University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and trumpeter Darryl White, the lineup was a conscious composition of artists intended to appeal to all ages with an ear toward innovation. Largely a freewill donation event with a few sponsors to help pay bands, the concert series relies on enthusiastic audiences to keep it afloat.
“Gosh, [the musicians] deserve a handsome sum of money, so that’s pretty much been my No. 1 goal for this whole thing — getting the artists that are going to bring the largest number of people possible, but still having something interesting,” Heydt says. “I don’t want to sell out as far as having a, let’s say, deplorable kind of pop music that could bring a lot of people.”
Nestled in the well-kept secret of the Irvingdale neighborhood, Stransky Park at 17th and Harrison makes up for its smaller size by boasting extensive landscaping, a playground and enough green space to fit nearly 600 people with blankets and lawn chairs. Parking can be difficult, but musician Ryan Larsen says crowds have been courteous. On a beautiful night, Larsen says, it’s easy just to enjoy the music.
“This is way more family-oriented than traditional venues, so you get to see a lot of kids, which is fun for a band like ours that gets kids to sing onstage with us,” says Larsen, who plays drums and sings backup vocals in The Blues Messengers and helped book this year's festival. “Musicians like to make money, and there’s no real guarantee here. But this is an exception, because the park has been such a fun, successful gig to play.”
One immediately notable difference from a traditional venue is Stransky’s quieter atmosphere. Heydt says it’s a deliberate attempt to encourage conversation. Although he says he enjoys going to clubs, the loudness can be alienating for folks wanting to enjoy their time with friends and family.
This year will be the fifth time Larsen’s mostly Chicago-blues-based band plays the concert series. He says frequent coffee-shop shows have prepared the group for park’s quieter shows.
“You can’t hide behind anything, you can’t hide behind noise,” Larsen says.
Despite this attempt to distance the concert series from a traditional venue’s environment, Heydt has no hard feelings for Lincoln's bastions of the music scene. He and the other two booking agents intentionally scheduled all but one show on Thursdays so as to not take away from weekend crowds.
The sole Friday show, May 27, features Lincoln’s younger generation of musicians. The Academy of Rock gives students an opportunity to learn from the music scene’s best. Larsen, a blues instructor for AOR, says he’s proud of his students who will play the park.
From these up-and-coming artists to the Mezcal Brothers, an established local rockabilly group, the community of the concert series keeps growing within the Irvingdale neighborhood.
“I wish every neighborhood would get something like this going,” Larsen says.
Michael Todd is one of Hear Nebraska's summer interns. He hopes to bring a smile to your face by his very presence. When he materializes next to you and you happen to hear the sound of angel's wings fluttering, that must have been the wind. Contact him at michaeltodd@hearnebraska.org.