East Lansing music fans won’t have to head to their favorite clubs to see live music, at least for the next few months.
Preparations are completed for the Ann Street Plaza Concert Series to kick off Friday, featuring a wide variety of music from area acts.
The event has been taking place in East Lansing for more than 15 years.
“Every year, it’s a very nice event,” said Ray Kamalay, an area musician who will be kicking off the festivities at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Kamalay plans to entertain the crowd with a mixture of ragtime, blues and Irish tunes. Kamalay has been performing for years, but still jokes about why people would make their way out to see him.
“Lots of people show up, but I’m always curious as to why,” he said.
Kamalay will be performing solo Friday, but he has performed all over the Midwest with his jazz group, Ray Kamalay and The Red Hot Peppers.
Another musician performing this weekend has known Kamalay for a number of years and looks forward to seeing his set.
Dick Rosemont and his band, Mystic Shake, will be taking the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Rosemont calls Kamalay the best at what he does, but his band is prepared to entertain in its own way Saturday.
“It’s fun - it’s nice to be outside,” Rosemont said. “We’re something of an interactive group. We get out in people’s faces sometimes, get them on stage - whatever. We’re into having fun, and other people usually are as well.”
Rosemont added people can expect a variety of music, from the band’s own compositions to a few familiar cover songs, although not always in the way everyone knows them. Not the typical bar band, Rosemont said the acoustic-based, interactive atmosphere the band has developed provides a welcome change for the audience.
“I missed the connection with people,” Rosemont said of his time in primarily electric bands. “It’s evolved from the electric.”
Both performances promise to provide an eclectic mix of entertainment for everyone who makes their way downtown. Ami Field, community events specialist for the city of East Lansing, has been booking the event’s acts for three years and believes the concerts bring an important atmosphere to the city.
“It’s part of an economic development to bring people downtown,” she said. “It exposes people to fine restaurants and commerce throughout the city.”
Field said she chooses the bands based on local popularity and the diversity of the groups. Future performances include Steppin’ In It, a popular bluegrass and Cajun band, as well as Rhythm Billies, an old-time string band, and The Weepers, an acoustic twang band.
“Every year it’s different music,” she said. “A lot of the bands really want to play at Ann Street.”
