For Freddie Cunningham, kids are crucial to a successful concert.
"They have that natural energy and enthusiasm, and adults sometimes have gotten too sophisticated and cool to do that," said Cunningham, lead singer of the Root Doctor band, which performed for East Lansing's Live! At Ann Street Plaza Concert Series on Saturday. "They do what adults really want to do."
Cunningham's comment proved true as children were the first attendees brave enough to showcase their moves to the band's bluesy music.
But with Cunningham's soulful voice intertwining with the guitar player's soulful licks, Cathy Caswell and Chris Wolf soon were the first adults to follow the children's lead and strut their stuff.
"It gives the bands an audience of people who don't go out to bars," Wolf said.
And the concert brings a wide variety of people downtown, he said.
"You see goths, punks and old people," Wolf said.
The city of East Lansing is holding two concert series this summer - the Fountain Square Concert Series, held at the corner of M.A.C. and Albert avenues each Friday from 7:30-9 p.m. until Aug. 24, and the Live! At Ann Street Concert Series, held each Saturday from 7:30-9:30 p.m. until Aug. 25 at Ann Street Plaza, adjacent to the clock tower in the downtown.
For Lansing resident Kevin Meaton, the concert was a chance to reconnect with his past. He credits a Root Doctor band performance eight years ago for igniting the sparks between him and his girlfriend, whom he eventually married.
"That's when cupid shot his bow," he said. "We danced to 'Brown Eyed Girl' and she gave me the look."
Eight years later, the Root Doctor still is at the top of his game, Meaton said.
"It's basically like fine wine - Freddie's voice has gotten better with age," he said. "It's soulful, it's mournful, it's rough, it's experienced."
The concert series is a way to get residents downtown, said Ami Van Antwerp, communication coordinator for the city of East Lansing.
"It definitely adds an ambiance to the downtown," she said. "We would love people to come downtown and go into the restaurants."
Van Antwerp said the city spends about $9,000 to book the concerts each year, and they focus on acts from the Lansing area.
Derek Swink, an Okemos resident, said the event provides music for a town that is sorely lacking in that department.
"They should be doing more things like this," he said. "There's not really much live music at all in East Lansing."
As for the music, Swink was impressed.
"They're tight," he said. "They lock in really well, and you can't do that unless you have been playing for a really long time."
As the evening progressed, the dance floor filled with more people, a sight Cunningham said makes performing worthwhile.
"I love the fact that we can get this kind of enthusiasm," he said. "That's why I play music - it's food for the soul."
