Take It Outside
By Virginia Myers
Summer is the season for enjoying music alfresco, with an array of free outdoor concerts in parks and plazas throughout the region. You can bring your own picnic, or in some cases buy a bite on site. Most of the concerts are in the evenings, but a few are midday. Here’s a selection of some of our favorites.
Bethesda Summer Concert Series
Set in the heart of Woodmont Triangle, this concert series draws lots of young families. It’s not unusual to see kids dancing barefoot up by the stage. Music ranges from the Irish fiddle-playing of the locally based 19th Street Band to the jazz instrumentation of Adrian Duke. Café tables with perky red umbrellas encourage easy picnicking in the shade, with your own home-cooked spreads or with carryout from one of the nearby restaurants.
6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, through July; Veterans Park, at the corner of Norfolk and Woodmont avenues, Bethesda; www.bethesda.org.
Strathmore Free Outdoor Concerts, North Bethesda
This outdoor concert series has been running since 1985, two decades before the landmark music hall was built on the grounds nearby. The Gudelsky Concert Gazebo shelters up to 30 musicians, and this year will host international artists as well as local talent, from electric cello and gypsy violin to Brazilian samba, East Indian rock, Galician flute and American blues. Listeners blanket the lawn with their own picnics or purchase barbecue, burgers and hot dogs from a stand set up on site for the concerts.
7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, through Aug. 14; 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda; www.strathmore.org.
Friday Night Live, and Wine Down Music and Wine Series, Rockville
Bring your dancing shoes for Friday Night Live’s groove-heavy bands, including hometown favorites the Nighthawks. Also on this year’s schedule: Ruthie & the Wranglers’ Americana country, Rumba Club’s Latin music and The Crawdaddies’ zydeco. Bands set up in the gazebo, so there’s plenty of space for dancers (and listeners) to move without tripping over sound equipment. Bring your own chair if you’d rather sit back and watch. Carryout from nearby eateries such as Tippy’s Taco House or Lebanese Taverna Café makes picnicking easy, or grab some after-concert ice cream at the Marble Slab Creamery.
On Thursday nights, the Wine Down music series includes a $5 wine tasting and nibbles from local eateries, accompanied by live music that runs more toward jazz and acoustic rock, with some Southern rock, pop and blues thrown in.
Friday Night Live, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays, through September; Wine Down Music and Wine Series, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays, through Aug. 22; Rockville Town Square at Maryland Avenue and Courthouse Square, Rockville; rockvilletownsquare.com/events/special-events/friday-night-concert-series/; rockvilletownsquare.com/events/special-events/wine-down/.
Downtown Live!, Lunchtime Lounge and Silver Spring Summer Concert Series, Silver Spring
Silver Spring attracts more of an urban crowd, a mix of ages and economic backgrounds who all come together for a block party on the weekend. Ellsworth Drive closes to vehicular traffic Friday nights and people line up their lawn chairs in front of the stage or grab a spot on the stairway in Silver Plaza, then settle in for R&B, classic rock, Motown and more. In the background, children shriek at the unpredictable squirting geysers of the public fountain, and the regular crowds mill about the restaurants, movie theaters and shops. On Wednesdays, those working nearby can enjoy music midday in the same area. And on Thursdays, from July 11 to Aug. 1, the action moves down the street to Veterans Plaza at the Civic Building.
Downtown Live!, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays, through September; Lunchtime Lounge, noon to 2 p.m. Wednesdays, through July; Ellsworth Drive between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street, Silver Spring. And: Silver Spring Summer Concert Series, 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, July 11-Aug. 1; Veterans Plaza at Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring; www.downtownsilverspring.com/events and www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec.
Washingtonian Center, Gaithersburg
Concerts here are set against a manmade lake ringed with restaurants and shops. They’re Montgomery County’s only live music to take place on the water. (Paddleboats, anyone?) Plenty of families come out for a wide range of music, from classic rock to Motown, R&B, pop and oldies.
6 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, May through September; 9811 Washingtonian Blvd., Gaithersburg; www.washingtoniancenter.com.
BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown
This sprawling community center offers not only an auditorium for year-round music, drama and dance, but also a lawn for a July outdoor concert series. Listeners bring their own chairs and blankets, and often browse the nearby strip of eateries and shops for carryout picnics. Music ranges from pop to jazz and blues.
7 p.m. Saturdays, through July; 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown; www.blackrockcenter.org.
