The LockBottom Blues & Jazz Club Opens
Downtown Akron will again swing with the sounds of jazz and blues when the City opens its Lock 4 stage beginning July 6 with outdoor concerts every Wednesday night this Summer.
The series has been underwritten this year by a generous grant from the Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable Trust, KeyBank, Trustee.
“The response we received to just four concerts at Lock 4 last summer was overwhelming,” says Dave Lieberth, Akron’s Deputy Mayor. “Lock 4 is a beautiful setting, the food is great, and people love the music.”
The LockBottom Blues & Jazz Club opens with local jazz artists Aces & Eights at 7:00pm, Wednesday, July 6. The rest of the schedule is as follows:
July 13: Wanda Hunt Band
July 20: Ian Ross Trio
July 27: The Underworld Band
August 3: The Stingers
August 10: Howard Street Blues Band
August 17: Peggy Coyle Jazz Trio
August 24: Blue Lunch
August 31: Jack Schantz Quartet
September 7: Wallace Coleman
“This is exciting space in Downtown,” says Lieberth. “The rushing water of the canal creates multiple water falls through Lock 4 that along with the historic brick facades of some of the oldest buildings in the city give the space distinctly urban feel.”
Urban Eats – the café at Musica – will provide food to match the music. “When it comes to food, decorative arts, and POP culture we believe ART IS LOVE,” says general manager Elizabeth Tyran. Chef Jason Scala has formal culinary training and has worked at many of Akron’s favorite restaurants, and will select a menu for Lock 4 to match the great music.
During the Lock 4 season, artists from the Lock 3 Summer Arts Experience will be adding color and life to the Main St. buildings that face Lock 4. Adriana Caso will be leading a group of arts apprentices in the program in utilizing trompe-l'oeil techniques to depict various scenes in the windows and doors lining the canal.
Lock 4 is “down under” Bowery Street, adjacent to the city’s popular concert venue Lock 3, and is connected directly to the Cascade Parking Garage, which provides direct access to Lock 4 from level two (orange). Walkways from Bowery Street and from Lock 3 are other entrances to the event.
Admission to Lock 3 and Lock 4 concerts is free and sponsored by the City of Akron with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as well as the Kenneth L. Calhoun Charitable Trust, KeyBank, Trustee.
