Tune Up the Parks continues to highlight local talent

by Adam Gault

The Essex Community Concert Band (ECCB) took to the stage last Wednesday evening to participate in the Arts, Culture, and Tourism (ACT) Committee’s Tune up the Parks concert series, which is highlighting Essex County’s incredible range of musical talent all summer long.

  The local community band, which Essex District High School Music Department Head, Dee Shaw, leads, took concertgoers on an hour-and-a-half journey of a wide-range of popular music performances, including pieces from movie soundtracks, such as the Incredibles and the Blues Brothers, to Motown hits from Detroit legends, such as The Temptations.

  “It’s really a variety that works for all age groups,” ECCB Marketing Director, Britt Kascjak, said of the band’s crowd-pleasing repertoire.  “There’s something for everybody.”

  Consisting of more than 40 members from all walks of life in Essex County, the ECCB performs regionally several times per year, and is driven by its volunteer members’ love of music and the arts. The Tune Up the Parks series provides an additional medium for many local, music-loving artists to exhibit their talent and bring the joy of music to an even wider audience.

  “The great thing about a concert like this, is it’s our opportunity to play for a vast audience of people here, locally, so they can see what’s actually going on in our community,” Kascjak said. “With it being an active town, right here in the middle of Essex, you draw in a whole lot of people and they get to see what’s actually happening in this community, and a lot of people aren’t aware of that.”

The free concert series continues this Wednesday, June 27, inside the Heritage Gardens Park, with a performance from Southwest Sound, a six-piece Kingsville-based band that embodies the original country sound of performers like George Jones and Merle Haggard.

  Next week, concert goers will have the opportunity to see Tom Brough at Colchester Harbour and Park, during the holiday Monday on July 2.

  Brough is a Windsor based singer-songwriter, whose material includes covers of early rock and roll, country, and blues, as well as original, coffee house style pieces.

  Schedules may change. Eventgoers are urged to bring along a blanket or chair.

  For a full list of upcoming Tune Up the Parks performances, visit essex.ca