By Craig Webb
Akron Beacon Journal
Music is returning to Kenmore’s First Fridays.
But like most everything amid the coronavirus pandemic, it will take a bit of a different form. The Akron concert ( https://www.facebook.com/events/607648246773094/ ) from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. July 3 will take the format of a drive-in movie.
The neighborhood event sponsored by the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance and the
Kenmore Chamber of Commerce will host the concert in the Kenmore South Alley parking lots behind businesses like Lay’s Guitar Shop and Live Music Now.
Participants will be able to listen to the performances from the comfort of their own cars. Those slated to perform include Zach, Marc Lee Shannon, Jim Ballard, and The Rialto Theatre co-owner and A Band Named Ashes frontman Nate Vaill.
Some Kenmore Boulevard restaurants, including Lil’ Bit Café and Pierre’s Brooklyn Pizza, will offer delivery to the parking lot. There is room for 62 vehicles, with a suggested donation of $5 per car. Tina Boyes, the executive director of Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, said the First Friday events, which started in 2018, have been held virtually on Facebook since the start of the global pandemic. “People are hungry for some normalcy and miss things like concerts and festivals,” Boyes said. “We have adapted Kenmore First Fridays so people can come together, enjoy local music and support small businesses in a way that’s safe and comfortable for all.”
Music lovers are invited to listen from inside of the vehicle with either the windows down or from an FM radio signal or bring along chairs and sit outside.
Some Kenmore Boulevard businesses will be offering specials that night. The concert will also be livestreamed on the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance Facebook page.
Kenmore Boulevard’s Historic District is home to five recording studios, two guitar shops and The Rialto Theatre — which hosts local and national acts.
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com.