After a year’s hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Five Star Bank Party in the Park joins the sudden summer crush of concert announcements, with nine dates at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park in downtown Rochester.
The series opens with an unusual mid-week combo. A Wednesday, July 14 show features the Baltimore funk and jam band, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
The following day, July 15, if it’s a matter of craving Pink Floyd or Fleetwood Mac, get the closest thing: a tribute band. That’s when Party in the Park reverts to its familiar Thursday nights with the Pink Floyd tribute band from Akron, Ohio, Dark Side of the Moon, and the Fleetwood Mac tribute band from Rochester, The Seven Wonders.
Other Party in the Park highlights include rock with Springsteen pals Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, the Jamaican reggae band Third World, plus tributes to Queen and Zac Brown.
The lineup:
July 14 — Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
July 15 — Dark Side of the Moon and The Seven Wonders - A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
July 22 — Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
July 29 — Ripe; The Nude Party
Aug. 5 — Almost Queen
Aug. 12 —To be announced
Aug. 19 — Third World
Aug. 26 — Larkin Poe; Eric Krasnow
Sept. 2 — Zac Brown Tribute Band; Blue Sky Brothers
The gates open for all shows at 5 p.m., with music starting at 5:30 p.m. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park is at 353 Court St., by the Strong Museum of Play. The rain location for the concerts is Anthology, 336 East Ave.
The site will also include the MVP Health Care Family Zone, the Craft Beer Garden of New York State beers, the Bubbly Bar (prosecco and mimosas) and the Bazaar in the Park (arts, crafts, and fashions). The VIP Ultra Lounge provides exclusive access to a full cash bar, table service, private restrooms, front stage access, complimentary snacks, chair massage, and a commemorative lanyard.
General admission tickets are $7, with children 12 and under free. VIP Ultra Lounge tickets are $45 and $55, and general admission season passes are $49. Tickets and passes go on sale at rochesterevents.com at 10 a.m. on July 6.
Patrons may bring one sealed bottle of water to the shows, but lawn chairs, bicycles, skateboards, inline skates, and pets are not allowed.
A no-smoking policy will be in place, with smokers directed to a designated area.
Parking is available at the Washington Square Garage, 111 Woodbury Blvd.; the Court Street Garage, 194 Court St.; and the East End Garage, 475 E. Main St. Parking will also be available at The Strong, 1 Manhattan Square.
Jeff Spevak is WXXI’s Arts & Life editor. He can be reached at jspevak@wxxi.org.
