Headline bands slated to play through Aug. 26
Published in the May 25 – June 7, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Robert Airoldi
Photo by Mark Fenichel/fenifoto
Concert goers dance to the sound of Super Bad during one of last year’s shows.
Break out your lawn chairs and blankets, grab a picnic and come on over to the Downtown Amphitheater for the family-friendly Friday Night Music Series. The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce’s summer concerts kicks off June 3 with the band Entourage performing.
Rich Firato, former chamber board chairman and a current board member, has succeeded in bringing back some of the very best bands from last season and added some new acts into the mix as well.
“The quality of the bands is top notch and they all play music people like and can relate to that makes them want to dance,”said Firato, who is now in his sixth year putting in the concerts. “They are quite entertaining. They not only perform popular dance tunes, but they also entertain the audience.”
Firato took several trips to nearby Indian casinos to watch the bands live in order to determine if they’d be a good fit for Morgan Hill’s popular Friday evening concerts. The five new bands this year are the Hitmen (funk, soul, disco, Latin playing June 17), Pop Fiction (dance hits playing July 8), KJ Allstars (Top-40 playing July 15), Take 2 (’70s, ’80s, ’90s playing July 22) and Extra Large (Funky vibes playing July 29).
All 13 bands playing in Morgan Hill would be headliners if they played at any festival in the Silicon Valley region, Firato said. “No one has a lineup like this in the Bay Area.” The other bands include Entourage (June 3), Soul Kiss (June 10), Super Bad (June 24), Busta-Groove (Aug. 5), Forejour-Tribute ( Aug. 12), Houserockers (Aug. 19) and Sage (Aug. 26).
Photo by Mark Fenichel/fenifoto
The crowd listens to a band during one of last year’s Friday Night Music Series shows.
Where else can you get a free concert with a downtown atmosphere that draws between 1,200 and 1,700 people every Friday night? Firato asked.
“We have a beautiful amphitheater, a great sound system, and this year for the first full year we’ll have stage lights all season long,” he said. The lights were donated by the 2015 Leadership Morgan Hill class.
Most important point is that none of this would happen without the support of community sponsors, he said.
“The sponsors you see on the banners adorning the stage are the ones who make this possible for our community,” Firato said. “Everyone should make an effort to patronize our sponsors and thank them.”
The concerts also would not be possible without the help of the scores of volunteers who come out to help. Six years ago it was hard to find volunteers.
“Then board member Tim Hennessey and myself were trying to rebuild the series and it was Tim’s network of friends who came out to volunteer and keep the event going,” Firato said.
It eventually grew to include an online sign up sheet for volunteers run by Chamber Office Manager Janis McDonald. This year the chamber decided to try something new and sent out an email giving local companies the opportunity to have their employees volunteer as a group and work an entire shift as a team building exercise. All 13 weeks are now filled with people giving of their time and energy to make the Friday Night Music Series a fun event for everyone, Firato said.
“We wanted to get local businesses more involved in the community,” said Erin Machado, membership director for the chamber. “Within minutes of the e-mail going out we had our first reply and within 24 hours, I was having to ask businesses and organizations to choose another date, as that one had already been taken.”
The Kiwani’s Club will add pulled pork sandwiches to their previous sole option of hot dogs, chips and sodas and water, and Kona Ice will be on hand, as will Kettle Korn and Dippin’ Dots.
Workers from nonprofit group TeenForce, which helps find jobs for local young people, will provide the paid labor to help volunteers set up and tear down.
Firato urges people to come out early.
Last year people began putting out their chairs and blankets about 11 a.m., he said, encouraging others to come out early.
“If you live in Morgan Hill or South County and haven’t experienced the Friday Night Music Series, I suggest you come out and bring a friend,” Firato said. “You’re going to find an environment where you have young kids, families, parents and grandparents all coming together to enjoy concerts at our downtown amphitheater.”
