ST. CLOUD – From big venues like the Paramount Center for the Arts in St. Cloud and the Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park to local bars and patios, folks in central Minnesota can find live music every night of the week — especially in the summer.
The number of cities, community groups and businesses with a seasonal concert series has been growing in the St. Cloud-area in recent years. And the best part? A number of these weekly or monthly concert series are free.
“It’s an important place for people to come to gather in our community,” said Troy Fritz, entertainment chair for the Rotary Club of St. Cloud, which is in its 14th season of the weekly Summertime by George! concert series near downtown St. Cloud.
The event — which features an opener and headliner on the stage near Lake George, along with local food trucks and a special “Shandy by George!” beer — is 100% volunteer-run, Fritz said. And the money raised through beer sales, raffles and sponsors at the event is given back to the community through large-scale projects like a youth resource center and funding for its Preschool 4 Success program.
“Everybody just gets itchy to get back at it again and get in that weekly routine,” he said of the Rotary volunteers.
This year’s series kicks off Wednesday with Pamela McNeill’s Fleetwood Mac tribute, which got rained out last year. Fritz is already anticipating opening night when, without fail, dozens of people from the community seek out the guy by the stage wearing the orange Rotary shirt (it’s Fritz) for a hug or quick chat.
“Some of them have even shed tears telling me they’ve been waiting nine months for this to start up again,” he said. “And that’s exactly why we do this thing. It’s about the people.”
The success of Summertime by George! has spurred Rotary clubs in Willmar, Alexandria and Excelsior to create similar weekly concert series, Fritz said.
