Summer concerts return to Apple Valley’s Kelley Park
Michael Monroe is bringing his mix of acoustic folk, jazz and reggae to the Music in Kelley Park concert series on July 20. Monroe, a native of Minnesota’s North Shore, has made the trek south to Dakota County to perform in the Kelley Park series each year since its inception in 2008. (File photo)
Apple Valley’s Kelley Park has become a Friday night gathering spot for families in recent summers with its free concert series hosted by the Apple Valley Arts Foundation.
This summer, Music in Kelley Park returns with seven nights of music starting June 15, when the series kicks off with a double bill featuring singer-songwriter and Apple Valley native Dustin Hatzenbuhler, and local rock/country trio Four Degrees of Freedom, fronted by identical twin brothers Travis and Kalin Laurent.
Each concert runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and will see vendors offering festival food such as burgers and brats along with wine and beer. As in past years, there will be free weekly drawings guests can enter to win a new bicycle or guitar.
The series continues June 22 with Menage a Neuf, a nine-piece Twin Cities funk and soul band that’s led by three female vocalists and covers artists such as Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones.
After the Menage a Neuf concert, Music in Kelley Park takes a week off as attention in Apple Valley shifts to Bogart’s Place on June 29 for the annual Dancin’ & Cruisin’ classic car show, the opening event to the city’s summer Freedom Days festival.
The concerts return to Kelley Park on July 6 with an evening of music by the Castaways, a band known for its single “Liar, Liar,” which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1965.
The Harold Torrence Latin Vibe takes the stage July 13, followed July 20 by acoustic artist Michael Monroe, a native of Minnesota’s North Shore who’s made the trek south to Dakota County to perform in the Kelley Park music series each year since its inception in 2008.
MacPhail Center for Music’s instructors and students will deliver an evening of jazz July 27, and the series concludes Aug. 3 with the indie-blues-folk fusion of Steve Sullivan and the Factory.
Admission is free to the Friday night concerts in the park located at Founders Lane and West 153rd Street in Apple Valley’s Central Village. More information about the series is at Facebook.com/MusicInKelleyPark.
