Lancaster Festival activities began July 24 with Chalk the Block
Chalk the Block drawings around Fountain Square will be completed by 6 p.m. on July 25. Each small square cost $6 and the large squares cost $12
- The Lancaster Festival returns for an eight-day event featuring musical performances and community artists.
- Many events, including workshops for children and various concert series, are free to attend.
- Country group Lady A will headline the festival, supported by the Lancaster Festival Orchestra.
The Lancaster Festival is returning for eight days of performances from big names like Lady A and the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, creating an ode to cross-genre musical acts and fostering a love for the arts in the community.
The festival, which began in 1984, is designed to highlight community artists and all things musical, toting everything from headliner performances and mini concerts at cafes to programming for children and musical lessons for youths.
In an interview with The Dispatch, Lady A co-lead singer Charles Kelley said the band is excited to play a smaller venue ahead of their tour as an opener for Tim McGraw, which began July 11. He said festivals offer the chance to reach a new audience and bring back oldies but goodies.
“We know people are always going to be coming to the show to hear what they know, but we hope they also gravitate toward some new stuff,” Kelley said.
The Lancaster Festival is a nonprofit and offers most of the events for free, including the children’s workshops and Noon at the Square, a lunchtime concert series. Some events do require tickets or registration in advance, such as the Lady A performance. Information and tickets are available at lancasterfestival.org.
For a full schedule of events, visit the festival website.
Who is headlining at the festival?
Lady A, a country group known for their hit songs “Need You Now” and “Bartender,” will headline the festival July 25 at the Wendel Concert Stage in collaboration with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, a 60-member professional orchestra.
Kelley said Lady A is excited to incorporate the strings into their songs because it will bring them to life in a new way. With minimal time to practice ahead of time, the 44-year-old said the process is going to be a “leap of faith” and involve a lot of trust.
“It’s going to be a challenge just because there’s a lot more moving parts,” Kelley said. “But we’ve been doing this for a while and to hear these songs with beautiful strings behind them is going to be such a cool experience.”
The band’s most recent original album, “What a Song Can Do,” came out in 2021. Kelley, who has been with the band since it was founded in 2006, said they’re working on new music right now, prioritizing the melody and making sure the lyrics are representative of how their lives look now. Currently, for Kelley, songwriting is about giving the listener “a little peek into where you are.”
When writing their biggest hit, “Need You Now,” Kelley said they didn’t know how much it would resonate with listeners.
“Making music is just addicting,” Kelley said. “It’s always a bit of a roll-of-the-dice to make music because you never know what fans are going to connect with.”
Guests have access to free parking and can bring their own food, plus stick around after the show for a fireworks demonstration.
Additionally, the Lancaster Festival is bringing back the Covered Bridge Music Series this year, which hasn’t occurred since it was removed from the event in 2020. It’ll focus on Americana and country music, headlined by Allie Colleen, the daughter of famous country artist Garth Brooks.
What is happening at the festival?
The Major Arts for Minors program will be hosted at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, 145 E. Main St., on July 20, 21, 23 and 24. There are free workshops for children ages 10-12 on subjects like acting and comic book character development. All the workshops are free, but they require registration in advance.
Café Concerts will be hosted at Cheers Chalet, 1211 Coonpath Road, on July 20, 22 and 24 to provide an intimate setting for a concert. The July 24 event will be themed “Christmas in July.”
The Children’s Corner at the Zane Square Concert Stage will offer child-friendly shows with puppets and dancing on July 20, 21, 23 and 24.
Also at the Zane Square Concert Stage on July 20-24, Noon at the Square offers a lunchtime concerts by local bands like Second Gear and Uprising. Attendees can bring their own food or purchase lunch at the venue.
The Happy Hour Music Series at Ale House 1890 invites smaller artists to perform on the open-air patio and is free to attend.
Dispatch reporter Lilli Malone can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram at @lillimwrites.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.dispatch.com ’
