Concerts featured in state park throughout October

Michael and Michele Stevens will be hosting “The Month of Music” every Saturday in October at the Pavilion in the Hot Springs State Park.

This Saturday, October 7 kicks off the live performers with Barcode 307, from 3-7 p.m.

Through the month the concerts include The Tinderwoods, October 14 from 3-5 p.m., Christian Wallowing Bull, October 21 from 5-6:30 p.m. and Erica & Billy, October 28 from 3-5 p.m. The events are free to attend.

Michael explained their inspiration as to why they are holding the events and said, “We are looking for ways to bring value to the community and be good community members. We had an inspiration to work on some positive things for our community, and music is a universal language that has the power to connect people from every part of the world. Every part of the culture. Music creates a common ground for people who may not share the same language, beliefs, culture, or religion. It can also be used to express emotions and share experiences with others, which can help us understand each other better and build stronger relationships with those around us. So that was our inspiration for what we asked some to name the Month of Music.”

The event is sponsored by the Tipi Concessions LLC, which is the Steven’s grill in the State Park. Michele added, “One of the things that we noticed this year was business was way down for us. And I think the biggest difference was that there just wasn’t music happening in the park. Last year, there was a group of people, including Kevin Skates, his wife, and some others in the community, who had coordinated to make sure that there was entertainment there. I didn’t realize how many people it had drawn. And so I was looking at the numbers of how it affected our business.”

Through some discussions, the Stevens decided to bring the music back to the community.

Michele stated, “Some of the bands that had been at Discovery Days had heard about our Tipi Retreat situation and they wanted to know how they could help that. I was really surprised by that and ended up reaching out to some of those bands and they wanted to know if they would do a fundraiser or something. So it just kind of all evolved in that spirit and we decided we would start a GoFundMe for Save The Tipi. We’re awaiting a decision from the judge, regarding the Findings of Fact and it could all just be over tomorrow, in which case we would donate any money that we received to a local charity or someone in the community in need. But in the meantime, we thought, well, that’s a blessing that someone thought of us and wanted to do that. So we would graciously receive that and at the same time be able to bring that value to the community because people don’t have to donate. They can just come and enjoy the music.”

The concerts will feature patio heaters in case there is cold weather. They will also have an alternative location in the event of inclement weather.