Children frolic at the summer’s first West End Wednesday, a picture perfect evening on the lawn at the Glencoe Museum. The free concert series showcases and celebrates local music, food and art.
Under a perfect early evening sky on Glencoe’s grassy hill above the New, Radford’s first West End Wednesday ushered in summer.
The evenings start at 5:30 officially, but Jimothy was playing Dixie Chicken and barbecue smoke was already tumbling across the lawn setting a summery tone and people were barefoot by 5.
“It’s a family and dog-friendly event working to support local arts, local music and support our community,” Laurie Murphy, head of the new local non-profit Mountain Trotter that now sponsors the event, said.
Behind a cardtable in a flowing green dress Murphy was selling icy cans of Sweet Water Hop Hash and grapefruit Truly and greeting the crowd.
“West End Wednesdays is a four-part, free concert series,” she said handing over change and Bud Lights to a group juggling lawn chairs. “We survive by generous contributions. This week our sponsor is MasTec, and next week it’s Bondurant Realty.”
Murphy, an active local artist and owner of the Green Heron on 3rd Street, she’s launched Mountain Trotters to promote and develop the Radford Farmers’ Market and late summer Craft and Draft.
Like those events, West End Wednesdays showcases local artists, farmers and musicians.
People carrying red checked paper baskets of Chef T’s barbecue and beignets strolled past Gracie’s Garden’s tomato seedling and strawberry starts and pastries at The Flour Shop Radford, children are, of course, frolicking, and the band, Jimothy, is tuning up in the maple shade.
Music scout for Mountain Trotters, Kayla Crowder, saw Jimothy at a CD release party for The Antecedents, another local band.
“Radford has a budding music scene,” said Jimothy founder, Jim Bohon.
He launched the band a year ago with bass player Jacob Roseberry and crooner Abigail Wolford.
“Venues are opening all over, breweries and all sorts of events like this,” he said.
