MANSFIELD – Downtown Mansfield’s best summer party returns in full force this weekend with the kickoff of the Final Friday Concert Series on May 27.
Starting at 5 p.m. in the Brickyard, the free concert will kick off with Thee Rough Country Band, Kelly Vaughn and The DeVault Ridge Band. Lawn chairs are encouraged, and plenty of refreshments will be available for purchase.
Friday’s concert is the inaugural show for a tradition that many have come to look forward to during Richland County summers. Hundreds of people packed into the Brickyard is the vision Jamie Thompson, chief development officer at Downtown Mansfield, Inc. (DMI) had in mind at the concert series’ creation in 2007.
“In the back of our minds, Jennifer (Kime, CEO of DMI) and I had always looked at the natural layout of the Brickyard as amphitheatre-like,” Thompson said. “We always thought we could do something bigger.”
For seven years, the Final Friday concerts were performed at the south end of the Brickyard on a small concrete stage. During the final show of 2014, the venue was so packed it prompted both Thompson and Kime to start planning to expand the series.
“When we opened in 2015 we thought it was really time, and we were actively planning for stage building and decided to flip the script,” Thompson said. “People loved it, and the last show of 2015 was beyond our wildest expectations.”
Building on that momentum, DMI has plans to make the 2016 Final Friday Concert Series even bigger and better. To start, the entirety of this season’s shows will be played on the Brickyard’s new stage, officially unveiled at a “bonus” Final Friday concert last September. The stage has officially been dubbed the Richland Source Pavilion after Richland Source entered into an agreement with DMI to be its naming sponsor.
“Having the stage and its capacity for space and electricity, that will make a big difference and improve the overall production of the show,” Thompson said. “Plus having the bands covered, if there’s rain they can still have space to perform.
“We’re also actively pursuing spectator shading to be put in place by the end of this season.”
The “bonus” September show will also be a Final Friday regular moving forward, giving locals five opportunities to attend the concert series. The concert lineup will feature a combination of eight regional artists and eight local artists.
Seating at the Final Friday concerts has always been lawn-style, with collapsible chairs canvassing the entire Brickyard. This year, another seating option will be available in the form of the new Brickyard Patio, located in the southern parking lot.
“There are two types of people who come to the shows: Die-hard outdoor venue enthusiasts, and those folks who are see-and-be-seen, meeting up with friends and colleagues or holding orchestrated events,” Thompson said. “The idea behind the patio is it’s an area where individuals who don’t want to be right into the mix can have a place to talk but also be part of the show.”
The area will be furnished with patio tables and chairs, with a $5 entry fee. A stone bar located in the patio area will serve the same drinks available to the general public, but the patio provides an opportunity to sit at a table and chairs and chat with friends.
A layout of the Final Friday Concert Series area at the Brickyard
Richland Source will continue its involvement with the Final Friday concerts by providing hospitality services at the Brickyard Patio. Publisher Jay Allred said working the patio is a fitting part of the company’s RichlandLIVE initiative, which supports and highlights live entertainment in Mansfield.
“We’re biased – the Brickyard is our backyard, after all – but Final Fridays really showcase the best of Mansfield and Mansfielders,” Allred said. “Getting involved was never really a question. The only question was about matching up what we were best suited to do with the needs of the event.”
In addition to Richland Source, local sponsors of the Final Friday Concert Series include Charles Hahn, Cleveland Financial, OhioHealth, The Phoenix Brewing Company, Pinnacle Building Services, Spaulding & Kitzler, Attorneys at Law & Lori Holden, and The Holden Agency.
A new promotion item will be available for purchase this season at the Brickyard. For $25, concert-goers can purchase “beer in a bucket” including a cooler with six beers. Bringing the cooler to subsequent Final Friday will earn a discount on six-pack purchases. All drinks sold at the Final Friday concerts have been $3 and will remain the same.
“In an effort to combat the level of people in attendance and their drinking needs, these are little things we could employ effectively and help with overall promotion,” Thompson said. “When people can take things away, it’s a way to not only assist with customer experience but continue to promote the brand of the Final Friday concert and the Brickyard area.”
Other food options at the Brickyard will include vendors such as Altered Eats, Dave’s Dogs, Slab Daddies barbeque, Ed Pickens’ Café on Main, and Sunset Slush.
The explosion of the Final Friday Concert Series in the past few years is a bit of a mystery to Thompson and her cohorts at DMI. However, it’s an enigma they hope to continue.
“Looking back over past marketing materials, we’d never listed the Brickyard as an actual address,” Thompson said with a laugh. “Without an address it’s even more mind-boggling. We told people where to go without really telling them, and now they’re here.
“It’s going to be a very dynamic area with constant evolution, but I think we have finally arrived,” she said. “It’s going to be a good season.”
