MANSFIELD — Summer is just around the corner, despite what Mother Nature thinks, which means downtown Mansfield’s favorite block party is gearing up for another season.
Downtown Mansfield, Inc. (DMI) officially released the lineup for the 2018 Final Friday concert series. This year’s concerts include half new acts and half old, half local acts and half from out of town.
The variety of musicians from all places and all genres makes for an intoxicating mix of familiar, nostalgic tunes plus an infusion of new sounds and possibly new favorites.
“That’s been the fun part from the very beginning,” said DMI CEO Jennifer Kime. “Everyone finds their niche when they’re here.”
“It’s everybody’s concert,” added Jamie Thompson, chief development officer at DMI.
The Final Friday concerts will kick off on Friday, May 25 at The Brickyard with Ricky Mitchell, Memphis Cradle and Alter Ego.
Appearing on stage on June 29 will be Charles Geil, Acoustic Edge and the Jimmy Warner Band.
On July 27, the Brickyard will welcome Jai Merina, Stan Shot Molly and the Red Ball Jets.
Friday, Aug. 31 will host Jeff Ritz, Skip Frontz Jr. & His Left Handed Luckies, and The Martini Affair.
Closing out the concert series on Sept. 28 will be Kelly Vaughn, The Caffiends and The McCartney Project.
The biggest change with this year’s Final Friday series is a change in times. Each concert will start and end a half hour later than usual, with music beginning at 5:30 p.m. and wrapping up at 10:30 p.m. According to Kime, this allows for more of the audience to travel from work to see the start of the show.
Concerts are free and open to the public. Lawn chairs are encouraged, and refreshments are available for purchase, as outside beverages are prohibited. Food truck vendors scheduled to appear this year include Ms. Lil’s, Panchos Tacos, Slab Daddy’s and Sunset Slush.
Though the Final Friday concerts have been around for more than 10 years, the series hit its stride in late 2013. 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 literally flip the script and move the stage to the bottom of the Brickyard hill.
The 2015 Final Friday series ended with a “bonus” September show on a brand-new Brickyard stage. The 2016 series was the first full series to be played on the new stage, officially dubbed the Richland Source Pavilion after Richland Source entered into an agreement with DMI to be its naming sponsor.
According to Thompson, last season’s concert series drew an average of 7,500 people per show, with August’s show inching closer to 10,000 people. DMI anticipates hosting 40,000 people in the Brickyard over this season’s five shows.
“I don’t know that we ever anticipated it turning into what it is; we had hopes, but I don’t think we thought we would ever get there, especially so quickly,” Thompson said. “Now the focus is continued customer service.”
“We have a real focus on quality,” Kime added. “A lot of times if you grow, you lose what it really is, and this feels like a backyard picnic, and that’s what’s cool about it. When you get too fancy you lose the feeling of ‘Oh, we all just happened to show up here!'”
Despite its continued growth, this is the core goal of DMI – for the Final Friday series to be community-centered and serve as an anchor for downtown Mansfield.
“Most of the community appreciates coming to something that’s like coming back to your old neighborhood,” Thompson said. “It’s like an old friend.”
The Final Friday concert series is made possible through contributions from Lori Holden Sjostedt, Haring Realty, Ohio Eye Associates, OhioHealth, Phoenix Brewing Company, Next Generation Films, Staffing Partners, The Clean Company, and Dearman Storage & Moving.
