Ormond Beach's 'Summer Sounds' concert series brings music to Rockefeller Gardens

Ormond Beach Observer
Neighbors

by: Mia Striegel

Contributing writer

Music could be heard from 6-8 p.m. at the Rockefeller Gardens north lawn on Friday, July 15 as Blu Highway, a blues and southern rock band, kicked off this year's Summer Sounds.

Summer Sounds is a free concert series put on by the city of Ormond Beach’s Department of Leisure Services. This year, Blu Highway was the first of three concerts to be held on the last three Fridays in July. On Friday, July 22, Traces of Gold will be performing music from the 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond, and on Friday, July 29, Not Brothers Band will be performing rock and roll classics. Ormond Beach’s Community Events Coordinator Sonja Johnson said she finds bands to perform through word of mouth, as well as visiting local restaurants, breweries and similar venues.

Leslie Lee sits on the north lawn of the Rockefeller Gardens as she listens to Blu Highway. Photo by Mia Striegel

Johnson said that Summer Sounds started in the 1990s at City Hall. In the years that followed, the concerts were held in other places in town, but the series has been held at Rockefeller Gardens since the mid-2000s. Johnson moved the concerts up to the north lawn a couple years ago.

“It's perfect because it's a little bit more intimate setting," Johnson said. "There's shade... so it's just a really nice location now."

Jack and Josh Servi, and their dog Calvin, set up their blanket in Rockefeller Gardens to enjoy the first Summer Sounds concert of the series. Photo by Mia Striegel

Leslie Lee, a community member, first attended Summer Sounds last year.

“I just wish they had more than three weeks of concerts,” Lee said.

Lee isn’t the only one that enjoys Summer Sounds. Josh Servi brought his son Jack and dog Calvin to this year’s event.

“We love all the events the city puts on,” Servi said.

This year, Johnson said there were at least 300 people that showed up to the first concert of the series. Blu Highway also opened the Summer Sounds series last year with the same turnout.

Johnson said she loves her job.

“It’s just like having a party every day,” Johnson said. “Almost everything that the city has is free. ...It's a gift to our community. It's a lot of fun.”