Elizabeth Smart will speak about her abduction and forgiveness March 8 in Fort Wayne.Fort Wayne – Every year, the Botanical Roots Outdoor Concert Series is a welcome respite from a busy summer filled with festivals, county fairs and vacations (the kind that are only relaxing in that “12 hours in a car with two toddlers” way). There’s nothing like music and lawn chairs to help you really relax.
For the fifth year, the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory is hosting the series of outdoor concerts, which feature local and nationally touring bands. This season, the organizers have chosen music rarely heard in Fort Wayne – reggae, Cajun, calypso – as an incentive for music fans with experimental tastes, says Carman Young, organizer of the concert series.
“For instance, we don’t normally get Cajun bands here,” she says. “It’s unique, which tends to draw crowds. But we always include blues, because you can never get enough blues.”
Young chooses the bands herself, scouring the Internet for acts touring their way across the Midwest. It helps that Young is a fan of traditional, roots and Americana music herself, she says.
“I look for bands for months and months,” she says. “I’ll run across something I like and run out to buy their album. It’s my own little music habit I have to feed.”
Young describes the concerts as “family-friendly.” Kids are welcome and encouraged to run around and dance. In the past, reggae bands have been especially popular with children, Young says.
“Parents always bring their children to reggae shows,” she says. “There is something about reggae little kids just love. They just seem to get it.”
This year, the conservatory will host a quartet of musicians from Cajun and zydeco band BeauSoleil. The concert is expected to draw a large crowd. The venue offers 200 chairs, but concert-goers are also permitted to bring their own chairs.
“The atmosphere is always laid-back,” Young says. “It’s a good music vibe and it’s for everyone, so we want people to bring whoever they want to bring, whether it’s kids, grandparents or friends. Everyone deserves to hear good music.”
