MIDLAND For over 30 years, Museum of the Southwest has brought entertainment each summer for its annual Summer Lawn Concert series.
That series has continued this summer with its final three shows coming up.
The concerts have taken place each Sunday (with the exception of July 3 because of Independence Day) right outside the Turner Mansion with a different band performing each week as guests have brought lawn chairs, coolers and friends.
The event is free and open to the public. This Sunday’s group is Midland’s very own Tall City Band.
The band consists of Leslie Sparacello (who plays keyboard and sings), David Houston (on bass guitar), Casey Powell (drums) and Mike Makowskey (lead guitarist).
“The summer Lawn Concert is my favorite gig of the year because it’s a Midland tradition and being out on the lawn with all the people and their kids and dogs running around, it’s just a fun atmosphere. It’s fun to be a part of the tradition.”
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. with gates opening at 7.
“We’re excited because we’ll have food trucks and it’s a family-friendly event,” Museum of the Southwest Director of Development and Communications Mary Marshall said. “We have folks that start showing up early and start staking out their seats. There’s sidewalk chalk for the kids and we give out some prizes. It’s a really great family atmosphere. We’re pleased to be able to offer this to the community this summer.”
This is the 32nd year that Museum of the Southwest has done Summer Lawn Concerts.
“It’s a community feeling,” Marshall said. “People come up and dance. Midland is about bringing people together to celebrate Midland with music and camaraderie. It’s a spirit of summer.”
Very little has changed to the format of the series. Different bands will usually line up the schedule each summer but some groups do come back to perform including Tall City.
“It’s stayed the same,” Marshall said. “What people like about it is the tradition. We bring in some new bands each year but there are some bands that we also bring back every year. Tall City Band is one that we bring back year after year.”
Marshall says Tall City is a group that people have loved coming back to see each summer at the museum.
“They’re a Midland favorite,” Marshall said. “They’re local. People have really come to love them. They draw one of our larger crowds because they are a fan favorite.”
The band plays all kinds from classic rock and blues to country and outlaw while also performing its own original music at times. Recently, they’ve mostly focused on doing decades pop.
“Since I’ve joined the band, we haven’t done as many originals because we picked up a lot of variety,” Sparacello said, who joined the group three years ago. “I think that’s maybe part of what separates us from other bands in midland. We’re more of a decades kind of band as far as genres. We’ll do 60s and 70s and we’ve added 80s and 90s and 2000s. We try to mix it up. We try to make sure there’s something for everybody.”
Sparacello says the band will play about three gigs a month since members of the band have other jobs and family.
“What makes us a little bit different from other bands (and not to discourage them) but a lot of them just get up on stage to perform,” Sparacello said. “We like to interact with the crowd and entertain. It’s not just background music but something you would want to watch.”
Brother Z will be performing at 7:30 p.m. on July 24 and the Unsweet Ts will complete this year’s Summer Lawn Concert lineup with its performance also at 7:30 p.m. on July 31.
Marshall has praised people in the community who have helped sponsor each event to make it free to the public.
“Community leaders tend to step in and sponsor this to make it possible,” Marshall said. “That speaks to the spirit of the Summer Lawn Concerts in that it’s a community effort.”
Marshall says the Summer Lawn Concerts have helped make the Museum of the Southwest a cultural hub in Midland.
“What that means to us is art is not just something you see on the wall,” Marshall said. “Art is something you see and something you feel. Being able to provide the Summer Sunday Lawn Concerts is a part of that.”
For more information on this year’s Summer Lawn Concerts, go to tinyurl.com/yeym2te9.
If you go
- What: Museum of the Southwest Summer Lawn Concert Series.
- When: 7:30 p.m. (gates open at 7) each Sunday through July 31.
- Where: Museum of the Southwest in Midland.
- Cost: Free.
- Summer Lawn Concert Series remaining schedule:
- Sunday: Tall City Band
- July 24: Brother Z
- July 31: Unsweet Ts
