Since it opened in October, Klyde Warren Park has become a popular spot for Dallasites to enjoy three square blocks of the great outdoors. The park thrives on free programs, and has been successful with those such as Skyline 360 tours, an assortment of boot camps, and a daily dose of food trucks. And lately, concerts are popping up more and more frequently on the calendar. The Set List on the Green is a weekly concert showcasing local artists at the Muse Family Performance Pavilion, where one can soak in the sun while enjoying local music and the Dallas Skyline.
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The Park has hosted several concerts, including Polyphonic Spree and Trombone Shorty. The Set List on the Green is different -- it's a weekly (ish) showcase of local music, and it is free to the public.
The first few shows this spring featured local artists that were chosen through the Klyde Warren offices. "It started as an open mic night where local bands would perform on an open mic and we wanted to expand it," says Lauren Smart, Klyde Warren Park communications specialist. "Now we book six artist a week as a local musicians showcase. They submit themselves online to our office with a YouTube video, and then we browse through them and choose.
"Our criteria is they have to be a local band and we like if they have original music, but we are not limited to that. We would like to feature talent in the area, and if they write their own songs and sing on pitch that would be great. This is what we are starting as a basis and soon we will go from there by adding variety."
Last fall's test run was a success, and has since attracted the attention of former host of WFAA-TV's Good Morning Texas and American voice actor, Rob McCollum. "We started these events last November as a sort of weather permitting kind of event," says Smart. "Rob McCollum got involved last fall with the program so we invited him back to host again in the spring. He was actually very excited about it. He called and said that he was wanting to host when Home by Hovercraft was playing."
Smart informs us that Klyde Warren Park will continue hosting this event on Thursdays through the summer and fall months as well. "It's going to be a spring/fall event," explains Smart. "There will be three more shows this spring, and we plan on starting a classical set list after that. Then when summer comes around we will be featuring a Jazz series for the warmer months."
The next two shows will be held on Thursday April 11th and 18th from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Smart informs us that the set list this Thursday will be shorter with only three bands performing, but will include longer sets. John Mark Piper will be appearing with his Vibraphone, followed by Booker T Washington Jazz students with Ben Higginbotham, and local indie artist CW Ingram. "The beer and wine vendors will be there Thursdays and the weather should be nice," says Smart. "So we hope a bunch of people come out."
