Artists announced for Rochester Civic Music's 2022 forWARD Neighborhood Park Concert series. Opening night June 8!

The City of Rochester, Rochester Civic Music, and Rochester Park & Rec present the forWARD Neighborhood Park Concert Series. Six free events in six parks, one for each ward in the City, on Wednesday evenings throughout the summer, featuring local bands opening for regional, national, or international headliners. Promoting neighborhood vitality and livability, emphasizing activities outside the downtown area. Designed to activate the City park system, and raise awareness of the City ward system and each ward’s representative on the City Council. Food trucks will be on-site for each event! Sponsored by Mayo Clinic & The Current

5:30 PM - j. bell & the Lazy Susan Band
With twangy guitars, luscious harmonies, B3 organ blasts, honky tonk piano and a horn section, this Rock & Roll outfit straddles Americana, Blues & Country, maintaining all the while that they are simply Straight Up Rock & Roll. Influenced by Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Old 97s, Counting Crows, Soul Asylum and many more…j. bell & the LSB always deliver energetic and memorable shows.

6:30 PM - KISS THE TIGER - Kiss the Tiger pounced onto the Twin Cities’ music scene in late-2016 and have been making big waves ever since. Inspired by the sounds and energy of The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, and Patti Smith, Kiss the Tiger has breathed new life into 21st century rock and roll. In February of 2017 Kiss the Tiger were the runner-up in Star Tribune’s ‘Are You Local?’ Best New Band competition. Shortly after they recorded their EP, “Elliot Park” which was released in November of 2017. The music video for “Starting to See You” off of “Elliot Park” was named one of Minnesota’s Best Music Videos of 2018 by 89.3 The Current.

5:30 PM -  Jeff Kelly - Guitarist, singer and songwriter who’s been hailed as "combining passionate vocals with throat-punching honesty in his lyrics." -skybluewindow.org The songs are a true reflection of where he's been and where his heart continues to take him. Kelly has shared the stage with such acts as Ben Folds, Lera Lynn, Joe Pug, The Wild Reeds, Gaelic Storm, Red Wanting Blue, Christopher Paul Stelling, and Reckless Kelly.

6:30 PM -  HUMBIRD - Humbird is a Minneapolis based singer-songwriter, poet, and storyteller inspired by the crystalline chill of her home state’s northern winters. She twines experimental folk, environmental Americana, and orchestral compositions to forge an explorative embodiment of the narrative folk song and balladry tradition. A Humbird live performance is intimate and earthy, literal and metaphorical. The band nimbly prances around the lilt of Humbird’s unfaltering fervent and haunting voice - the focal point. 

5:30 PM -  Clay Fulton & the Lost 40 - Rochester based Clay Fulton takes us back to the great American folk singers of yesteryear with a modern indie-pop twist; think John Prine meets Dawes. Fulton has a knack for writing clever and simple lines that are both approachable and memorable. He definitely wants you to feel the angst, frustration and grit of the ups and downs of love and life, all while leaving you with a sign of hope.

6:30 PM -  THEM COULEE BOYS - Them Coulee Boys craft a brand of Americana that blends folk, punk, bluegrass, and rock & roll. They sing their conversational songs in 4 part harmony, often with a banjo stomp and rhythm section punch that drives the audience onto the dance floor and into community. Their trusty van has propelled them thousands of miles across the country and into the hearts of strangers, who tend to leave each show as family. It’s music that creates community through the shared experience of joy and giving a damn. 

5:30 PM -  My Grandma's Cardigan - My Grandma's Cardigan is a folk rock group that came together in the heart of Winona, MN. What started as a folk duo jamming in a living room, has grown into a great group of friends that love playing music together. Their melodic harmonies and fun upbeat sounds have made their way across the midwest. They have a little something for everyone.

6:30 PM -  GOOD MORNING BEDLAM - Good Morning Bedlam has become an innovative force in the midwest folk scene. Their shows are known for their contagious energy, with members careening about the stage. With tight soaring three part harmonies, and thumping kick-drum, they captivate their audience night after night. Every song is a unique twist on what is generally dubbed as folk music. “We want to surprise our audience from song to song. Rather than creating our music to fit a genre, we allow it to be an outpouring of our own stories and unique sound,” says Isaak, frontman of GMB. You will be treated to a haunting waltz, whistling, jazz scatting, and the euphoria of the violin melodies. 

5:30 PM -  Maria and the Coins - Maria and the Coins bundle big-picture pop ambition into earnest, indie sensibility. The five-some distinguished themselves in the Minneapolis alt-rock scene by fusing singer-songwriter driven pop hooks with the vulnerability and honesty of an indie band. Frontwoman Maria Coyne's powerhouse vocals are matched with emotive storytelling often focused on finding the light amidst the chaos. While the writing features nods to Coyne’s pop, country and musical theatre roots, the music finds its sweet spot behind alternative rock-influenced arrangements.

6:30 PM -  PAVIELLE - PaviElle is an amazing interdisciplinary artist, composer and vocalist with a dynamic 6-piece band. Her sound often has the faint flavor of Sly and the Family Stone, drawing on the influences of Jose James, and Rufus, with the soulful feel of Bill Withers. While the sound the group captures was vintage, PaviElle brings her own personal style and passionate energy to her singing, making for a fresh sound that’s uniquely her own. She says she always has a way she wants her songs to “swing,” and it’s this free-style emotion, in the scatting and vocalizing, that brings a millennial’s heart-born, contemporary vision to a classic soul music sound.

5:30 PM - Samantha Grimes - Samantha Grimes has been playing stringed instruments since she was old enough to put rubber bands between dresser knobs. Left-handed and upside down, she has been writing and performing music for the past two decades. Currently on Return Records and distributed by The Orchard (A Sony Music Company).  Grimes is also a 2021 ISSA Nominee and 2021 Best of the Valley Winner. She is joined live by "The 53s" bassist Jon Larson and drummer Nick Engelhart - both incredibly gifted singer/songwriters in their own right.

6:30 PM -  KOKOU KAH - Kokou Kah is a True Fusion Liberian-American artist; a term coined from mixing their American culture and Liberian heritage within their music. Kah grew up listening to Tupac & Bob Marley with his late uncle, and Liberian pop music whenever around his maternal grandmother. Every beat you find Kokou Kah on will make you want to dance and his lyrics will take you into a journey of his life not far removed from yours no matter the depth of his traumas and joys.