Neighboring towns Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills are giving area residents the opportunity to attend free concerts on Wednesday and Thursday nights during the summer.
Clarendon Hills’ Dancin’ in the Street concerts, which began in 2000, run from 7 to 9 p .m. Wednesdays from June 25-Aug. 6, other than July 2, on Prospect Avenue in the village’s downtown area, south of the railroad tracks.
Hinsdale offers its Uniquely Thursdays concerts from 6 to 9 p.m., beginning June 12 and continuing through Aug. 21, other than July 3, at Burlington Park, 30 E. Chicago Ave.
Both towns will offer a variety of refreshments for sale at concerts.
In Clarendon Hills, Shannon McDonald, director of the village’s Chamber of Commerce, said the primary goal is to build community by attracting Clarendon Hills residents to meet and gather with their neighbors.
“We also want to attract folks from outside our community to discover what Clarendon Hills has to offer, in terms of retail, dining and services,” she said.
The impact on downtown businesses on concert days is a mixed bag, McDonald said.
“While our food and beverage businesses may get a boost from the Wednesday night concerts, our retailers have to contend with street closures in the afternoon during business hours,” she said.
As for booking bands to perform, McDonald said the Chamber tries to keep an eye on trends, while also hitting different genres for wider appeal.
“Late last year I attended a local music showcase to get a better idea of performers out there,” she said.
McDonald said if there is inclement weather, the Chamber tries to work with the band, production, and staging to move the concert to a later date.
No scooters, bikes or outside alcohol are permitted at Dancin’ in the Street concerts.
In Hinsdale, Amanda Wagner, president and chief executive officer of the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce, said the goal of Uniquely Thursdays concerts, which started in 2002, was to create another fun community event that would continue to bridge the gap between community and the businesses in Hinsdale.
“These concerts started on a small scale right on First Street in the mix of the downtown happenings and now have grown to the scale that they have and have moved to Burlington Park,” she said, adding that the weekly summer concerts have had a positive impact on local businesses.
“Thursday is the new Friday, and once people are in town for the concerts they tend to shop the stores on the way down or way home again, or continue their evening at a local restaurant,” Wagner said.
In booking bands to play, she said having a good balance of music genres generally is a priority
“We do have some fan favorites that tend to be staples in our series, like 7th Heaven,” Wagner said. “We can range from classic rock to country to the typical band that covers all decades and types of music.”
Along with the move to Burlington Park, Uniquely Thursdays changes include attracting larger crowds.
“Now there are over 1000 people attending every week, we have food trucks lining Chicago Avenue, sponsors come prepared with fun giveaways, and the bands have grown in scale, bringing their following with them, which continues to meet the goal of this event of bringing more people to Hinsdale,” Wagner said.
She said there is a preference to not cancel concerts because of inclement weather, but recommendations in such cases are sought of the Hinsdale Police Department.
“(We) do everything we can to keep the event running smoothly each week; however, should the need arise to cancel a night, we do try and reschedule the event at the end of the season,” Wagner said.
“I am personally looking forward to Sparks Fly – The Taylor Swift Experience, as we have never had this type of band before, and I think it will be a big draw this season,” Wagner said.
She said no outside alcohol is allowed at concerts, and the Chamber sells beer and wine onsite.
Dancin’ in the Street concert schedule:
• June 25: The Fortunate Sons, a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band from Chicago
• July 9: Common Area Maintenance, a Clarendon Hills band that performs classic rock
• July 16: The Flat Cats, a Chicago-based band that plays a range of vintage and modern music rooted in jazz and blues, contemporary classics and standards
• July 23: The Red Roses, a Chicago-based five-piece band that performs alternative and indie hits on which Millennials grew up
• July 30: The Wayouts, A four-piece band from Chicago that specializes in 1960s garage rock
• Aug. 6: Big Suit, a tribune to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Talking Heads
Uniquely Thursdays concert schedule:
• June 12: LP Vinyl, a five-piece classic rock band from Chicago;
• June 19: Spazmatics, which bills itself as performing “all the awesome sounds, styles, and way cool dance steps from the 1980s
• June 26: Soda, this Chicagoland band plays classic and current hits, featuring a rhythm section, three-part harmony and “the smallest horn section”
• July 10: Sparks Fly – The Taylor Swift Experience, a tribute to one of the most popular musical artists in the world
• July 17: Reckless, a six-piece cover band that performs rock, pop, dance and country music
• July 24: Serendipity, a pop/rock band from the Chicago suburbs that performs a combination of popular 60s, 70s and 80s covers as well as current pop hits
• July 31: Semple Band, a Chicago-based band that plays a large variety of cover songs, along with some originals
• Aug. 7: Tennessee Whiskey, a tribute to country stars Chris Stapleton and Eric Church
• Aug. 14: Nashville Electric Company, the five-piece band from Yorkville, bills itself as “THE country party band”
•Aug. 21: 7th Heaven, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, this band has written and recorded more than 1,000 songs and has played all over the world
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
