Rock the Park kicks off 2-day music festival in Albion
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Ed Anderson Jr. sings U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” for the band Distant View during an open mic this evening at Bullard Park for Rock the Park – Albion Summer Music Festival.
The event, in its 8th year, has expanded the first time for two days of music.
Saturday is the busier day with musicians playing from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Distant View performs “What I Like About You” during open mic night. The band includes lead singer Ed Anderson Jr., right; guitar player Chris Oakes, left; and Bryce Waterson on drums. Rusty Fisher, not pictured, also plays guitar.
Rusty Fisher plays the guitar for Distant View while singer Junior (Ed Anderson Jr.) sings for the band during open mic this evening.
The band Good News performed several songs during open mic. Jason Wilhelm is the lead singer, John Angelucci plays bass, and Bryce Waterson stepped in to play drums. Some of the songs included “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “I Won’t Back Down,” “Proud Mary – Rollin’ Like A River” and several others.
Good News performs during open mic night. The band plays at many Christian festivals in Western New York.
Rock the Park tries to build off the event each year and this time expanded to include Friday evening music, said Zack Burgess, one of the coordinators of the event all eight years. His band, Zackstreet Boys, also performs at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
There are nine bands performing on Saturday. Burgess said the open mic night was a way to expand the festival and also give more musicians a chance to perform on the main stage at the amphitheater.
Saturday’s lineup will be capped by Nerds Gone Wild who proved to be a crowd favorite last year.
The music lineup for Saturday includes:
- Carlton Station on acoustic stage at 11 a.m.
- Chris Moore on acoustic stage at noon
- Shotgun Pauly on main stage at 2 p.m.
- Eclipse on main stage at 3 p.m.
- Driven on main stage at 4 p.m.
- Zackstreet Boys on main stage at 5 p.m.
- Highway 31 on main stage at 6 p.m.
- The Who Dats on main stage at 7 p.m.
- Nerds Gone Wild on main stage at 8:30 p.m.
There will also be arts and crafts vendors, as well as food and beverages. There is a $5 admission charge good for all day Saturday to have access to the tent in front of the main stage. People can also listen to the music for free away from the tent.
