After a year off, summer concerts in south-central Kansas are making a comeback

The outdoor concert, one of those long-lasting staples of summertime, was among the myriad of casualties in 2020 caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It was very bad,” said Jessie Hartke, who operates the Old Town concert venue Wave with her husband, Adam. “We didn’t sleep for a couple of months.”

Adam Hartke is co-chair of the National Independent Venue Association advocacy committee, which helped craft legislation in December to give $60.5 billion to entertainment venues across the country, which his wife calls the largest arts funding bill in American history.

“It was an awful year, but it was truly an amazing year,” she said. “We are so much more connected with independent venues across the country, to be able to bring bigger and better shows to our community.”

With what they believe is their worst year behind them, south-central Kansas venues are getting back into the groove of summer concerts.

Wave, Naftzger Park

Jessie Hartke is pleasantly surprised that the docket of concerts for the summer of 2021 is equal to that in its first full year in 2019.

“If you would’ve asked me in February what it would have been like, I would have been very pessimistic,” she said.

Wave already has its first sellout show of the season, traditional country star Jamey Johnson on June 10, and last week announced a July 7 concert by rapper Snoop Dogg and his alter ego, DJ Snoopadelic.

Others scheduled include Jason Boland and the Stragglers, June 3; Reverend Horton Heat and Dale Watson, June 6; Jerrod Niemann, June 26; Kenny Wayne Shepherd, June 29; Parker McCollum, July 9; Virtual Riot, July 24; Method Man & Redman, July 25; Bumpin’ Uglies, Aug. 4; and the Bobby Fest, featuring country music radio personality and “American Idol” coach Bobby Bones, Sept. 5.

Wave will have a grand reopening next weekend, with performances by two dozen musicians and DJs, including Rudy Love Jr., Injoy Fountain and The Comfort Revue.

The venue will concentrate mostly on outside acts, Hartke said, but if the concerts are indoors the garage door to Wave will be open for better airflow.

“Our safety consciousness will be extended from the past,” she said. “We’ve always been hyperaware of that, and we’re just widening out that scope to extend to viruses as well.”

Hartke said music fans that she knows are ready to get back and enjoy concerts after a year of hibernation.

“I don’t know if it’s just wishful thinking, but I do feel that there is a change in tone,” she said. “For a long time, it was something that, understandably, people were terrified of going out. I was terrified to have people come out. I didn’t want to be responsible for a superspreader event.”

Hartke said she saw the availability of vaccines as a turning point for concerts.

“We’re safe, as safe as we can be in this world,” she said. “It’s a good time to start gathering again.”

Hartke said more concerts will be announced in the next few weeks. Although country shows have been the most popular, she said, the biggest attendance so far was in 2019 with rappers Wu-Tang Clan. She said she hopes to broaden the spectrum of genres that Wave offers.

“We want our entire community to feel welcomed and feel represented,” she said. “We have enough schism. We want a place where we all can go.”

The Hartkes are also programming summer concerts at the newly refurbished Naftzger Park in downtown Wichita, including rising country singers Lucas Hogue, June 13; and Jake Simon, June 16.

Bradley Fair

Officials at Bradley Fair shopping center said the country was “feeling a little more normal” in late February, marketing manager Alex Bullock said, and ready to resume its tradition of the June Thursday night concert series.

“We were pretty set on doing them regardless, because it’s such a cherished tradition for us and for our community,” she said. “We had Plan A, Plan B, Plan C ready for whatever the world looked like.”

The concerts start this week, with Kim Scott, a No. 1-charting smooth jazz flutist from Birmingham, Alabama, June 3; musicians of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, June 10; Dallas saxophonist Joseph Vincelli, returning June 17; Wichita’s contestant on “The Voice,” Injoy Fountain, June 24; and award-winning urban jazz keyboardist Kim Waters, July 1. Fireworks will follow the July 1 show; each concert will be 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Those concerts may look the same, Bullock said, but the audience configurations will change. Bradley Fair is promoting lakeside seating, with family and friends bringing lawn chairs and blankets. There will be a decoration theme for each concert with prizes awarded, she said.

“There are a lot of places to enjoy our concerts rather than cramming it on the plaza,” Bullock said.

Concertgoers must register at bradleyfair.com or through the center’s Facebook page beginning at 10 a.m. the previous Monday to attend the concerts. Groups are limited to five persons.

Bullock said Bradley Fair was ready to get back into summer concerts.

“We’re really excited to be bringing it back after the hiatus in 2020,” she said. “We really look forward to carrying on the tradition and adding some new aspects for people to get excited about.”

Capitol Federal Amphitheater

The amphitheater in Andover’s Central Park has already been the 2021 home of two Music Theatre Wichita concerts, with two more series of shows scheduled for the July 4 weekend and mid-September.

Katie Cork, event director for the city of Andover, said the three acts for this year were confirmed in March with confidence that summer concerts would happen.

“We were going to make it happen one way or another,” she said. “Since we’re outside it was easier for us to make that decision because we can more easily social distance.”

Daughtry, the rock band led by former “American Idol” winner Chris Daughtry, performs July 10. Texas country singer Casey Donahew leads an Aug. 6 show. And pop singer Colbie Caillat, with hits such as “Bubbly” and “Brighter Than the Sun,” is on Aug. 28.

While MTW shows have separated out blocks of seating to keep interaction with other concertgoers to a minimum, Cork said the outdoor concerts will trust fans to keep as separate as they feel comfortable.

“People honestly were social distancing at these before it was cool,” she said. “We have plenty of space to spread out, so we aren’t going to put them in defined blocks like Music Theatre has.

“We love what Music Theatre is doing out here,” Cork added. “It looks real cool how they spread things out out here, but we aren’t going to do that for our concerts.”

A premium seating area will be close to the stage with its own lawn chairs, she said, with food trucks and beverages available for all attending.

“I think people are eager to get out and enjoy concerts and music again,” Cork said. “We’re happy to be able to bring that.”

El Dorado State Park

The Walnut Creek Amphitheatre resumes its Saturday-night Music in the Park series this weekend, with a concert by Chronic Audio.

Other concerts are Down Every Road, June 26; and Ageless, July 31. The concerts are free, but a parking pass must be purchased.

Aug. 27-29 will bring something new – Karma Fest, according to administrator Jill Johnson.

The headliners are Seckond Chaynce and DJ Strizzo. Billed as a family-friendly event, the festival will feature several other performers with one or two songs each, Johnson said.

Crowd size will be limited to 500, she said.

“We’re going to try it as an end-of-the-summer bash,” she said.

Unlike the Dam Music Festival, which brought big-name country acts to the lake in 2018-2019, Karma Fest will not be as massive.

“It’s not going to be as huge or chaotic,” Johnson said.