Jun 30

Jun 30 forWARD Neighborhood Park Concert Series kicks off tonight at Cascade Lake Park

Partnered Content | 2021

Rochester Civic Music’s forWARD Neighborhood Park Concert Series will welcome its first headliner of 2021 on Wednesday — with Minneapolis singer-songwriter Sarah Morris taking the stage at Cascade Lake Park.

The concert, set to begin at 5:30 p.m., will also feature Rochester singer and guitarist Nancy Tobiason-Kramer. The show is free to attend.

The forWARD concert series was first introduced in 2019, with the goal of expanding the lineup in 2020. However, because of the pandemic, this summer will mark the first time the Civic Music department is bringing neighborhood concerts to all six Rochester wards.

The outdoor shows, to be held on select Wednesday nights through the summer, will feature local bands opening for regional, national, or international headliners. Mayo Clinic is sponsoring the series.

By bringing events into the neighborhoods, Civic Music says its hopes the forWARD series can promote neighborhood vitality and livability, emphasizing activities outside the downtown area. Each concert will also be emceed by the ward’s City Council member, allowing residents to learn more about the individuals representing them in local government.

About the artists

Nancy Tobiason-Kramer: “Nancy and her husband, Dan, deliver a wide variety of music from the classics to the current, hoping to connect with everyone. Music is a way to express and have fun, so be ready to enjoy and sing along. Grateful to share their love of music. Playing and singing a wide variety of genre's, They hope to connect with everyone. Music is with us our whole lives. It brings joy.”

Sarah Morris: “Sarah Morris has a habit of missing the forest. From the day the Minneapolis based singer-songwriter picked up a guitar, armed with the bone-deep memory of her parents’ well-loved record collection and rooted in the storytelling fire of a Mary Chapin Carpenter tune, she’s been too busy crafting love letters to the details of the trees. Sarah’s endearingly honest, expertly penned songs encourage audiences to pull away from the big picture and get caught up in the magic of our everyday minutia, the rainy day ache in her sunlit voice granting us permission to escape into stories at once hauntingly familiar and uniquely her own.”