Founded in 1986, the Concerts on the Plaza series was a summertime staple until the pandemic. Now, the series is moving to the new Depot Street Park.
GREENFIELD — The popular Entertainment on the Plaza concert series — created by Greenfield Banking Co. 35 years ago — will soon have a new host and new home.
The local live music tradition has been handed over to the Greenfield Parks Department, which will move the concert series to the new Depot Street Park next year.
The bank will stay involved with the concert series as a major sponsor.
Since 1986, the summertime music event has drawn large crowds to the Courthouse Plaza in downtown Greenfield, where a variety of musical acts took to the stage on Friday evenings.
Renée Rupley, GBC’s marketing director, said the concert series will be in great hands with the parks department.
“We have enjoyed working with them. They are very respectful of the tradition of Entertainment on the Plaza, and we look forward to their fresh ideas as we continue the series, which will be renamed Entertainment at Depot Street Park to reflect the venue change,” she said.
Rupley said the new venue at the new park — which sits between Riley and Pennsylvania streets, along the Pennsy Trail — eliminates the need for concertgoers to cross State or Main streets to get to the venue, as they have in the past.
“Nor will traffic noise interfere with hearing the performances,” she said of the plaza’s proximity to the busy thoroughfares.
The concert series has been canceled the past two years as a safety precaution throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year would have marked the 35th year for the downtown music events.
Rupley is excited to see what positive changes the venue change will bring about next year.
“This new location was designed for performances like this, and features a raised stage that will greatly improve visibility of the performers,” she said. “The layout of the new venue will also be better for sound distribution, as we won’t have to contend with sound bouncing off the courthouse or trying to cover a span of 180 degrees around the performers.”
Skye Mackenzie, assistant director for the Greenfield Parks Department, said the bank will still be engaged in the concert series.
“We were happy to help utilize the park’s assets and some of our expertise to help preserve the Entertainment on the Plaza concert series as a community event,” he said.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun working with the bank on ensuring the concert series remains an event that everyone can look forward to year after year.”
Entertainment on the Plaza has followed a recurring format over the years, bringing back popular acts like the Wright Brothers Band year after year.
While the Wright brothers have recently retired, Mackenzie said the concert series will still follow a format similar to what has been done in the past.
“We’re going to try to keep it to the same genres and keep a lot of the same bands. Greenfield Bank has shared the past bands’ contact information, and we will be reaching out very soon over the next few weeks to see what we can do for booking bands in 2022,” he said.
In addition to the Entertainment at Depot Street Park concerts, the parks department is also lining up other performances at the new venue next year.
“Right now we are looking at six concerts for the Entertainment at Depot Street Park lineup, and four headliners outside of that,” said Mackenzie, “but we don’t have any details to share just yet.”
To keep an eye on the latest concert scheduling developments, visit the Greenfield Parks Department’s Facebook page.
