‘Easton Unplugged’ concert series offers relaxed atmosphere into the fall

Chloe McGowan
Thu, 26 Aug 2021 00:37:21 +0000
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The summer concerts take place on The Yard, the common green space area with a built-in stage in Easton’s newest district, every Thursday from 6-9 p.m., Chief Executive of Easton Jennifer Peterson said. Photo credit: Chloe McGowan

“Easton Unplugged,” an acoustic, outdoor concert series held at Easton Town Center, announced it will continue through the end of October.

The summer concerts take place on The Yard, a common green space area with a built-in stage in Easton’s newest district, every Thursday from 6-9 p.m., Jennifer Peterson, chief executive of Easton, said. Originally scheduled to run through the end of September, “Easton Unplugged” will add more Thursday evening shows up to Oct. 28.

“It’s been really successful. We’ve gotten great feedback from our guests that have attended the shows, and we’ve heard from a few people like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t even know you were doing these. I’m so excited I finally found it!’ ” Peterson said. “Each week we’re attracting new audiences, and it’s really exciting. We wanted to extend it because of the success, and I believe we’ll definitely be bringing it back next year.”

The idea for an outdoor concert series in The Yard came about earlier this year in? an effort to animate Easton’s new district, Peterson said. The first concert of the series — performed by The Castros — debuted May 6, and performances have been hosted weekly since.?

“Easton Unplugged” has been a huge hit with guests so far this summer, as Peterson said they’ve seen a range of attendees, from families with young children to college students, younger millennials and older couples all coming out and enjoying the ambiance.

“I think our customer base is so diverse, and we really wanted this acoustic series to reflect that,” Peterson said. “It’s not one of those performances where everybody has to be silent and just listen. It’s really nice ambiance, and there’s some people that are just kind of hanging out, maybe on a blanket, but it’s also where you can keep chatting and having a nice night while you enjoy those cool sounds in the background.”

By the time the series comes to a close in October, Peterson said Easton will have brought in 25-30 different local artists, including solo guitarists, violin duos, alternative groups, indie groups, a French musician and a Spanish singer.

Soul singer and guitarist Mark Rhodes will perform Thursday.

Rhodes, a Cleveland, Ohio, native and Ohio State alumnus, said he’s excited to share his passion for music with people in person again.?

“It’s an amazing time right now because everybody’s getting to go see music for the first time in a long time,” Rhodes said. “Columbus has always been like a second home to me, and the crowds here are just very supportive.”??

Rhodes will be performing music from his album, “Long Time Coming,” which was released during the pandemic. He said he had been working on the album for about two years.

“I named it that because a lot of these songs were kind of just sitting on the burner for years and I didn’t have the money to invest in the recording process,” Rhodes said. “I definitely put my heart and soul on that thing, so every time I get to play all the music on my album, it just kind of brings a tear to my eye.”?

Guests can also look forward to Easton Fashion Night Sept. 23 and Chalk the Block Oct. 2. Peterson said Easton also launched a collaboration with Pedal Wagon Columbus last week to offer a special “Easton Pedal Wagon” experience that guests can book.

“We just want to always be offering new things: bringing new innovations so that our guests are constantly surprised and delighted by what they might find,” Peterson said. “It’s never just the same old and always feels unique and like an experience. That’s really important to us.”

The dates and artists performing at “Easton Unplugged” for September are listed on the Easton Town Center website. October dates have yet to be announced.