What’s in my playlist— local music

I don’t have a specific CD or musician/group to recommend this week because I thought I’d use the time to encourage all you wonderful readers to explore the local music scene in your area. It’s important to expose ourselves to new and different musical experiences, and live music is something we should partake of regularly. Many communities offer free outdoor concerts in the warm months (when I lived in upstate New York, there were free weekly concerts on the lakeshore– wowza!) spotlighting local and regional bands/singers. Independently owned coffeehouses and bookstores often have musicians playing inside on certain evenings or weekends. Check your city’s newspaper or friend the businesses on Facebook to see the schedule of performers. Consider attending the neighborhood school band/choir concerts. If your town has a college or university that has a music department, they’ll most likely offer a wide variety of musical events throughout the year that are free or low-cost. Most medium to large cities have at least a few vocal or instrumental groups that perform several times a year as well. And don’t forget about the local symphony orchestras– they rely on our support and attendance from year to year (and they expose us to amazing music!). It’s important to support our local musicians!

Where do you go listen to local music?