Summer concerts rock amphitheater

Moses Lake Park and Recreation offers a variety of flavors for every musical pallet

MOSES LAKE — There are a few things you can always count on: Birds flying south for winter, college students eating ramen noodles, and you can always count on the Free Summer Concert Series at the Centennial Amphitheater in McCosh Park.

Country singer/songwriter Michael Peterson kicked off this year's series during the Fourth of July celebration at McCosh Park.

"We had a tremendous time — the community was out in force," Spencer Grigg, Moses Lake Parks and Recreation director said of the crowd at the amphitheater.

The summer series includes eight concerts, ranging from rock, country and jazz to folk and conjunto music.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Roger McGuinn is schedule to perform Aug. 27. McGuinn was a founding member of the Byrds, the legendary '60s folk/rock group who made their way to stardom with songs like "Turn Turn Turn," and "Mr. Tambourine Man."

The Moses Lake Parks and Recreation Department has been putting on concerts now for 15 years.

"I was talking to the promoter the other day and according to him we are the longest running free outdoor concert series in Eastern Washington and perhaps in all of Washington," Grigg said.

The Moses Lake Parks and Recreation Department receives input from citizens when choosing the summer lineup.

"It's a never ending process for us, we are always thinking of ways to make adjustments and improvements," he said. "We get a lot of feed back from the community.

We get a lot of e-mail and letter requests and we get a lot of phone calls, too."

Parks and Recreation staff compile a list of potential bands and hand it over to a promoter who does all of the bookings. Grigg said the Parks and Recreation staff aim high when choosing potential bands. If they're lucky, he said ,they will get two of eight picks on their list.

"Sometimes we are not always realistic on our wish lists," Grigg said. "We obviously want to get the best entertainment we can get. But if you never ask, the answer is always "no.'"

Grigg gets a lot of pitches from local bands to play the summer series, but since they already perform at local venues, he vies for bands that would not normally play in Moses Lake.

"It's a variety series," he said. "We try to bring in a variety of music that's not always available to the community, so no matter what your preference in music is, the hope is that sometime we will have something you like."

The next concert features Invicto, July 16. Invicto, a Texas based band who has traveled throughout the country, mixes conjunto, rock, pop and Latin sounds.

All show begin at 8 p.m. at the Centennial Amphitheater in McCosh Park. For a schedule of concert and links to artists' Web sites, go to www.mlrec.com.