Westmoreland Cultural Trust gears up for 'Rhythms of Summer' concert series

The Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s summer concert series is back for the season — and it’s bigger than ever.

The series, formerly known as “Thank Goodness it’s Summer (TGiS),” is now “Rhythms of Summer,” a slate of free concerts so diverse that they’ll please even the most stalwart single-genre devotee.

These events also will be held in two locations this year, which is another move toward pleasing the community, said Emily Rockwell, donor relations coordinator for the Westmoreland Cultural Trust.

“Up until 2020 hit, it was always in the Palace Theatre courtyard. When 2020 hit, they needed to do some more social distancing, so they moved up to the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center and got feedback that people really liked it up there. Last year, 2023, we moved it back down to the courtyard and got that same feedback again.”

This summer they’re splitting the difference. Thursday’s concert, in addition to those on June 20, July 18 and Aug. 1, will be held at the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center at 951 Old Salem Road in Greensburg. Events on June 13, June 27, July 11 and July 25 will rock the Palace Theatre courtyard, located at 21 W. Otterman St. in Greensburg.

That means a concert every Thursday until the start of August, except for the Fourth of July.

But every “Rhythms of Summer” event is more than a concert, according to Westmoreland Cultural Trust event and program specialist Ari Burke.

“Each concert’s going to have an activity an hour before the music starts. We’re going to have food trucks from a lot of great places around here in downtown Greensburg, and even some from outside of the city itself.”

Sandee Williamson, director of development for the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, added, “Pre-concert activities, food, fun, giveaways — we have some free tickets to Palace shows along the way — and there will be a 50/50 raffle at every event.”

The Cultural Trust is aiming to reach and better serve more people in the community with the refresh of the longstanding summer tradition.

“A big reason why we decided to rename the series was that we realized that in Westmoreland County, there’s a lot of summer concerts, and we wanted to give something new to the county while still staying true to our roots with providing free entertainment during the summer,” Burke said.

Part of that effort is creating a new theme for each week’s event. For example, Thursday’s is “Country Kickoff,” with free line dancing before the show at 5:30 p.m., BBQ and popsicles available for purchase, and music by Pratt and Szallar starting at 6 p.m.

Generally for performances, gates will open at 5:30 p.m. and the music will run from 6 to 9 p.m. No outside food or drink is permitted, but guests can bring blankets and lawn chairs.

Other themes will include “Blues and Brews,” with Jerry B. and the Bone Tones performing, and “Backyard Broadway,” with Westmoreland Performing Arts and Stage Right.

“I think we’re most excited here at the Trust for our Honor Our Heroes event. Obviously it’s not a genre of music, but we’re going to be honoring first responders, teachers, doctors … giving love back to the biggest supporters of our community,” Burke said. That event will be held July 18.

The last show of the summer, on Aug. 1, will be the “Summer Spectacular.”

“It’s our most family-friendly-oriented one. We’ll have kids’ crafts, face painting, we’re going to do a bounce house, to really end the summer on a high note,” Burke said.

The revamping of these summer concerts is an effort to better fulfill the Cultural Trust’s mission and serve the local community to the best of their ability.

“Greensburg has such a wealth of events and has a lot of cultural diversity, from the Museum to the Green Beacon. … We thought we would add to it,” said Daniel Stainer, director of marketing for the Westmoreland Cultural Trust.

He also noted that these concerts will be held on Thursdays, which gives people and families something to do during the week throughout the summer.

“It’s free and open to the public. We really want everyone to have access to this kind of programming,” Williamson said.

All of the details about “Rhythms of Summer” can be found at thepalacetheatre.org.