Clarksville, TN – The City of Clarksville’s Department and Recreation held there second Jammin’ in the Alley concert of the year last night at Strawberry Alley. The concert showcased the talents of Rooted Wings, a musical duo comprised of John Winters and Samantha Hawkins.
After a few open mic night collaborations when Winters and Hawkins knew that they wanted to form a cohesive act together, and have combined their unique styles folding the blues, jazz, and a variety of popular music together into a fresh and rhythmic sound.
Indeed, watching these two talented individuals perform together on stage you could see via the subtle glances and intermittent smiles that they shared, along with the seamless way that they melded together in the performance that they were meant all along to play together.
The crowd definitely seem to be having a really good time, children danced together in front of the stage, as couples sat close together holding hands enjoying the music and just being together, while groups of friends old and new engaged in conversation between the notes of the music.
The Night Market
This night also brought the first night market of the season, bringing nearly a dozen vendors from Clarksville’s weekly downtown market out in the early evening hours to sell their wares.
I spoke to several of the vendors who are on hand in order to find out what their views on the move of the market from public square down to the North Riverwalk extension by Two Rivers Mall, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. They see the larger area, giving them the opportunity to have more space for them to sell their products, and to allow more vendors without having to alternate the spaces out on a week by week basis. As a currently have to do. Another positive factor was that the larger parking area will alleviate one of the major problems with having the market remain downtown.
Geno Grubbs the City Councilman for Ward 7, which in compasses the downtown area was on hand speaking with both shoppers and merchants about the potential move.
The next Jammin’ in the Alley
The annual summer concert series presented by US bank is now in its fifth season, showcases a variety of local talents. In addition to the live music downtown restaurants will offer outdoor dining concertgoers.
The city of Clarksville, together with US Bank will be jammin in the alley again on Friday, July 20th, 2012, and will feature Michael Jacobs, Lydia Walker, and Dustin Overbeek. The concerts run from 7:00pm till 10:00pm.
Strawberry Alley will be closed to through traffic starting at 1:00pm on Friday. Starting at 3:00pm, the lower employee parking lot of City Hall will be closed. However, drive-throughs for U.S. Bank and Regions Bank will be accessible, as well as the upper City Hall parking lot.
Special thanks to our sponsors for their support to make free outdoor concerts possible. Jammin’ in the Alley sponsors include The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville Family Magazine, Clarksville Online, and Lamar Advertising.
Come ready to eat, dance, and shop. We hope to see you there!
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