The History of the Waterfront Concerts

  From former FOCB President Paul Lewis:

As to the concerts let me try to come up with a bit of a history of them from Day 1.

There were a few reasons why we decided to bring outdoor concerts back to CB. 

The two main ideas brought forth were:

· To bring back a cherished part of Crystal Beach lore.  As you are well aware Big Band music was an integral part of the history of Crystal Beach.  People told stories of hearing and dancing to Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers in the 30s & 40s and it always brought smiles and happy memories to them.  We thought "why not try to reestablish that tradition".  

· Starting a concert series we hoped would be an opportunity to bring our community together for an enjoyable event.  We had the perfect venue for it in Waterfront Park.  Sitting in the park looking at the band playing with the beautiful lake as a backdrop was the perfect way to finish off a busy week. 

The problem then became where do we find a Big Band?

Then when we did find one how were we going to pay them as we were really just trying to build our treasury.  Fate opened a door.  Bob Long was the leader of the Can-Am Big Band that had played together for several years.  When we approached him he was "all in" for the concerts idea. 

They were the first band that played our Waterfront Concerts.  Subsequently they played one of concerts for the next three years.  We thought it would be a good idea to try to encourage the high school music departments in the area to play one of the dates as well.  Lakeshore Catholic HS stepped up to the plate and played one of the concert dates as well.  By this time we were looking at sponsors for concerts and found that the Peace Bridge Authority had grants going to non-profit organizations that encouraged cross border events. 

Subsequently we advertised the concerts in the Gusto section of the Buffalo News hoping to bring some Americans across the border to visit CB, maybe stop in a restaurant before or after the concerts and spend a dollar or three while enjoying a Sunday evening concert.  We also offered the Kenmore East, Kenmore West, St. Joe's HS big band to play and they happily accepted.  A good friend was their band director and loved the opportunity to play in front of such a good audience and in a park like the Waterfront. 

Then came local bands from each side of the bridge.  We had the Port Colbourne Steel Drum band, the Amherst Saxophone Quartet who had played on the David Letterman show, Steve Burnside and his band and many others.  From there,  the concerts just grew and grew.  We then tried to have each concert be a different genre of music; Soul, Country Western, Jazz, Blues, Jimmy Buffett you name it,  we  probably tried it.  Then because of the growing success we were able to get a few additional sponsors like The Meridian Credit Union. 

Like so many successful ideas word spread of how enjoyable the Sunday Night Concerts were and so the crowds grew and grew.  These concerts also helped to grow our membership as many people wanted to be a part of something so positive in our community.  We went from hoping the idea would work and people would find the concerts to now answering the question from so many "when is the next concert and who is playing".  Coincidently as I was typing this a neighbor came over to ask if we were going to have the concerts back this year and if so when is the first. For many years now the concert with the biggest turnout is the Toronto Big Band which will appear this season on July 24, 2022 at the Waterfront Park at 7:00 pm.

Their concert is in the true spirit of the old 30s & 40s Big Band Era.  People get up and dance to their music and their smiles make the whole idea from so long ago so worth while.

The 2004 Waterfront Concert Series Included:

1.) Got Swing - a group of 8 college students from the US and Canadian universities.

2.) Ken-Ton Big Band - a group of 40 middle and high school students from the Kenmore/Tonawanda area near Buffalo, NY.

3.) The Blooze Hounds - blues band from the Niagara Peninsula.

4.) The Jazz Dogs - a sax quartet of high school students from Buffalo, NY.

5.) The P.K. Hummingbird Steel Orchestra - a 15 piece steel drum orchestra of adults and young musicians from St. Catharines, Ont.