MRRL concert series kicks off tonight

The Missouri River Regional Library's annual "Cultural Concerts" series officially starts tonight after the first concert in the three-part series was rained out.

"We hope everyone has a good time, and we are super excited for this year's concerts," said MRRL Director Claudia Schoonover.

After the first concert in early August was rescheduled due to weather conditions, the second planned concert will be 7:30 p.m. today on the South Capitol lawn featuring the band The Creek Rocks. The final concert will feature Miss Jubilee at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9.

"Miss Jubilee came to last year's concerts, and she was a huge hit," said Paula Schulte, the library's marketing coordinator. "If you like to swing dance, she's the one to listen to, and she was just a dynamite performer."

It's been 14 years since librarian Taryn Prewitt came up with the idea to host the concerts as a way to boost recognition of the library's offerings.

"We wanted to show that we offer more than just books, and it gives our music lovers a reason to come through our doors," Schoonover said. "I think they make people think of the library differently. This is a different program, and we try to show everyone, even people who don't come to the library, these concerts."

Prewitt picks the bands for the concerts based on Missouri talent and recommendations from the public.

"It's great and really professionally played music," Schulte said. "It's a free and fun time to be with the community and celebrate great music."

Last year, the lawn was filled for all three concerts, Schulte said.

"Part of our mission is to bring culture to the community," Schulte said. "It gives people an opportunity to go out and see something new."

Past concerts featured blues, jazz, country music, oldies, Hawaiian music, Russian music and Tibetan monks.

"We try to offer as many different types of music we can to share with the public," Schoonover said.

The first concert was going to featured the band Bag Lunch, but after the cancellation, the band is rescheduling for 2017.

"It was very unfortunate the first concert couldn't happen, but we hope everything works out as we planned for the rest of the concerts," Schoonover said. "The bright side is that we're scheduling them to play next year."

The sponsors for the Cultural Concerts series are the Missouri River Regional Library Foundation, Jefferson City Parks and Recreation, KJLU radio station and the Downtown Association.

The library staff hopes to continue hosting the concerts in future years.

"We're very proud to be involved in the community, and we feel it's fulfilling what we wanted to do for the library," Schoonover said.