Downtown's own Thursday Night Live is coming back this year with more food, more fun and a certain flavor of local music its become known for. On the lineup for the summer is Dope A Sneakers, SoulRoot, ChristiAna and Noe Palma.
The first event of the season is May 20.
New this year is a taco night, a returning wing night and a community football pep rally in August ahead of the school year.
After taking a small break to allow organizers to revisit their approach to Thursday Night Live, coordinator Angela Nale said they're "ready this year to bring back those little extras that we had."
June will be taco night. The idea - though the details are still getting straightened out - is to have attendees purchase taco tickets at the gate so various vendors set up on High Street won't have to handle cash. Nale said while they haven't tried a taco night before, she's looking forward to it.
"It could be an utter flop, or it could be a huge success!" she laughed. "I love tacos, so for me, either way, it's a win-win."
Thursday Night Live will also be bringing back the wing night, though this year it will be "a buck a wing" and there will be no competition.
In August, organizers are hoping to have a community-wide football pep rally ahead of the usual 7 p.m. concert. With new coaches coming in for Jefferson City and Capital City high schools, plus Helias High School coming off of a winning season, Nale hopes the pep rally will give "all of these new coaches the opportunity to tell the community what they have in store for the coming year."
"That is still all in development, but we hope to get all the schools out to participate and of course have a drumline and cheerleaders and make it a fun event for the whole community to come to," she added.
And with ChristiAna playing in August, who has been a "fan favorite," Nale said, she's hoping it will make for a successful night.
As the music scene continues to expand in Jefferson City with the addition of Riverside Park Amphitheater, Thursday Night Live is primarily focusing on bringing people downtown.
"The big thing about it is to support out downtown, the bars and stores, to bring people downtown and show them what we have to offer," she said. "That is what is most important. We want to give back to the community."
One of their long-term goals, she said, is to try to bring "more of a national traveling act" in for Thursday Night Live, funds permitting.
"Does the amphitheater change that a little bit? Possibly. We might have to adjust our long-term goals due to that, but we're there for the community," Nale said. "It's a way to give the community something to do that's affordable and fun."
In retrospect, having more venues allows for more musical diversity. Just this season, Thursday Night Live is showcasing '90s R&B and hip hop, a '70s and '80s cover-heavy act, and country. Noe Palma, September's spotlight and an original artist from Kansas City, is a fireman with a passion for music on the side who will, Nale believes, bring "something Jefferson City will like."
"Jefferson City is such a unique area in itself," she said. "We have people from all walks of life, so we want to make sure we can appease everyone (with the artist choices)."
This season's schedule is four main acts:
Dope A Sneakers, May 20
SoulRoot, June 17
ChristiAna, Aug. 19
Noe Palma, Sept. 16
As vaccination access expands and larger events pick back up, Nale is hopeful all will go well. Last summer's Thursday Night Live season continued with smaller crowds; this year, she expects the crowds to increase in size. And with the addition of food nights and the pep rally, organizers expect this year to be their biggest year yet.
"I think everyone is ready to come out of hibernation and quarantine, hug their friends and see their friends and dance and have fun - kind of enjoy life again," Nale said.
They'll still provide hand sanitizer and encourage people to social distance, she said. Jefferson City, she said, has been "very lucky" to have - compared to other places - low COVID-19 counts.
"I feel good about this," Nale said. "I really do."
Wristbands per night are $5 for ages 13 and older, $2 for those 4-12 and children younger than 3 years old are admitted free. Children younger than 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The event takes place on the 200th block of High Street.
For the latest updates, visit www.facebook.com/thursdaynightlivejc.