Music sweetens Sugar House all summer long

With the warm temperatures of summer, people are spending more time outdoors. And in the Sugar House Commons area on Highland Drive, there is more reason to do so. Two regular outdoor concert series’ are attracting crowds this summer and organizers hope those crowds will grow even larger.

“We want to bring people out, bring people together and celebrate local artists,” said Bob Berets, Sprague Library associate librarian. Berets is the organizer of Sounds of Summer, held on the east side of the library, 2131 South 1100 East, every Thursday night.

Berets has been organizing the Sounds of Summer event for five years but estimates the library has been hosting it for more than 15 years. He said it has always been a success.

He begins planning the concerts each fall and is happy to book many returning artists each year. “We’ve had some regulars who have performed over the last few years who have drawn people in,” Berets said. Gary Stoddard and the Usual Suspects is one of those regulars, and the band usually brings 60 to 70 people.

Berets said he’s been pleased at the turnout for the concerts so far this year and hopes attendance increases. “I think we do pretty well, but I’d always like to get more people,” he said. “We always want more people to know about it.”

A little further east in Hidden Hollow, 1255 East 2160 South, Utah Open Lands and KRCL is hosting the second annual Hidden Hollow Concert Series every other Friday night. The series began last year as a way to get people to spend time in Hidden Hollow.

“One of the things we thought was incredibly valuable about having this particular concert series in Sugar House on this property was just to get people up close and personal with an amazing community resource that’s right there,” said Wendy Fisher, Utah Open Lands executive director. “We’re hoping people come down and have a good time and realize what a great place this is. We hope that after that experience, they’ll want to be good stewards of the land.”

Fisher said last year’s series was a success and anticipates a great turnout again this year. “It’s an amazing backdrop for the performers,” she said. “They all seem to enjoy performing next to the stream in the middle of this open area. We had a great crowd come out every single time. The bands are a huge draw and the place is a huge draw.”

Fisher is optimistic about this season’s turnout. “It should be another great year and we look forward to making this series a tradition that never ends.” To see a list of performers and dates for each concert series, visit

http://www.krcl.org/hidden-hollow/ or http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/events/view/500.