Downtown Bangor Fresh Air Market and Cool Sounds Concert Series to move to Central Street for 2014

cool soundsThe Fresh Air Market and the Cool Sounds Concert Series, both staples of the Downtown Bangor Partnership’s yearly summer schedule, will this year move to Central Street and the adjacent Norumbega Parkway, as construction continues on the renovations of West Market Square and Broad Street, where the market and concerts were held in previous years.

The markets will be held on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 p.m., beginning Thursday, June 19 and running through Thursday, Aug. 7. The seven-week concert series will begin on June 26 and run through Aug. 7. Central Street will be closed to traffic each Thursday from June 19 through Aug. 7; ample free parking is available nearby, after 5 p.m. at the lot at the corner of Hammond and Columbia Street, and in the Abbott Square Parking Lot on Harlow Street.

The Fresh Air Market will be held in Norumbega Parkway, the park along the canals, in between Central Street and Franklin Street. Up to 30 vendors are expected weekly. Available items include art by Bangor artists, baked goods, specialty foods, jewelry, photography, and much more. Food vendors will also be on site.    

This year’s concert series will feature a wide array of genres from bands from all over the state. They include:

  • The Main Street R&B Revue, a nine-piece high-powered soul and r&b band from the Bangor area, set for June 26
  • Waldo County-based electric blues band the Juke Rockets, set for July 3
  • Portland-based alt-country band the Mallett Brothers Band, set for July 10
  • Flash! In The Pans Steel Drum Band, the venerable Blue Hill-based calypso ensemble, set for July 17
  • Portland-based rockabilly and old-time country trio Pete Witham & the Cozmik Zombies, set for July 24
  • Bangor-based progressive jazz quartet the Aurora Jazz Project, set for July 31
  • Orono-based ska band the Skastitutes with Machias-based alt-rock band the Roman Counterpart, set for Aug. 7.

All Cool Sounds concerts run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and a free and open to the public. The stage will be set up on the upper end of Central Street, closer to City Hall, near Northeast Reprographics. For more information, visit downtownbangor.com.

Emily Burnham

About Emily Burnham

Emily Burnham is a Maine native, UMaine graduate, proud Bangorian and a writer for the Bangor Daily News, where she's worked since 2004. She reports on everything from local bands to local food to all the cool things going on in the Greater Bangor area. In her quest for stories, she's seen countless concerts and plays, been lobster fishing, interviewed celebrities, hung out with water buffalo and played in a ukulele orchestra. She's interested in everything that happens in Maine.