Live in the Lot brings local musicians downtown

The organizers of Live in the Lot designed it to be both an outdoor summertime activity and a showcase of local talent. Most of the acts that perform are musicians from Emporia or the surrounding area.

“We like people to know that there are talented people in town,” said Bailey Estes of Flint Hills Music. “This is an opportunity to promote local music and have something to do downtown on Friday nights.”

Previously, Live in the Lot was held on Wednesdays during the summer; this year the event was moved to Friday nights and response has been positive.

“We're seeing bigger crowds,” Estes said. “People are able to stay later because it's the weekend, so we can have more music, which is great.”

Dr. Brent Hrabik's trio was the first performance of the evening. Hrabik, a family medicine doctor in Emporia, played guitar alongside Jim Rood on the fiddle and Marvin Pine on bass. The trio played bluegrass for a crowd settled into folding chairs, sheltered from the evening sun by sunbrellas scattered around the venue.

Flint Hills Music provided free popcorn as well as soda, water, beer and wine for purchase. Radius offered personal pizzas at their food stand, and the Emporia Arts Center hosted a craft station for children to make butterflies out of clothespins, pipe cleaners and googly eyes.

As the sun began to set, All From Nothing — a local rock band comprised of Jeff Kitselman, Pete Johnson and Sage Thurston — took the stage.

“I hope we're not too loud for you,” Kitselman said, strumming his guitar. As the opening chords of the first song rang out into the summer evening, the crowd cheered.

Live in the Lot is free to the public. Performances continue at 7 p.m. each Friday through July 28 on Seventh Avenue between Commercial and Merchant Streets.