CINCINNATI — Musicians are making their comeback this year after concerts in the parks draw hundreds this summer.

What You Need To Know

  • In Cincinnati, musicians have been taking the stage through a free concert series at local parks 

  • Ed "Sax" Thomas was one of the musicians on the big stage, he'd been doing virtual concerts during the height of the pandemic

  • Park concerts will be going on through October

With his basement as his stage and his phone as his audience, Ed “Sax” Thomas is not missing out on any jam sessions because of a pandemic, but he said something is missing.

“You miss the audience because you feed off the audience,” said Thomas. 

For the last year and a half, he was playing online. There was no live audience and sometimes he said you just have to be there to experience it. 

“I play in such a way to communicate with people, touch people, touch their hearts and get them to feel what I feel in terms of the joy of music,” said Thomas.

For him, that joy started 50 years ago when he started playing the saxophone in the Cincinnati area. 

“I started in 7th grade and just had a love for the instrument and just kept playing,” said Thomas.

And he’s used to playing in front of people for different events and fundraisers and has been getting ready for his come back. 

For the first time since the pandemic started, he got to play a concert with his band in person with a full crowd at Sharon Woods Park.

“The emotion I saw was of joy, they were standing on their feet,” said Thomas.

His performance was one of the performances featured in the parks' new concert series. 

The Great Parks of Hamilton County teamed up with the city’s Arts Wave group to bring artists and musicians back to the stage in person. 

The concerts are on weekends all the way through October with artists playing like Ed “Sax” Thomas who was one of them.

“We just had a good time, so I’m looking forward to some of the other events,” said Thomas.

Here's the scheduled line up of the next live performances in the parks:

 

July 31

Location: Woodland Mound, 8250 Old Kellogg Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45255

Performances: Mike Oberst Duo, Taylor Alexander, Taifa Music

 

August 28

Location: Miami Whitewater Forest, 9001 Mt Hope Rd, Harrison, OH 45030

Performances: Satin Smooth Project, Just Vince and the Fellas

 

September 25

Location: Fernbank Park, 50 Thornton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45233

Performances: Madcap Puppet Theatre, Cultural Center of India, Revolution Dance Theatre, Children’s Theatre

 

October 16

Location: Winton Woods, 10245 Winton Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45231

Performances by Elementz, Lauren Eylise