Fridays After 5 makes musical return at King Commons Park

Fridays After 5 is rocking out with its first performance kick off next Friday. The free community event is making its ninth return to King Commons Park and bringing a range of local and regional artists to play various genres of music for attendees. Sara DelBene, special events manager for the City of Johnson City, said the series of Friday events is a way to encourage participants to browse downtown businesses while enjoying summer jams. "It is an event that brings the community together with live music and is put on by our Main Street Program and Connect Downtown Johnson City," DelBene said. "The goal is to really bring people downtown and spend money in our downtown district." This year, eight different artists will be performing: Big Gun – AC/DC Tribute Band Lucille Klement The Maggie Valley Band Florencia & The Feeling Donnie & The Dry Heavers Isaac Hadden Crawford & Power Charlie Maples Big Gun will be performing the first night of the Fridays After 5 series, bringing a rock and roll theme to the event. DelBene said alongside the assortment of music, the turnout for the concerts "brings people from all over" the Tri-Cities, with some people traveling across the state lines from Asheville to attend. She added the number of attendees has also increased each year the event is held. "We average around 2,000 people an evening, so it's a really great attendance for our downtown, and it continues to grow," she said. "The event actually started in Founders Park and then grew to where Founders Park couldn't accommodate it anymore, so we moved to King Commons. It's continued to grow in attendance every single year." DelBene said the concert series is also an ideal event for any person to attend, offering a family-friendly environment while helping to grow the downtown economy through dollars spent locally. "We really encourage people to go participate with our downtown businesses, invest in the community and then come hang out with us before or after the event," she said. Fridays After 5 returns June 5, with the series happening every Friday in June and July, with an exception for July 3. The concert each Friday will last from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.