Southern Village’s Live Music on the Village Green ends for season, last event on Sept. 22

Southern Village’s Live Music on the Village Green series concluded this Sunday, but Sept. 22's open mic and karaoke night will be the last music event of the year. 

The open mic and karaoke night will be free of charge, as are all of the series’ events.

The series wrapped up the last of its professional performances on Sept. 18 with a performance by the Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra.

This year's music series started in April and was held on Sunday nights. The series began in 2002 with current Southern Village music director Danny Gotham performing live music before the start of outdoor movies, but it then shifted to Sunday nights in 2003, and has remained on that schedule since. 

Gotham said he likes to use the music series as a way to educate and expose people to music they might not be familiar with. Acts in this year’s series featured a range of performances, including a ukulele orchestra and 

“I want people to be entertained, but I also want to open people's eyes up to different types of music,” he said. 

Gotham said that one reason why musicians and attendees might enjoy Southern Village is the physical space itself, as well as the easy accessibility to food and drinks.

“There's plenty of space to dance, and then if you want to go grab something to eat or drink, there's places right here on the Village Green that you can go to,” he said.

Gregg Gelb, the founder and musical director of Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra, said that their concert at Southern Village on Sept. 18 was great and drew a large crowd. He said that the Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra has been performing at Live Music on the Village Green events for more than a decade.

“It's just right in the middle of town, which is beautiful,” Gelb said. “It's right in the middle of the village, and it seems like a perfect gathering spot.”

Gelb said that as a jazz band, it can be hard to find venues that play jazz. He said he is appreciative that Southern Village provides the band with an opportunity to play in front of an audience.

“There's lots of jazz musicians, and there aren't that many venues to play jazz,” he said. “So whatever venue there is, is really good.”

While the Live Music on the Village Green series may be over, Southern Village will continue to offer live music events throughout the fall. 

One of those upcoming events is the UNC Clef Hangers concert on the Village Green on Oct. 30. This will be the third time the Clef Hangers will perform at Southern Village, Clef Hangers music director Scott Gilliam said. 

Gilliam said Southern Village is different from other concert venues the group performs at because it is more laid back and relaxing.

“It's a lot of fun,” he said. “It's a very relaxing, low-key venue. You can really connect with the community there.”

Gilliam said performing at Southern Village allows the Clef Hangers to reach an audience they might not reach otherwise.

“We were very fortunate to be able to perform there and connect with a completely different base of people that live so close to the University, but maybe just hadn't seen us on campus,” he said. 

The open mic and karaoke night will begin at 7 p.m. on Sept. 22.

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