History-filled Bandshell kicks off 2024 concert season in Ashland

Seventy-five years ago the Guy C. Myers Memorial Bandshell debuted as a cultural institution, replacing the original wooden bandstand, at Brookside Park in Ashland.

In 1947, the plea for a new facility was circulated by Louis E. Pete, “very famous around here for musical performances,” said Judith Webster, recreation coordinator for Ashland’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Among Pete’s roles over the years were founder of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra and director of music at Ashland High School.

“Under him, Ashland (High School) became a model for musicals,” Webster said.

Pete’s request reached Kate Myers, who volunteered to build the Bandshell in memory of her husband. When it was dedicated in June of 1949, three days of ceremonies and music were held in celebration.

This summer, like each one before it, will feature a series of concerts, which kicked off by the Sounds of Touch and its Motown selections on Sunday. Attendees may sit in the 1,500-capacity amphitheater or find a place on the lawn, which accommodates another 1,500.

Not many changes to Bandshell in past 75 years

The venerable “new” Bandshell has changed very little since 1949, except for coats of paint and new benches, Webster said. Still in use are its dressing rooms and restrooms for performers and its U-shaped storage areas for instruments, lighting equipment and other accoutrements of stage productions.

There have been no major changes, Webster said.

Lining the walls of the Bandshell’s interior is a tidy chronology of framed posters advertising years of summer concert series.

A playbill from 1999, the 50th anniversary of the Bandshell, promoted summer acts ranging from Suzuki Strings and Sounds of Broadway to Rockin’ Tommy Gunn and the 45s and Good Company.

“We have about 19 concerts every year,” said Webster, who hires staff members and all of the performers and negotiates contracts as well.

Bandshell performances are free and open to the public on Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Some are part of an annual tradition ? the Ashland Area Community Concert Band on Father’s Day, the Ashland Symphony Orchestra (June 30) and Moonlight Serenaders Big Band July 4) patriotic concerts and the Ashland Regional Ballet (Aug. 11) ? “always our final (event),” Webster said.

Talent search part of performance scheduling

To find additional talent, “every other year I go to the conference of the Ohio Arts Professional Network. That’s where I get a lot of my ideas” she said, adding the network is known by the agents of many performing artists.

This year the Red Hot Chili Pipers, 11 bagpipers from Scotland, will perform a blend of traditional, fusion and rock and pop music Aug. 8.

“We get local, state, national and international performers,” Webster said.

Grants help support the Bandshell, as does the Give a Gift program, in which businesses and individuals sponsor an event and are recognized with a banner at the front of the stage.

The Bandshell can be rented, Webster added.

“We’ve had weddings here,” she said, and it’s also used by the Ashland Public Library and the Chautauqua program, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this summer.

Chautauqua finds perfect venue at Bandshell

The theme for Chautauqua’s silver anniversary year is A Trip Down Memory Lane the week of July 15-20.

Chautauqua has “a wonderful partnership with the Bandshell … such a gem in our community,” said Amy Daubenspeck, president of the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce and Explore Ashland.

The venue also provides “a built-in audience” for Chautauqua performers, who are scholars as well as actors and offer a thoroughly researched, immersive historical experience.

Chautauqua’s own history has a lot in common with the Bandshell as it is connected to tradition. Many of this year’s performers have been on the Ashland stage multiple times portraying a variety of characters.

The Chautauqua program is “outstanding and free,” Daubenspeck said.

The Bandshell stage can accommodate a full orchestra, Webster said, and was host to the Ohio State Fair Band in 2015.

Most of the performers are so impressed,” she said, about Ashland having this facility to offer. “Our community is so fortunate.”

A 'most unique and valuable asset'

Ashland Mayor Matt Miller called the Bandshell “truly one of our city’s most unique and valuable assets,” a privilege very few communities in Ohio can enjoy.

“One of my favorite things to do during the summer months is to park in a shady place, roll down the windows and hear the beautiful music rising from the Bandshell and gently moving throughout Brookside Park,” Miller said.

Contemplating how fortunate Ashland is that Myers chose to build the Bandshell many years ago, Miller pointed out, “It is so unlikely that any community would ever feel that they had the extra financial resources to build something as grand as this structure in the world in which we live today.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Bandshell, one of Ashland's most unique resources, turns 75 years old