Dexter Summer Concert Series Brings Revenue to Downtown Businesses

Grab your wine glass and head on down to the gazebo in Monument Park on Friday when John Latini takes to the stage as part of the Dexter Area Chamber of Commerce's weekly .

The award-winning blues musician from Detroit will bring his soulful music to Monument Park starting at 6:30 p.m.

“Recalling the raspy, liquor-soaked growl of Tom Waits, Latini’s soulfully controlled vocals animate the stories of the songs. At once smooth and rough, his singing sounds alternately celebratory, remorseful, seductive and dangerous," the Ann Arbor Observer writes.

Keeping crowds energized is just what the summer concert series is about, event co-chairman Joe Nowak said.

“The summer concert series is a great avenue for families to get out and spend an evening with their neighbors in a comfortable setting,” he said. “It’s like one big family picnic every Friday.”

Chamber President Paula Palmer-Burns said it's also about supporting local businesses that benefit from outside revenue from concert-goers.

"Every Friday, you see people walking into the downtown to go to restaurants, visit the Dairy Queen or go to one of the other businesses that stay open later," she said.

From a Beatles tribute band to the Dexter Community Orchestra, each week the chamber has managed to bring in headline acts to entertain the crowds.

"It's great. I can hear the music from my bar and I think it's helped us out some," Peter Theocharakis, owner of said. "We get some customers both before and after the shows."

Christine "Tinnie" O'Haver, owner of gift boutique in downtown Dexter, said she enjoys the concerts but would like to see the bands spread out throughout the downtown area and not centralized at the park.

"I think the concerts are a wonderful thing for Dexter, however I think it would help attract customers if the bands were located nearby a business similiar to how Chelsea organizes its Sights & Sounds Festival," she said. "Dexter's concerts draw a lot of people and it's fun to see them all come to our community."

Pam O'Hara, co-owner of , said the business doesn't typically stay open past 6 p.m. except for its monthly "Fourth Friday" open house, however it could be a possibility in the future if bands were stationed around downtown.

owner Peter Landrum said he definitely sees the effect the summer concert series has on his business.

“I can definitely say that there’s been many new faces in the area those nights that those concerts are on," he told the Dexter Leader. “As a resident of the village, it’s great seeing another new thing to do here, along with the new park. The scale of some of these things is much bigger than I expected. There are a lot of great reasons to visit downtown Dexter later.”

Abby Erickson-Goldberg, executive director of the chamber, said each year the chamber board reviews the success of the concert series and makes recommendations for the next season. Currently there are no plans to expand the size and scope of the summer concert series, she said.

For more information on the summer concert series, visit the chamber's website.