This summer marks the full return of the outdoor concert series to the heart of the community in North Chelmsford! The MacKay Branch, just off of Vinal Square, has played host to outdoor music for more than twenty years, and it was a blow to have that interrupted by Covid in 2020. After a short slate of shows in 2021, this year we’ll feature weekly concerts every Wednesday night at 6:30 pm from July 6 through August 24. The series kicks off with jazz guitar by the award winning Abe Ovadia and continues with bands playing classic rock, folk, and soul music! In August, the concerts will pivot towards family fun, with acts that highlight singing and dancing for kids and library patrons of all ages. (In the event of rain, concerts will be moved to the Senior Center.)

Schedule:

• July 6 – Abe Ovadia, Jazz Guitar
• July 13 – The Ben Knight Band
• July 20 – Retro Polatin
• July 27 – Mica’s Groove Train
• August 3 – The Sulinha Boucher Trio
• August 10 – Rain Date
• August 17 – Steve Blunt and Friends
• August 24 – Plum Island Pans

While the MacKay Branch has been closed to the public since the beginning of the Covid crisis, it continues to be open for curbside pickup for hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the Pop-Up Library will be available every week during the concerts. Just last month, Community Preservation funding for the branch’s needed HVAC improvements were approved at town meeting and the library is working with the town facilities department on re-opening the building, hopefully in the fall!