5 Questions with Nelson French on the Silver Bay Music in the Park Series 2025

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The Silver Bay Music in the Park is a free live music concert series. We chatted with them (via email) last year and we wanted to catch up again this year.

This marks the fifth season of the Silver Bay Music in the Park series. How has the concert series evolved since its inception? And, how has the Silver Bay community responded to the Music in the Park series over the years?
Yes, this year we are entering our fifth concert season and are very excited to be attracting some wonderful bands to fill our late summer Friday nights with music. We started out in 2021 and did five concerts which grew to the eight shows we have done in each of 2022, 2023 and 2024. We are sticking to that routine again this year starting on July 18th and going each consecutive Friday night through September 5th. In 2024, we added a special second evening of music to the mix by producing ticketed benefit concerts at which the bands donate their time and talent and help Rocky Wall Entertainment raise funds to support the free Friday night Music in the Park concerts while providing fans an opportunity for an up close and personal intimate experience. We did six of these house concerts in 2024 and will be doing six again in 2025.

The community has had an overwhelmingly positive response to the concert series and attendance has grown steadily each year. Attendance grew 323% from 2021 (1,500) to 2024 (4,850) for a total of 12,800 attendees in the first four years. Not only has the size of our crowds grown, but the positive feedback we have received has also grown significantly over the years. People now look forward to the live music that fills the late summer air in Silver Bay.

What inspired Rocky Wall Entertainment to launch this community-centered music initiative in the first place? and are there any plans to expand the series in the future—whether that’s adding more dates, genres, or new venues?
Neighbors on Rocky Wall Road began enjoying music at private house concerts in 2015. Over the course of five years, we enjoyed bringing talented musicians into our homes and sharing music with friends and neighbors. We hosted eight house concerts in those first 5 years. In the summer of 2021, we discussed how fun it would be to share our love of music with the broader community. We brainstormed on how we might go about doing this and settled on establishing a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to accomplish this. The result is Rocky Wall Entertainment.

We wedded this idea to revitalization of downtown Silver Bay and the long-held community vision that the green space in the center of Silver Bay could be a great location for establishment of a “City Center Park and Amphitheater”. Thus, the concept of Silver Bay Music in the Park Concert Series at City Center Park was born. We were sensitive to the existence of the very popular and successful historic Bay Days celebration, so a decision was made to use Bay Days as the launching event for bringing free Friday night live outdoor music to Silver Bay through the balance of summer.

Many of us are actively involved in efforts to improve our community on many levels. The City Center area in downtown Silver Bay is a very attractive location in a valley of sorts with sweeping views towards Lake Superior and has long been envisioned by the community as a more formal park area – having been first identified as such in 1985.

From mid-2024 through May, 2025, Rocky Wall Entertainment convened a small community-based Design Team and contracted with a professional landscape architecture firm to develop a design and budget estimate for a City Center Park and Amphitheater. In mid-May, a report detailing a $6.5 million park plan was provided to the City of Silver Bay and, the Silver Bay City Council approved including a $4 million funding request for City Center Park and Amphitheater for consideration in the 2026 State capital budget and bonding bill. SILVER BAY CITY CENTER PARK UPDATE – JUNE 2025

Silver Bay is poised to embark on an exciting new chapter with the establishment of a City Center Park and Amphitheater.  This visionary project aims to enrich the community, offering a space where residents can engage in recreational activities, cultural events, live outdoor concerts, and social gatherings.

In 2025 Rocky Wall Entertainment will expand to produce two winter concerts at the retrofitted historic Reunion Hall and will continue leading the effort to raise funds for and implement the plan to develop  City Center Park and Amphitheater.

For first-time concertgoers, what should they know before attending a Music in the Park event? Any big do’s and or don’t and or must know before you go?
We encourage you to bring a chair and/or blanket to sit on during the show. Also plan to arrive early as there will be a food truck and local restaurants available to provide you with dinner or snacks.

Are tickets required for the free Friday night concerts?
No. Tickets are not required to attend the free concerts. However, we encourage you to claim your free tickets anyhow. By signing up for a free ticket you will receive updates from Rocky Wall Entertainment about the event as well as future events and opportunities.

Will there be food available at the concert? Where should I eat in Silver Bay?
Yes. We hope to have one food truck at each concert. In 2025 Emma’s Kitchen will serve food at seven concerts. They should be set up by 6:00 p.m. so come early and pick up some food for a Friday evening picnic in City Center Park.

Are there restrooms at the City Center venue?
Yes. Restrooms will be available in the City Hall Building behind the stage.

Is alcohol permitted at the concert?
No. The permit for our event does not allow alcoholic beverages at the concert.

Where can I get tickets to the Rocky Wall Benefit House Concerts?
60 tickets (40 indoors and 20 deck seating) are available for each house concert. These concerts are a wonderful way to hear some great music in an intimate setting while helping to support Rocky Wall Entertainment. Tickets can be purchased at Benefit House Concerts

Inclement Weather

The show will go on if the weather is bad. The inclement weather back up will be The Reunion Hall located at 97 Outer Drive, Silver Bay, MN.

Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page on our web site for more information on local food options and hotels. Frequently Asked Questions | Rocky Wall Entertainment

The Benefit House Concerts offer a much more intimate experience. What inspired this companion series and can you tell us more about how your house concerts work? Is there anything special ticket buyers should know before attending?
As stated previously, the origins of Rocky Wall Entertainment involved private house concerts.  The emergence of the Benefit House Concerts emerged when one of the bands, I forget who now, perhaps it was The Scarlet Goodbye, offered to perform a free donor thank you concert back in January 2024. We then asked the bands we booked for 2024 if they would like to stay an extra day to enjoy the surroundings of the North Shore and play a ticketed benefit house concert to help raise funds to support our free concert offerings. In 2024, six of the eight bands agreed to do this and again in 2025, six of the eight bands are available to perform at these wonderful concerts in an intimate setting.

This year’s roster includes artists from across the country. Can you tell us more about the artists/bands you booked this year? What’s your process for selecting performers? and are there any “dream artists” you’d love to bring to Silver Bay in future?
This year our tag line is we have bands coming from New York City (Jeff Slate & Friends), Los Angeles (Scarlet Rivera and Chris Mulkey) and all points in between! The bands represent a diverse array of the Best of American Music.

Here are links to the individual Friday night concert pages where you’ll be able to get more detailed information about each artist. Although tickets for the Friday night free concerts are not required, you can pick up a FREE ticket online and get on our mailing list by so doing.

Our focus is to bring to the North Shore Americana artists of regional, national and international talent that we would otherwise not be able to see perform in our community.

We have a four-member board of directors consisting of myself, retired attorney Lisa A. Berg, retired  food product development pro Marilyn French, and Silver Bay Library Director Shannon Walz.  We work very closely with Silver Bay resident and sound production professional Jerry LaVigne who is a legend in the business and has extensive contracts throughout the music world. Between all of us we have extensive connections with high quality musician talent across the country and world. As we grow, we plan to bring national and international talent to Silver Bay with a focus the best of Americana Music. The musicians fall in love with the North Shore, and we now have over 60 bands on the list of those who would like to perform here.

Some on the dream list include Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel, Trampled by Turtles, Golden Smog, Bonnie Raitt, Alejandro Escovedo, John Doe, Chuck Leavell, and Brandi Carlisle among others.

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