Youth Concert Series at Courthouse Park. (Kaitlyn Hession/Cortland Voice).
Courthouse Park was alive with the sound of music as the Youth Concert Series took place during the sunset on September 21st.
As the sun came down, rising stars and professionals of the Cortland music scene came up as they performed covers and original songs in their own unique way. In all, six local musicians performed for park goers. One of which was Cloey Tierno, a student at Cortland Junior-Senior High School.
Tierno sung her own original songs and covers with her acoustic guitar in hand during her set. When she started playing guitar at 9 years old, she fell in love with playing the instrument and displaying her talent in front of others. Within 5 years, she’s brought her talent to the stage of various venues and felt comfortable playing at the park. “It felt pretty great performing for everyone tonight,” said Tierno. “I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to put their talent out there into the community.”
Some of the other acts that took the stage that night included brother and sister duo Angela Lane and Christian Compton, Elliot Hemming, Acoustic Blue, and Roger Decker. Each musician was creative with their own act as some did the unexpected like playing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana on the tenor saxophone or even sung other instruments’ parts if they were right there. All in all, everyone had lots of fun going into the night.
The Youth Concert Series is a great way for local artists of any age to get themselves out there and perform for others in the community. It’s also a great way to get young and professional musicians together to help spread music around the Cortland community. “We started the series with a concert last year and it was such a great turn out, we decided to have more concerts this year!” stated Laurie Bethel, a staff member of the Cortland Youth Center and local music supporter.
Teaming up with the Center of the Arts in Homer, The Cortland Youth Center took their mobile stage from the teen center to the outdoors for this event as performers from all age groups got to experience playing on a big stage. Along with the Youth Concert Series, the Center of the Arts is another great place to watch musicians perform in a larger setting as acts such as Edwin McCain and the annual Cortland Junior-Senior High School Jamfest have performed there. “I see everyone get so excited when they go to perform on stage,” added Bethel. “I love working with everyone and they’ve been a big inspiration to me! Everyone has so much talent I want to help put them out there!”
Check out this photo gallery of the event (All photos provided by Kaitlyn Hession/Cortland Voice):
