LAFAYETTE, La. — For the past 40 years, Downtown Alive has been hosting a free concert series but this year the schedule will look a little different in order to provide a more focused approach on both its artists and attendees.
Known as Lafayette's longest running free outdoor concert series, DTA has been a host to hundreds of artists and people from all walks of life and now it's scaling back on the amount of performances to once a month.
KATC stopped by the office of Kevin Blanchard, CEO of Downtown Lafayette Unlimited and Downtown Development Authority, and asked him the reason behind the change.
“The reality is there are a lot of other things to do downtown now," he says. "So we wanted to find the right balance as an organization whereas 40 years ago DTA was about trying to get people to come downtown. Now it's about finding the right spot for us to participate and to find place to celebrate but there’s a lot of other things to do DT.”
Blanchard says this season, their focus is on delivering top-notch performances rather than a high quantity of shows.
River Gibson is the lead singer of LVVRS, one of the bands slated to perform in the first concert series. He fondly remembers attending DTA shows when he was younger.
“I remember watching that show and I was just coming into music at the time and it was inspiring to see that in my hometown," he says.
The band is excited to kick off the first concert of the season. They also have recently gained national recognition after starring in The Iron Claw — a movie set in Baton Rouge where they played background characters.
Lillian Giacona, the band's bassist, recently moved to the Hub City two years ago and sees the free concert's impact on the community.
“There’s not a lot of places especially even with the music scene that hosts free large events for the community to come together and spend time with good live music,” Giacona said.
The concert series has cut down its performances throughout the season from around 20 to now 6.
"I think it's great, and it gives a lot more attention to it," Gibson says. "I think when you have it too much, it can be too much of a good thing, and the fact that it's just one band per performance gives a lot more attention to the band. We are happy with it, but I think it's cool for the experience because people research the bands before coming in and makes the connection a bit easier there.”
Downtown Alive will host a free concert every first Friday of the month up until November.
LVVRS will perform at Parc Sans Souci in downtown Lafayette from 6:00 to 8:30 PM.
