SUBMITTED PHOTO/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Charlie Stegman, left, and Robin Cockey, of the Folk Heroes will perform at the final Concert on the Lawn this Sunday at the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum on 208 N. Main St. in Berlin.

By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer

(Sept. 5, 2019) Music lovers can take in a free performance by the Folk Heroes with Charlie Stegman and Robin Cockey during the final Concert on the Lawn this Sunday evening at the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum.

The group will play a mixture of Celtic and Cajun music starting at 6 p.m. on the lawn of the museum’s lawn on 208 N. Main St. in Berlin.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to come and listen to some free music on this beautiful, beautiful lawn that is just such a huge asset to the museum, and a huge asset to the town,” said Melissa Reid, president of the museum’s board of directors.

Reid said the free concerts usually draw between 100 to 150 people.

“It’s been going really well,” Reid said. “We’ve had good turnout for them.”

Reid added she’s been pleased with this year’s series overall.

“It’sagreatfeelingtosittheresort of on the sidelines of the event, and look at all the people coming with their chairs or lawn chairs to come and sit and watch music, and to see people clapping,” she said.

While bluegrass band John O’Dell and Windy Ridge was scheduled to perform for the first show of the 2019 season, the event was canceled due to inclement weather. The High and Wides, a bluegrass band, and Old School O.C., a classic rock and rhythm and blues group, have also played in this year’s series.

“The weather is usually the biggest obstacle, but … we’ve pretty lucky this year [because] only [the] first one had to be canceled,” Reid said.

Reid praised the efforts of fellow board member Bonnie Luna, who is responsible for scouting and booking bands for the annual event.

“She [Luna] tries to reach out to sort of a variety of different bands,” Reid said. “Sometimes new ones and sometimes old favorites.”

Reid said the museum, which pioneered the idea of free concerts in Berlin, has been holding the roughly hour-long concerts for two decades. She added she understand it can be difficult for an organization to keep an event going for that long.

“Things grow stale, or the people that run them [there’s] not always continuity, but I am really proud of the museum for continuing something that we have been doing for 20 years,” Reid said. “We were one of the first ac- tual spaces in Berlin to provide free outside entertainment, so it’s nice that we’re able to continue that tradition.”

While Reid applauded the museum’s ability to keep with tradition with the 20th annual Concert on the Lawn, she said event organizers mixed things up this year by having a merchandise and peach slushies available for purchase.

“Even though it has been a mainstay, we’re always trying different things,” she said.

For more information, call 410-641-1019 or visit the museum’s website at taylorhousemuseum.org.