The sad news that perennial crowd favorite Griffin Lane wouldn’t be able to bring the 2024 Downtown Smithfield Summer Concert Series to a close as planned this week was eased by word late Monday that another hometown band, Pasture #3, would fill the void.

We invite you to come on down to Times Square at 7 p.m. Friday for a fun evening of acoustic roots music by Steve Edwards and others from Mill Swamp Indian Horses. And as of this writing, a few free tickets remained for an indoor bonus concert on Sept. 5 as K-Soul returns to Smithfield with Motown classics. Go to the Visitor Center at 319 Main St. and claim up to two tickets per person while supplies last. 

The Downtown Smithfield Summer Concert Series is in its 38th season of wholesome, free, family entertainment on Friday nights between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Downtown Smithfield, which visitors often compare to a modern-day Mayberry, is at its finest on summer Friday nights.

The concerts were started by my predecessor, John Edwards, and his wife, Anne, nearly four decades ago. The origins were quite humble: At the first concert on July 31, 1987, Nelson Edwards’ family bluegrass combo (including son Steve, who will perform this week) entertained on a flatbed trailer borrowed from the Isle of Wight Recreation Facilities Authority (yesteryear’s Parks and Rec). 

John Edwards and then-Smithfield Ice Cream Parlor owner Dave Carroll had rounded up some money from downtown merchants and agreed to collaborate on a test run of Friday evening concerts that summer.

The Times reported on the front page of its July 22, 1987, edition that “if the concerts prove to be popular during the remainder of this summer, the (downtown) businesses will try to organize a summer-long series of similar events next year.”

The concerts returned in 1988 and haven’t skipped a beat in the four decades since.

We’re sad about the possibility, if not the likelihood, that this Friday night will be the Times’ last as host. The town having not accepted our 18-month, standing offer of appraised value for the iconic property we have occupied for more than a century, it looks like our office will be somewhere else by Memorial Day weekend, when the 2025 concert series kicks off.  

At its committee meetings this week, the Town Council learned of the Times’ importance to the concert series and other cultural jewels downtown. Councilman Randy Pack’s assertion that a permanent town easement on the front lawn will ensure the long-range success of the Summer Concert Series revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of the role the Times plays in its success.

Nonetheless, the Isle of Wight Arts League will work tirelessly to keep it going, with full promotional support from the Times.