Bend’s free Summer Sundays concerts take hiatus

Les Schwab Amphitheater announced Friday that the 15-year-old Summer Sundays concert series will be taking a hiatus.

The popular free concert series has hosted more than 300 musical acts since its inception in 2002, and has been a staple of summertime in Bend’s Old Mill District. Originally created to fill a gap in the region’s free events and live music entertainment, “the need in the community has shifted since its inception,” the announcement said.

Marney Smith, director for the Les Schwab Amphitheater, said, “It has been an honor to have hosted the Summer Sundays concert series for so many years, along with our numerous sponsors and business partners in the community including Bend Memorial Clinic.

“When we created these events, Bend was a very different place than it is today. As our community continues to grow and thrive, we’ve found an over-abundance of events in Bend in the summer months and the impetus behind the development of the concert series no longer exists. We are happy to pass the torch to the many other wonderful events in our community, for now.”

Smith said her team plans to keep a close eye on trends in the region and bring back the series when it makes sense. The already extremely busy summer calendar and community event fatigue contributed to the decision.

The Les Schwab Amphitheater will continue to offer a variety of live music acts as part of the Bend Summer Concert Series, from Memorial Day weekend through early fall. In addition, the amphitheater will continue to be home to the Bend Brewfest and many other community events, such as the Pole Pedal Paddle, Oregon WinterFest, the OSU-Cascades graduation and community walks and runs.

For a complete list of events at Les Schwab Amphitheater and the Old Mill District, visit www.bendconcerts.com & www.oldmilldistrict.com.