(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
W. H. Auden once said that music is the best means we have of digesting time. I couldn't agree more, especially in the summer time. What a perfect time to enjoy everything that there is about music. 
It is a lot of fun to start the summer with an open-air outdoor concert. Choose any group that intrigues you. There is just something about gathering together with a group of friends, walking through the woods to an open meadow, lugging your lounge chairs and blankets and food with you. Then you simply spread the blankets on the ground and enjoy one of your favorite beverages while you watch the sun start to set as you wait on the music to begin. Endings and beginnings always work well together. There is something magical about it. It is such a summer moment. It is great fun to watch expressions and greetings as the people begin to file into the area and the crowd begins to grow in numbers. Sitting in the summer breeze and relaxing for awhile gets you into a perfectly mellow mood that causes you to want to sing along when the music begins to happen.
There is even something thrilling about watching the sound team fine tune every piece of the finest sound equipment that technology has to offer, until finally the band bursts forth onto the stage and jump into their first song as the crowd goes wild with excitement. People's faces light up with anticipation, and there is a sudden sense that we all are one, just for a moment in time. Everyone loves the song, and everyone claps and sings along. It could be happening in an open meadow, or it could be somewhere on the beach, the mood is always the same, fun and upbeat. For just a few hours, there is nothing but the music. No worries, no cares. This is the magic of summer.
Sometimes the music is pop, or rock, country, or classical; it really makes no difference, the feeling is always the same. Music just makes people happy. Sometimes the concert is in the park, or even on the sidewalk of a city, or outside a quaint little cafe.
Alabama can claim a very rich musical history. The state is full of stories of how music was made in the world of jazz and blues. This is the place where "The 20th Century Gabriel" Erskine Hawkins lived and led his band back in 1939. We can boast of the landmark for the famous song called "Tuxedo Junction." The song is about a jazz and blues club in the Birmingham suburb of Ensley. The area is referred to as "Tuxedo Junction", even though the building is called the "Nixon Building" (built in 1922). This is due to the location of a streetcar crossing at Tuxedo Park, hence "Tuxedo Junction". The empty building still stands at 1728 20th Street as a testament to the musical heritage of the area. He is only one of many jazz singers who got their start right in Alabama, and more than likely, they were made famous under the skies full of southern sunshine that we all still love to listen to their music under. Some of my favorite musical memories as a young teenager happened during the summers when we loaded up a car full of kids and headed off to an event sponsored by the local radio station called "The Shower of Stars." I didn't realize at the time that I was actually living through musical history, as some of those "unknown at the time" groups were The Eagles, Three Dog Night, Patsy Cline, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Righteous Brothers, Lou Christie, Roy Clark, The Loving Spoonful, Herman's Hermits, Paul Revere and The Raiders, The Animals, Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, The Guess Who, Rare Earth, The Carpenters, just to name a few. Many got their first break at those local concerts I attended back in the day.
Then there was always "The Hangout" at the beach. It was a little different in our time. You gathered up on a concrete pavilion raised out of the sand on the shore, fed a juke box, and danced until your parents came by and "collected you," much to your embarrassment. The most requested dance song was a folk-rock song written by Bob Dylan called "Quinn The Eskimo" or better known as "The Mighty Quinn." A lot of arguments are still out there over exactly who Quinn the Eskimo was, but we didn't care. We only wanted to dance the night away.
You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that my grown children are now frequenting a musical festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama every year called "The Hangout." It is a large gathering of popular musicians on the beach. They always have a blast. I'm glad their summers are in some ways similar to those beach days I once enjoyed. The memories you make with your friends are priceless. The songs never leave your heart.
I have a few less sizzling, yet still quite pleasurable memories of an outdoors Lee Greenwood concert we took my parents to on my Dad's birthday one year. It was in a time when The Alabama Symphony was doing a series that still continues today called "Music Under The Stars." These were all held at local parks at night and accompanied by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. They were great! I left the Lee Greenwood concert feeling quite proud to be an American, and there were even fireworks that lit up the night sky at the end. I'm told a similar event is coming this summer to Railroad Park. Just check out the website for The Alabama Symphony Orchestra.
There is another small residential park in Chelsea, Alabama where we have enjoyed some great classical music. This was during the times where the symphony was performing "Pops In The Park." We were served wine and popcicles, and there were also fireworks at the end. One of my favs was a night when they did broadway musical songs with lots of Disney tunes.
Yes, summers should definitely be filled with music. I've really come to appreciate all the local church events in the area that feature great Christian music too. Nothing could be better than being in a whole crowd of born-again Christians singing "Shout To The Lord" at the top of their voices while lifting their hands in praise. Then there are those quieter, sweeter times, like the times at camp when you go to the outdoor chapel and everyone sings a cappella; so beautiful! So moving!
There is nothing like it.But you really don't have to leave the comort of home in order to enjoy the music of summer. If you have a front porch and can find an old record player, just invite a few friends over for lemonade and ice cream. Make the front porch swing the box-office seats, designate a good DJ to spin the albums, and enjoy your own favorite tunes!
If you have been a bit too modern lately and need to revamp your old album collection, there are a number of awesome used music stores in the Birmingham area. I highly recommend you visit Charlemagne's in the 5 Points South area. I'll warn you though, you won't be able to do this without staying awhile. The music available is amazing! It is like stepping back into a time capsule. For 35 years they have been bringing the coolest music to Birmingham's southside. They buy, sell and trade records, CDs, DVDs and books. It is well worth the trip down memory lane to visit this establishment, and I'll bet you will not leave empty handed; nor will you have to break the bank to pay. 
Get everyone together and start enjoying the music of summer!
Keep a song in your heart all summer long!
