Tredway, a local musician who works to promote singer/songwriter musicians, is coordinating with the city to do a series of concerts in the Chautauqua Auditorium at Getzendaner Park. The historic auditorium, which was built in 1902, was restored in 1975.
“The songwriters that we have been talking about performing at Chautauqua are excited about performing there because of the history of the place. People like Will Rogers have performed there,” Tredway said. “We have had nothing but support from the city and we believe that we can make this happen. However, we need the community supporting us by coming out to the event.”
The first concert – which is free to the public – is July 5 in correlation
with Crape Myrtle Month. The concerts will run from 7-10 p.m. and feature six
acts, each with a 30-minute set.
“We have been working with the parks department and the chamber of commerce to
make this happen,” Tredway said. “These concerts will provide an avenue for
local artists to perform and will bring money into the community.”
Beginning with July, concerts will be held once a month – with 24 events
scheduled at the auditorium. To make the concerts a free event, the University
of Texas graduate is looking to get local sponsorships each month to cover the
$2,000 in expenses. He’s also pursuing grant money to fund the project.
“My goal is to make Waxahachie a place where songwriters want to come and play
the music they have written,” Tredway said. “We want to focus on the
troubadour and not the person who wants to be a big star.”
E-mail Andrew at andrew.branca@wninews.com