A free music series will be held this summer at Argenta Plaza in North Little Rock, the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau announced Wednesday in a news release.
The events will highlight local talent and be held monthly from June through August at the plaza, located at 510 Main St.
The Argenta Plaza Summer Music Series will be held on the third Saturday of the month with an opening performance at 5 p.m. and the headline act at 6:30 p.m. Attendees can bring lawn chairs, and food and drink will be available from the nearby Argenta restaurants.
"Our goal is to have regular events at Argenta Plaza that will bring in locals and visitors to North Little Rock," Erica Warden, director of sales and events at the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in the news release. "We want our visitors to have an exciting weekend filled with fun activities and good food."
Stephanie Slagle, marketing director for the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Wednesday afternoon that the music series accomplishes one of the main purposes for Argenta Plaza -- fostering a sense of community.
"The North Little Rock CVB and the City of North Little Rock envisioned a community space where all of North Little Rock's residents and visitors could relax, be inspired and create memories," she said in an email.
The music series lineup includes:
• June 19: Josh Stewart and A Year and A Day
• July 15: SYNRG and The Rodney Block Collective
• Aug. 21: Ten Penny Gypsy and The Gravel Yard
"We wanted to offer a variety of musical genres as well as show off some of our well-loved Arkansas musicians," Warden said. "A Year & A Day is a classic-style rock, The Rodney Block Collective is a quartet that plays a variety and The Gravel Yard is more of a bluegrass."
Slagle said the agency developed plans for the plaza's programming in February 2018, prior to its construction.
"A live music series was one of the projects we were ready to pursue for 2020 but was put to the side until early 2021, when covid-19 cases began to drop and vaccinations became more widely available," she said.
Slagle said the agency coordinates and communicates regularly with Main Street businesses to ensure the programming doesn't clash with their interests and help promote the entire downtown North Little Rock experience.
"We encourage attendees to patron Argenta's restaurants before, during and after the concert," she said
Sponsors for the series include the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city of North Little Rock, First Orion Corp, Russell Chevrolet, North Little Rock Fit2Live, Custom XM, Argenta Downtown Council, Taggart Architects and AT&T Arkansas.
For more information about the summer music series, visit www.northlittlerock.org or follow the North Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau on Facebook.