Outdoor music season heating up in Kenosha, Racine area (2024)

What's that you're hearing?

It's the soundtrack of summer: Free, outdoor concerts.

Our favorites are back, along with new opportunities to enjoy live music while swatting at mosquitoes.

And here's a bonus: Admission to most of these shows is FREE, so get out there.

Concert series that are starting new seasons include:

Music at Twilight

The Music at Twilight concert series (formerly known as Twilight Jazz) returns to the Anderson Arts Center grounds, 6603 Third Ave., for its 21st season of free outdoor performances on Kenosha's lakefront.

The 2024 season starts June 11 and continues Tuesday nights through Sept. 24.

This year's lineup features:

For two decades, this outdoor series has established itself as one of Kenosha’s signature events, drawing crowds from throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Funds raised during the concert series support and sustain the Anderson Arts Center and the Kemper Center and help to promote the arts and art education in the community.

The 2024 is expanding from six free concerts to eight and the new name reflects the music lineup, which features“not just jazz but different types of music,” said Pat Mott, chairwoman of the Kemper Center Board of Directors.

Grounds open at 5 p.m. for the concerts, which are 6-8 p.m. Concert-goers should bring lawn chairs and/or blankets. No seating is provided.

Food and drinks will be available for purchase. No carry-ins of alcohol are allowed. Families are welcome to bring their own picnic baskets.

Concerts are free to attend, with funds raised from a 50/50 raffle and concession sales. Those funds are used to support and sustain the Anderson Arts Center and the Kemper Center and to help promote the arts and art education in the community. For more information, go toandersonartscenter.com or call 262-925-8040.

Bristol Woodstock

This concert series, which debuted in 2021, takes place Wednesday nights,from June 12 through mid-August, in Bristol Woods County Park, 9800 160th Ave. Concerts take place at the band shell in the park, in front of thePringle Nature Center.

Concerts are 6-8 p.m. Admission is free.

This year's concerts start June 12 withJed Harrelson, a Nashville based soul singer-songwriter who "has found a way to fuse sounds of soul, rock and R&B," according to concert organizers. That concert is "Kenosha County Parks' first open-air concert of the 2024 season."

Concert goers should bring lawn chairs. No seating is provided.

This summer's series features:

These free shows are courtesy of Kenosha County Parks, Mindy Cooling State Farm and Pringle Nature Center.For updates, “like” Kenosha County Parks on Facebook for weekly listings.

Rhythm on the Lake

In 2023, the Rhythm on the Lake Concert Series hosted its first summer of free Thursday night concerts in Paddock Lake.

This summer, the first half of the season takes place in Silver Lake County Park, 27000 85th St. in Salem.

The Silver Lake concerts are:

Concerts will continue Thursdays through Aug. 22, with the next half of the season at Old Settlers Park, 24100 75th St., in the band shell overlooking Paddock Lake.

Concerts are 6-8 p.m. Thursdays, with no concert on July 4.

For more details about other activities and amenities in Kenosha County Parks, visit parks.kenoshacounty.org, call 262-857-1869, or check out Kenosha County Parks on Facebook.

Pike River concert series

Hawthorn Hollow’s 2024 Pike River Concert Series features three performances on Fridays, starting June 14.

All shows start at 6 p.m. in the Hawthorn Hollow amphitheater, 880 Green Bay Road in Somers, with gates opening at 5 p.m.

Admission is $10 at the gate (cash only). Food and beverages, such as soda, wine and craft beer will be sold, as will produce from the Heritage Farmstead at Hawthorn Hollow (while supplies last). No carry-ins are allowed.

This season’s concerts are:

The Pike River Benefit Concert Series is presented by Once Upon A Child and Stein's Aircraft Services and supported by Festival Foods and Educators Credit Union.Proceeds from the concerts go to support Hawthorn Hollow, a nature preserve that is open to the public, free of charge. For more details, go tohawthornhollow.org.