Bruce opens Levy Park series

When the organizers of Greetings from Levy Park initially announced their plans last year, some thought that the idea was for Crowley to emulate an event similar to Lafayette’s Downtown Alive.
After experiencing Wednesday evening’s environment, however, its probably not a stretch to say that the music series has become a unique event that the city’s residents can call their own.
“This is really cool,” said Sean Bruce, prior to taking the stage. “Just a laid back crowd full of children and adults all having a good time.”
Bruce was a late addition to the Greetings from Levy Park lineup after inclement weather and a scheduling conflict forced the Lost Bayou Ramblers to cancel their appearance in late March.
Any concerns that the cancellation would cause a low turnout were quickly alleviated Wedesday afternoon, however, as the park filled up nicely prior to Bruce taking the stage.
And those in attendance weren’t disappointed.
Bruce’s band played a diverse style of alternative folk music that drew nothing but compliments from those in attendance.
“I may have had more people telling me they enjoyed Sean than the acts at our prior shows,” said Kyle Gordon, who came up with the Greetings concept along with co-organizers Amy Thibodeaux and Keeffer Kelbaugh.
“People seemed to really enjoy themselves,” said Thibodeaux. “We’re really looking forward to next week.”
The band scheduled for next week, HoneyHoney, could be the most highly anticipated act to perform in the series to date. The Los Angeles-based band has received positive reviews from several national publications including Rolling Stone.
“I’m super stoked,” said Gordon, who has been looking forward to their performance since they were scheduled. “We have had inquiries from as far as Shreveport and New Orleans about Thursday’s show.”
And this week Mother Nature is not a threat to cancel the show as several alternate, indoor sites are being considered if the forecast calls for poor weather.
“We definitely will have a contingency plan,” said Thibodeaux. “We haven’t settled on anything specific as of yet, but there will be a show on Thursday.”
Thibodeaux, who serves as CEO of the Crowley Chamber of Commerce, said that the chamber’s Business After Hours, a social event in a business setting, was part of what gave them the idea for Greetings from Levy Park..
“It showed us that people here really like to get together and socialize,” she said.
And if Wednesday’s event is any indication, it showed that after only one season, two postponements and a replacement act performing, Greetings at Levy Park has become an attraction where the event, rather than just the music, may have become the main draw.