As opening date draws near, Kelbaugh, Gordon talk ‘Greetings’

By now, Keefer Kelbaugh and Kyle Gordon expect you have heard something about “Greetings from Levy Park,” and if you have, you know Crowley is in for a great time this spring.

If you haven’t heard, Keefer and Gordon explained the program to the Rotary Club of Crowley Tuesday, telling what Crowley has to look forward to beginning March 20.

The spring music and art series will present four different dates, music genres, types of foods, art media and more over a two-month span.

In the beginning, Kelbaugh, Gordon and Crowley Chamber of Commerce CEO Amy Thibodeaux met to begin hashing out what the project could be, knowing they wanted to showcase Crowley and showcase the arts.

After discussing it, the spring music and art series was born.

Kelbaugh said that once a location was needed, the trio fell in love with the idea of what Levy Park could bring them – a family-friendly atmosphere. Not only that, but Levy Park gives Crowley a chance to show its downtown beauty including the historic downtown and historic homes, which surround the park.

For the most part, to many that hear about Greetings from Levy Park, it is likened to Downtown Alive or Rhythms on the River, and to some degree those comparisons are true, but one thing is different according to Kelbaugh.

“It’s going to be a lot cooler,” he said.

As for the series itself, Greetings from Levy Park will be a different experience each of the four shows.

Kelbaugh explained that not only is the music genre changing each time, but so will the children’s activities, the food truck and the art displayed. Furthermore there are going to be surprises along the way; making each event unique to itself and offering a chance for many to be exposed to something new each time.

“We really have a great vision for this event,” said Kelbaugh.

Kelbaugh and Gordon both complimented the community for its great support so far and expressed hopes that the interest in the event will continue and that Crowley, as well as the surrounding communities, come out to support the event.

As Gordon spoke about the five acts to appear in four performances — two acts will perform on April 10 — he mentioned the desire to appeal to as many age groups as possible with each act.

“The second, third and fourth acts were booked quickly and we thought this is going to be easy, but we wanted something big,” said Gordon.

It wasn’t easy and after going through many potential acts, Gordon and Kelbaugh thought they had found the perfect one. But happenstance intervened and Greetings and the band could not seem to come to an agreement.

That is when Gordon and Kelbaugh found out about T-Bird & the Breaks. A funk/soul band that Gordon describes as having everything. The happy accident not only gave Greetings its perfect opening band, but rounded out the 2014 schedule.

Kelbaugh and Gordon welcomed everyone to check out Facebook for more information on each act, including videos of the bands that will take the Greetings from Levy Park stage.

The 2014 schedule is as follows:

• March 20: T-Bird & the Breaks, funk/soul, Austin, Texas.

• April 10: Adam Dale, singer/songwriter, Baton Rouge; Startisan, rock, Baton Rouge.

• May 1: Soul Creole, Cajun/zydeco, Lafayette.

• May 22: Rayo Brothers, folk rock, Lafayette.

Greetings from Levy Park is for all ages and is free admission. It will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with music set for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.