This summer's Fridays on the Plaza series is something to do that costs nothing. And once you go, you'll want to tell your friends about it.

By Karen Cotton
kcotton@wyomingnews.com

The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle's Fridays on the Plaza will offer a myriad of music at the Cheyenne Depot Plaza with the added bonus of the events being free.

Fridays on the Plaza began as an event to draw young professionals downtown and enjoy some good music after work said Rachelle Johnson, the marketing director for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.

"Over the years, it has turned into a family event for all ages," Johnson said. "This year we tried to bring back some favorites and are introducing bigger name bands from around the country: the Ranchhands, the Elders and Boogie Machine."

This is the music series' fourth year, and it's bigger than ever.

"We added an extra concert and an encore event," Johnson said. "The extra event will serve as a rain out date or a date to bring back a favorite band."

Fridays on the Plaza begins June 1 and goes through Aug. 17.

Here's a look at a few of the bands:

Ten Tiers

On June 1, Ten Tiers, an alternative pop rock band will kick off the series.

Tiers' lead singer, Jonathan Tiersten, is originally from New York City and moved to Denver 10 years ago.

He now lives in Fort Collins where he acts, writes scores for short films and the lyrics for his band.

"I'm totally excited about it," Tiersten said of being the opening act for Fridays on the Plaza. "I want to get involved with as many events as I can in Cheyenne. Now that I live in Fort Collins it's such an easy drive."

The band performs music from every decade up to today, as well as its own originals. Tiersten said they'd likely perform covers from Bob Dylan to Depeche Mode.

Tiersten found out about Fridays on the Plaza through www.MySpace.com, when visiting a friend's page, Cary Morin of the popular band the Atoll.

"I was looking for festivals for the summer because I've always done a lot of them," he said.

Tiersten wrote the songs for Ten Tiers' new album, "Don's Club Tavern: Part One."

The songs on that album are centered around a classic little dive bar in Denver, Tiersten said.

"I've been trying to write about specific circumstances in my life, instead of larger issues like I used to," he said. "I use a lot of creative license. Sometimes the facts get changed to make it a more interesting story."

One of Tiersten's latest projects is a short film score with a connection to the television show "NUMB3RS."
Sean Crouch, the lead writer and the story editor for the show, saw Tiersten play at Universal Studios two years ago and they have kept up a friendship. Crouch has written a short film that David Krumholtz will star in. It is being directed by the same director of photography for "Numbers" and will be edited by one of the editors from "Veronica Mars." Tiersten is doing the score and soundtrack.

Avenue

Avenue will perform at Fridays on the Plaza on June 15. The local band has been around since 1978.

Chris Hoover said Avenue has gone through different formats in those years and is now settling into more of a variety band.

"We have a classic rock format, then we do some country, so we can do different types of shows," Chris said.

Chris said his family band is just like the Partridge Family - they're currently looking for a bus driver, he added jokingly.

His wife, Kathy Hoover, their son Brannan Hoover, 25, and Kathy's brother, Mark Allen, are all in the band.

Mike Crow on drums is the only band member not part of the family.

Music fans will hear anything from Gretchen Wilson to Sting to OutKast and the Foo Fighters as well as some of the band's originals.

"Mark Allen usually writes the lyrics, and I help arrange it," Chris said. "We all write the songs together."

The band has several keys to its longevity.

"The first thing, we've never quit," Chris said. "If you do something long enough and always try to keep it fairly mainstream in a town like Cheyenne that's the most logical way to keep on getting hired."

Seven Sundays

Seven Sundays will entertain on July 13. They're a local band that performs everything from funk to contemporary rock and more.

"We're really proud of what we do, and we give a show when we play," said Fernando Escobar, the lead guitarist for Seven Sundays. "We worry about providing eye candy as well as music played correctly, which motivates people to stay and be entertained. Nobody wants to see people on stage looking like tree trunks and going through the motions."

The band is changing its set and adding more covers to the list, so their fans don't get tired of hearing the same songs over and over again.

"We never have been focused on being an original band," Escobar said.

Bands can't play four hours in a bar and play nothing but originals and stay busy doing that, Escobar said.

"There's no disrespect to people who do originals," Escobar said. "If that's their thing that's awesome, but it's very hard to get your original music out there and for people to be receptive to it. If you stick with it, that's fantastic. I make no bones about it, but there's nothing that I'd rather do than being on stage, performing on stage.

"We all just love that," Escobar said.

Edge of Soul

Edge of Soul, a local rock and blues band, will return to Cheyenne and Fridays on the Plaza stage after a short hiatus from the local music scene.

"We like what we're doing, and we've been together for over two years. That's a milestone for any band," said Gary Jones of Edge of Soul.

Jones said the band's sound is pretty raw.

"We're an edgy, blues band for sure," he said. "We're a rock blues band and do that type of sound."

The band's 17-song CD, "Brian Leneschmidt and Edge of Soul," was released last fall.

The album is half acoustic and half heavy blues rock.

Jones said he likes to play at Fridays on the Plaza because it's such a receptive crowd.

"The people are there to hear the music," Jones said. "Sometimes when we play in bars and places like that people are distracted by a pool table or some girl with hardly anything on. Musicians like to know that people are there for the music."

Fans of Edge of Soul have responded to the song "Through the Rain."

"It's a nice little love song and it's one that Brian Leneschmidt, (the guitarist and vocalist for Edge of Soul), wrote for his wife," Jones said. "That song has a nice cross over sound to it - a lot of styles, blues, and has a bit of a modern country sound to it."

Musical Chairs

Cheyenne culture may not scream Celtic, but the town does play host to its own Celtic band.

Musical Chairs will take to the stage on Aug. 10 for Fridays on the Plaza.

Fans of Musical Chairs can look forward to hearing some of their new Celtic tunes.

"We're thrilled that the city and Wyoming Tribune-Eagle decided to launch this series," said band member Jim Angell. "It's one of the coolest things that happened to downtown."

The group spent the winter working on a CD project and penning new originals.

Musical Chairs has performed at every Fridays on the Plaza.

"It's a great community get together," Angell said.

He said it works beautifully for people who are just getting off of work, and added that some people come who are still wearing their suits and ties.

"It's usually a nice night if it's not pouring rain," Angell said. "It's a great place to meet people, talk and enjoy the music.

"It's a lot of fun," he said. "People get involved in the show and sing along when it's an outside show. They seem less inhibited. They can be loud, a little ridiculous, because nobody will know them."

Fridays on the Plaza

All shows start at 5:30 p.m.

June 1: Ten Tiers

Online: www.tentiers.com

June 8: Rodney James & the Blue Flames

Online: www.rodneyjames.com

June 15: Avenue

June 22: The Atoll

Online: www.theatoll.com

June 29th: Indulgers

Online: www.shamrocker.com

July 6th: The Elders

Online: www.eldersmusic.com

July 13th: Seven Sundays

Online: www.sevensundaysband.com

or www.myspace.com/sevensundaysband

July 20th: Edge of Soul

Online: www.edgeofsoul.com

July 27th: The Ranchhands

Online: www.theranchhands.com

August 3rd: Boogie Machine

Online: www.boogiemachine.com

August 10th: Musical Chairs

Online: www.musicalchairsband.com

August 17th: Encore Event

Where: Cheyenne Depot Plaza, One Depot Square

More info:

Call 633-3145, or go to www.fridaysontheplaza.com. Chairs are provided.

No pets please. Vendors

will sell food, lemonade, soft drinks and beer.