Music in Green Spaces

Toledo Jazz Orchestra

Toledo Botanical Garden
Tuesday, September 12, 6 p.m.
No Reservations Required, FREE

Cool off with the sounds of the Toledo Jazz Orchestra. Thanks to the generosity of Greater Toledo Community Foundation, the concert is FREE. Bring your friends and family to enjoy music in nature. Pack a picnic and pack a chair, then CHILL.

Parking at the Bancroft Street entrance; disabled parking at Elmer Drive entrance. Parking is limited, consider carpooling with friends and family. Gates open at 5 p.m.

Opera Outdoors Fall Concert Series

Wildwood Preserve, Manor House (front lawn)
Wednesdays, 6 p.m.
No Reservations Required, FREE

The Toledo Opera returns to the Manor House for the fall series of Opera Outdoors.  Enjoy the operatic voices of the Toledo Opera as they perform on the porch of the Manor House.  No reservations required.  Bring your lawn chair.  (In the event of inclement weather, the performance will be moved inside the Manor House with limited seating.)

• September 6
• September 13

Songs of the Stage

Wildwood Preserve, Manor House (front lawn)
Wednesday, September 20, 6 p.m.
No Reservations Required, FREE 

Enjoy this gathering of local musical talent as they perform selections from musical theatre.  No reservations required.  Bring your lawn chair.  (In the event of inclement weather, the performance will be moved inside the Manor House with limited seating.)

Cakewalkin’ Jass Band

Wildwood Preserve, Manor House (front lawn)
Wednesday, September 27, 6 p.m.
No Reservations Required, FREE 

One of Toledo’s favorite jazz bands will enliven your evening.  Bring your lawn chair and enjoy!  No reservations required.  (In the event of inclement weather, the performance will be moved inside the Manor House with limited seating.)

Noon Tunes

Wildwood Preserve, Manor House Gazebo; Thursdays at Noon
Bring a lawn chair and your lunch to Wildwood Preserve. Relax for an hour on the Manor House grounds as local musical artists provide entertainment for a fun summer memory in the parks. Sponsored by the Manor House Volunteers. Program will be cancelled if it is raining. Free. No reservations required.  

• May 18 - Tim Oehlers
• July 27 - Richard Wolff 
• August 24 - Chloe and the Steel Strings - CANCELLED due to weather

Jazz In The Garden

Toledo Botanical Garden, Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.
Warm summer nights and cool jazz in the garden. This season, once again, features some of the best regional artists. We’ll have food trucks on site. Bring your friends/family and enjoy music in nature. Fee: $10. $5 for up to 2 tickets for Members. No reservation required. Cash only at gate. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Bring a chair/blanket. For a complete line-up of performances visit MetroparksToledo.com/jazz.

• July 6 - Toledo Jazz Orchestra - CANCELLED due to weather
• July 13 - Ramona Collins Quintet
• July 20 - Signal Quartet - CANCELLED due to weather
• July 27 - Cakewalkin' Jass Band CANCELLED due to storm damage and extreme heat. 
• August 3 - Gene Parker Quintet
• August 10 - Jean Holden
• August 17 - 6th Edition - CANCELLED due to weather
• August 24 - Lauren Smith Quintet - CANCELLED due to weather
• August 31 - Kerrytown Stompers
• September 7 - The Lori LeFevre Group

Volunteers are needed to assist with ticket sales, parking and more. If you are interested in this opportunity, please connect Meg Monagan by emailing her at monaganm@outlook.com. No experience required!

Folk Series

Various Locations

This seasons Folk Series will feature local and regional artists with eclectic styles and sounds. The Folk Series will offer an intimate listening experience at Brookwood Area or an open-air summer concert in nature at the all new Glass City Metropark event lawn.  All Folk Series concert tickets are FREE or guests can choose to Pay What You Want to go above and beyond to support important Metroparks initiatives. By doing so, donors are aiding in our commitment to our mission of conservation and supporting programs like Music in Green Spaces for the benefit and enjoyment of the public.

Sunny War

Glass City Metroparks
1001 Front Street
Open air outdoor concert
Wednesday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
Reservations Required, Tickets are FREE or Pay What You Want

Tickets

We kick off our 2023 Folk Music Series with the Punk Folk Rock of Sunny War at Glass City Metropark on Wednesday, June 28. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso has been described as one of the best new voices in Roots music. Sunny has crafted a set of songs that draw on a range of ideas and styles, as though she’s marshaling all her forces to get her ideas across: ecstatic gospel, dusty country blues, thoughtful folk, rip-roaring rock and roll, even avant garde studio experiments. She melds them together into a powerful statement of survival, revealing a probing songwriter who indulges no comforting platitudes and a highly innovative guitarist who deploys spidery riffs throughout every song.

Parking: Parking available on Morrison St, at the Grosbeak Lot and the largest parking lot is at Market Hall at 1505 Front St.  The Pavilion parking lot will be reserved for accessible parking needs.

“Thrilling” - NPR Music

“It all amounts to a powerful statement from a singer-songwriter poised to become one of the year’s most vital voices in roots music.” - Rolling Stone 

“She sounds like a shrewd, modern-day Nina Simone... a victory of an album." 9/10 Stars - Holler 

"The album, showcasing her probingly personal writing, affectingly understated voice, and magnetically dexterous acoustic folk-blues fingerpicking, is the work of an accomplished and distinctive artist. " - SPIN 

“…emotionally resonant and curiously hopeful” – Pitchfork

Press Highlights:

• CBS Saturday Morning: Interview Segment HERE
• CBS Saturday Morning: “No Reason” Performance HERE
• CBS Saturday Morning: “New Day” Performance HERE
• CBS Saturday Morning: “Whole” Performance HERE
• The Late Show with Steven Colbert: “No Reason” Performance HERE
• The Kelly Clarkson Show: “No Reason” Performance HERE
• NPR World Cafe: Episode HERE
• Rolling Stone: Album Review HERE
• Pitchfork: Album Review HERE
• SPIN: Feature & Full Album Premiere HERE
• Paste Magazine: Feature HERE

Steve Madewell with special guest John Barile

Brookwood Area
5604 Swan Creek Drive
Intimate listening experience
Friday, August 18, 8 p.m.
Reservations Required, Tickets are FREE or Pay What You Want

SOLD OUT

While enjoying a remarkable career in the conservation field, Steve maintained an active musical performance schedule. He started performing when he was 13-years-old  and he has never stopped.  He has released three solo projects, Rivers and Trails, Arrow Creek, and most recently, Hometown Blues. This project hit 15 on the FAI folk charts for April 2022.

His songs have been described as subtle musical "arrangements with words that carry substantial weight." Many of his tunes incorporate bits of Ohio history giving his musical stories a tie to place and an organic validity. In addition to performing as a solo artist, Steve has many side projects with other musicians and musical ensembles. John Barile will be joining Steve for the evening. John is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and he is constantly performing across Ohio. This duo was a standout at the 2022 Lake Erie Folk Festival!

Steve Madewell
with special guest John Barile
Brookwood Area*
Friday, August 18, 7 p.m. 

*Brookwood Area is an intimate listening room experience.  Advanced reservations are required. All tickets are complimentary.  

The Antivillains

Toledo Botanical Garden
5403 Elmer Drive
Reservations Required, Tickets are FREE or Pay What You Want 
Saturday, September 23, Event starts at 7 p.m., Show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets

The Antivillains is the work of songwriter Sarah Cohen. Born in the Rust-Belt city of Toledo Ohio, her songs are populated by quiet dramas that have come and gone and pictures of messy lives somewhere in the middle.

The music can be cloudy and dreamy, drawing comparisons to the music of Yo La Tengo or Cat Power with glimmers of the honest and tragic storytelling of Townes Van Zandt or Gillian Welch. As a band, they have performed alongside such groups as Lucius, Allison Russell, Birds of Chicago, The Go Rounds, Chris Bathgate, Breathe Owl Breathe and countless others throughout the United States.

Food Trucks: Dog Waggin’, Falafel King, Carousel’s of Toledo.

Additional Concerts 

Nikki D & the Sisters of Thunder*

Glass City Metropark - Opening Night Celebration
Friday, June 9, 7:30 p.m.
No Reservations Required, Free

Nikki D & the Sisters of Thunder is a family based group from Toledo. Their unique style is Gospel with Blues riffs and grooves, all punctuated by Nikki D's wildly soulful and electrifying steel guitar. Guitar World magazine has described Nikki as "The Jimi Hendrix of Sacred Steel"  because of her experimental vocal-like riffs and other-worldly sounds. She's also a soulful vocalist that commands the attention with her raspy, sultry voice. Their excitement and energy is contagious. When they hit the stage, a forecast for hand clapping and toe tapping will be expected.

The group is known for their powerfully moving, revival-like performances with beautifully atmospheric vocals riding
about a wave of infectious rhythms and grooves. They've shared the stage with Jack White’s band, The Raconteurs, as well as The Rance Allen Group, The Slide Brothers and many others.

City of Toledo Fireworks Celebration Concert
Glass City Metropark, Event Lawn [Event Map]
Saturday, July 1, 7:30 p.m. with Downtown Toledo Fireworks at 10 p.m.
Know Before You Go [Details]
No Reservations Required, FREE

Presented by Greater Toledo Community Foundation

Glass City Metropark will open Glass City Metropark for extended hours to celebrate Independence Day weekend and the City of Toledo fireworks on Saturday, July 1. The park will be open all day featuring our playgrounds, water features, roller skating at The Ribbon and more.

The festivities will continue with a concert and pre-fireworks celebration at Glass City, Event Lawn featuring The Commonheart, presented by Greater Toledo Community Foundation in celebration of their 50th anniversary of serving the community.

The Commonheart is a high energy Roots/Soul band from Pittsburgh. The band offers feel-good positivity and sweat soaked performances that ease through blues, vintage soul and rock. The Commonheart has shared the stage with Gary Clark Jr., Van Morrison and appeared on the Outlaw Music Festival tour with Willie Nelson, Van Morrison and Sturgill Simpson. They have performed in the region as a headliner at both the Momentum festival downtown and the Black Swamp Arts Festival in Bowling Green.