Amp After Dark i
By Ann Craig-Cinnamon
Despite the threat of rain, lots of people brought their lawn chairs, blankets and picnic dinners to Amp After Dark Aug. 1. It’s the newest addition to the Town of Fishers’ summer concert series and is held on Friday nights.
It runs from 9 to 11 p.m., which is later than the very popular Tuesday night summer concerts, with the idea of it being a more “adult” experience.
“We wanted it to be like maybe 20 years ago, they’d go to the Vogue on Friday night. Well, now we want them to come to Amp After Dark on Friday night,” says Bob McCutcheon, the event coordinator for the Nickel Plate Amphitheater. He says the Friday night event has been very popular. “The average has exceeded our expectations. It’s been a really good year. Jennie DeVoe cracked the 2,000 mark for the first time. And we had a couple of bands that did over a thousand. The first show was the only one that was kind of slow,” he says.
Tuesday nights have continued to be very popular McCutcheon says: “Even with all the construction, all the parking, all the everything, our numbers were up 10 percent more than last year,” he adds. Those shows averaged an attendance of 4,000 people throughout the run.
The Tuesday night concert series has now ended for the year but the Friday night Amp After Dark series continues through August with Slim Pickens Blue Grass on Aug. 15, the Indianapolis Municipal Band on Aug. 22, and Jon Banard on Aug. 29.
The summer series comes to an end on Aug. 30 with the 2nd Annual Nickel Plate District Blues Festival presented by Chateau Thomas Winery. The festival will run from 4 to 10 p.m. and will feature 11 acts on stage throughout the day and a lifetime achievement award for Indiana blues legend Harvey Cook.
McCutcheon says the first Blues Fest was a huge success.
“We tried it last year and it far exceeded anyone’s expectations,” he says.
There will be food trucks and wine from Chateau Thomas Winery for purchase. The event itself, just like all the concerts, is free.
Free movies will return to the amphitheater on Friday nights beginning the second week of September.
