ALBANY — For the first time in nearly two years, crowds can return to the Jennings Landing Amphitheater for the Alive at Five concert series, starting Wednesday.
The free-to-air series was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, and this year organizers initially decided to make the series virtual, airing three shows earlier this month. However, with the recent lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the remaining five concerts will take place in person at full capacity.
Wednesday’s concert, which runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., will feature a reggae night with The Meditations and Mixed Roots. The series will end on July 28 with a classic rock night, featuring Warrant, known for the song “Cherry Pie.”
“Our Cultural Affairs Office has been working tirelessly to determine how we could do Alive at Five,” Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said at a news conference Monday. “As you know, this concert series is planned months and months in advance and so they were really trying to do the impossible; plan months in advance without having any idea of the rules of the road. In fact, we didn’t even have a vaccine when we started thinking about Alive at Five and what it was going to look like.
Still, Sheehan continued, “We wanted to make sure we were able to deliver something. Something for our community; something for people to come together. People look forward to Alive at Five every year and so we have planned for that. We weren’t going to give up.
The concerts are scheduled to run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and will also be recorded and broadcast, except for Warrant’s broadcast. Each recording will be released the following Thursday on Albany Events YouTube and Facebook. Under a program called Restart Albany, the recordings will also be played at local bars and restaurants, which will also feature live music. Participating companies will be announced shortly. Parking for the Alive at Five concerts is available at the Riverfront Parking Garage.
Here is an overview of the program, as well as the broadcast dates of the recorded shows:
June 30 – Reggae Night with The Meditations and Mixed Roots (aired July 8)
July 7 – WEQX evening with Soule Monde and Victory Soul Orchestra (broadcast July 15)
July 14 – Folk/pop evening with Amy Helm and The Sea The Sea (broadcast July 22)
July 21 – Funk Night with Hartley’s Encore and Yam Yam (airs July 29)
July 28 – Classic Rock Night Warrant and Joe Mansman and The Midnight Revival Band (Warrant’s performance will not air virtually. Joe Mansman will not air until August 5)
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