Plato once said, “Music gives soul to the universe, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”
Even now, almost 2,400 years after Plato’s death, his statement holds true. And who could argue? As an art form that bonds its listeners to one another, music moves people to dance, to laugh and to just have fun. Countless Naperville residents have discovered that they can capture some of this joy weekly from June through mid-August at the Naperville Band Shell. Now in its 155th season, Naperville’s Municipal Band performs free concerts on
Thursday nights in Central Park, 55 Concert Lane at 7:30PM, with each one focusing on a different theme. Local businesses lend their support by providing $25 gift certificates that are raffled off during the evening. A local nonprofit, chosen through a lottery process, hosts the Ice Cream Social in the gazebo, provides an assortment of sinful delights, sells them at a reasonable price to hungry attendees and then keeps the proceeds to benefit their organization.
The popularity of the band concerts is legendary. Attracting all age levels, hundreds and even thousands of music lovers come out for these weekly events. Crowds gather, beginning at 6PM, armed with blankets, tables and picnic baskets to stake their ground (bench seating is provided for those who choose to travel lightly) in anticipation of the evening’s event. The curtain rises (which is actually a transformed stage door, painted by Bart Gunderson) that showcases the history of municipal bands since the inception of the Naperville Brass Band in 1859 and music fills the air. As the concert winds down, attendees prepare to depart, knowing that they will be able enjoy to many more evenings of music before summer’s end.