Friday night, a different type of concert than what is usually seen in the Champaign area will be taking place in Research Park, just South of the Gateway building located on the corner of First street and St. Mary’s road.
The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is teaming up with Fox/Atkins Development, LLC to bring the community the southern-Louisiana-style music of Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha-Chas at 7:30 p.m., along with tours of the Gable Home located in Research Park starting at 5 p.m., in a summer concert series that prides itself on going green.
The fourth year of the concert series put on by the Krannert Center and Fox/Atkins at Research Park, Friday night’s show allows free parking and an open air environment which contributes to music, food and a relaxing atmosphere.
The concert series is part of the Krannert Center’s ongoing efforts to reduce waste, decrease energy consumption and provide environmentally friendly services to patrons.
Rebecca McBride, the senior associate director of Krannert Center, takes pride in Krannert’s efforts to keep the concert series environmentally friendly.
“These vital initiatives have been furthered outside, where we’ll again offer biodegradable containers and utensils, easy-to-access recycling bins and marketing materials printed on recycled paper,” McBride said, “We’re especially pleased this season to again offer bike racks for those who choose to go green by arriving via two wheels.”
Another event on the agenda for the series is tours of the Gable Home, located at the research park.
“Gable Home is a solar home project made by students here at the University,” explained Bridget Lee-Calfasm the Public Information Director for Krannert Center. “The design won second place in the 2009 Solar Decathlon. The house was reconstructed at research park and we will have tours Friday night so people can see engineering and appreciate what the students put into the Gable home.”
Of course, the headliner of Friday’s show is the music.
Zydeco is the term used for the fast and furious accordion-driven dance music played by Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha-Cha’s. The band also features rubboard percussion, electric guitars and R&B influences.
Zydeco, which is distinctly different from the fiddle-driven music of neighboring Cajuns in South Louisiana, was very popular around the 1980s until fading today, where it is only really popular back in Louisiana.
Nathan Williams said, for him, it’s all about the fun of playing Zydeco.
“Zydeco is uplifting, fun music,” Williams said. “It makes you want to get out of your seat and dance and be a part of the music and the people around you.”
Bridget Lee-Calfas said that the Zydeco style of music was not a hard choice to make for the concert series.
“The Research Park Summer Series has been going for four years now and we always want to find eclectic music that isn’t normally heard necessarily,” Lee-Calfas said. “Being that it is a summer concert, the hot sounds of Louisiana seemed like a perfect fit.”
The two-part summer series at Research Park will conclude Friday, Aug. 13, when the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International with Samba Mapangala will hit the stage for Champaign-Urbana.