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At 500 Westcott St., electric guitar chords and a booming bass projected from a small stage sat in the Rise N Shine Diner parking lot. Layering the instrumentals, the voice of Syracuse rock musician Mike Powell rang out before an audience of local residents.

“Westcott Thursdays, how you feeling everybody?” Powell said. The crowd roared cheerfully in response.

Every Thursday in September from 5 to 9 p.m., Syracuse residents gathered for Westcott Thursdays, an outdoor music series at the corner of Dell and Westcott Streets in the Westcott neighborhood. The events celebrated the region’s culture through live performances and a collection of vendors organized by Wildflowers Armory. Mike Powell and his band, The Echosound, were one of four acts that performed this month in the music series.

Westcott Thursdays grew from Hanover Thursdays, a similar music series hosted in downtown Syracuse’s Hanover Square every Thursday in August. Hanover Thursdays was started in summer 2022 by local Michael John Haggerty and singer-songwriter Joe Driscoll, who wanted to bring more live music to the Syracuse area.

The 128th New York State District Assembly member Pamela Hunter, who represents the Southside, Eastside and towns of Onondaga, Salina and DeWitt, attended a Hanover Thursdays concert last year. She was inspired by its effect on the community. She consulted Driscoll about the possibility of having an event like Hanover Thursdays on the Eastside of town, as some people may not want to drive downtown.

“I have a fondness for the Westcott Nation, that’s my side of town,” Hunter said. “I wanted to make sure that we brought fun, free, exciting things to neighborhoods that want it.”

Hunter asked Driscoll how much it would cost to put a music series in Westcott Nation and she would fund it. His response: $100,000 and a promise of two years worth of concerts. So, Hunter assumed the primary sponsor role for Westcott Thursdays, attaining the money on a state budget. The Downtown Committee of Syracuse provided additional support for the series as a fiscal intermediary.

“This is exclusively all mine, my baby,” Hunter said.

Vendors lining Dell Street sold goods from jewelry and vintage clothing to posters and candles. Shannon Ryan, an owner of candle company Wick.ed Aromas, tabled at her third Westcott Thursdays last week.

Lars Jendruschewitz | Photo Editor

With side streets to Westcott Street blocked off for Westcott Thursdays, visitors can shop at local vendors or enjoy some food. This year is the first year that Westcott Thursdays has held its events, modeled after other programs in Syracuse from prior years.

Ryan and her boyfriend started their business in August 2023. The two run Wick.ed Aromas from their garage, making and hand-pouring 100% soy candles. At last week’s festival, their bestselling candle, Mountain Air, sold out.

“Being here is a milestone for us, knowing that our business is finally up and running enough to be in a community setting like this with other vendors at this level,” Ryan said. “It’s rewarding to us to give back to our community and have a fun time.”

Bringing in a large number of people weekly in September, Hunter said Westcott Thursdays is a source of economic development that restaurants, bars and other businesses in the area might not have otherwise seen.

Among locals and visitors in attendance were Syracuse University School of Architecture sophomore Mina Nguyen and her two friends, who were pleasantly surprised by the event while on their way to get coffee.

“We don’t really see a lot of community in Syracuse outside of the sports, so it’s nice that there’s this,” Nguyen said. “I didn’t know that we had so many local businesses.”

Hunter said it’s important the neighborhood embraces an event like Westcott Thursdays, as tensions like noise complaints can arise. To avoid issues, they met with businesses in the early planning stages. Sometimes, business owners are upset about the noise but participate because of the exposure to hundreds of people.

Hunter said Driscoll assisted in scheduling performances because of his close relationship with other local musicians. The two wanted a range of genres across young performers, up-and-coming acts and the openers. With Westcott Thursdays, artists are provided a space to gather an audience, especially if people haven’t heard them before.

Along with Mike Powell and The Echosound, other artists including Brownskin Band, Saint Luke and Count Blastula have performed at Westcott Thursdays. Sophistafunk will close out the music series this month.

“It doesn’t make a difference what kind of music it is. They want to get out. They want to have fun. They want to be safe and have free music,” Hunter said.

Published on September 25, 2024 at 11:54 pm