The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra presents its well-liked summer concert series at outdoor amphitheaters in Tower Park (Fort Thomas) and Devou Park (Covington), promising free, retro, family-friendly regional events with grateful crowds, talented musicians, and an array of amazing music.
The orchestra will perform in the parks for the 31st consecutive summer season in 2025. These performances are not free to produce, but they are free to attend. In order to continue this custom of creating memories, volunteers staff donation boxes surrounding the concert bowls. For weather and information updates, audiences are urged to register at kyso.org.
Williams Wondrous World (favorite John Williams movies and TV shows)
Saturday, July 12 @ 7:30 p.m. (Devou Park)Sunday, July 13 at 7:45 p.m. (Tower Park)
John Williams, who is ninety-three, has composed television themes and movie scores that have delighted the country for almost 70 years alongside producers and directors Irwin Allen, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas. On the lawns of Devou and Tower Parks, another KSO summer begins with catchy main titles, themes, and snippets. The KSO will have you humming along and giving you enough earworms for the rest of July, whether it’s from Lost in Space, Star Wars, Jaws, or the theme from NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
Blues Muse (only Hep Cats, no Dogs) traces the origins of blues to Betty Boop.
Saturday, August 2, 7:30 p.m. (Devou Park)Sunday, August 3, 7:30 p.m. (Tower Park)
After growing up, the animated blue puppy from the children’s program Blue’s Clues (1996–2007) now goes by the name “hep cat.” Originating from African-American spirituals, blues music influenced a wide range of new musical genres, including early jazz, Dixieland, and ragtime, starting at the turn of the century. These sounds are faithfully captured by the KSO’s Newport Ragtime Band, which can trace their origins to Cincinnati, other American cities, and even child actress Esther Lee Jones, who served as the inspiration for the Betty Boop cartoons.
Pop music from the 1960s to 1980s (Transistor radios, walkmans)
Saturday, August 30 at 7:30 p.m. (Devou Park)Sunday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. (Tower Park)7 p.m. Woodside Arboretum, Middletown, Ohio, Monday, September 1st
With the widespread availability of small, handheld transistor radios in the 1960s and 1970s, popular music initially became portable. Over the course of three decades, boom boxes and compact personal cassette tape players (Sony Walkmans) took the place of small radios in the 1980s, enabling everyone to easily enjoy their favorite rock and roll, R&B, disco, funk, and country pop music wherever they were. This Labor Day weekend will be nostalgic and unforgettable thanks to the KSO’s focus on the golden decades of pop music, when songs meant melody and included artists like Percy Faith and the B52s.
The KSO keeps providing audiences in NKY and the Greater Cincinnati area with its distinct brand of entertainment and culture. Dress rehearsals will be open to the public on Saturday mornings, July 12, August 2, and August 30 at 10 a.m. in Covington’s Devou Park for those who would like to escape the crowds outside. Programs on Sunday nights will be streamed live from Tower Park in Fort Thomas.
Both Tower Park and Devou Park will include food trucks and concessions. Pack lawn chairs, lunches, and blankets. Visit KSO atkyso.org for further details, registration, weather updates, and directions, or give them a call at 859-431-6216. KYSO recommends a $5 gift each individual. Parking is free. For $1 each way, TANK Shuttles will operate from the parking lot of Covington Catholic High School to the Devou band shell.
The Symphony Orchestra of Kentucky