The Britins played the pavilion. Mazo showed up.

Tonight the Mazomanie Performing Arts Pavilion turned into 1964 for a couple of hours. The Britins, the Beatles tribute out of Milwaukee, brought the suits, the harmonies, and the whole songbook, and the town brought everything else: lawn chairs, coolers, dancing in front of the stage, and a lawn packed edge to edge.

The Britins performing on the Mazomanie Performing Arts Pavilion stage — Four lads from Liverpool, by way of Milwaukee.

We counted at least one dog, several Packers chairs, and zero people who could resist singing along by the second set. This is what summer in a small town is supposed to look like. Big thanks to the Mazo Live crew, who put this series on year after year and make it look easy. It is not easy. It is a lot of volunteers who love this village.

A full lawn of concertgoers at Mazo Live in Mazomanie — The lawn, edge to edge, as the sun went down.

The whole village was humming tonight, and not just at the pavilion. Open mic talent spilled out of the Iron Hop Taphouse down the block, and if you walked past our building, you may have spotted our muralist hard at work. She flies home to San Francisco tomorrow, so the finished wall is still a ways off. Consider this a preview of coming attractions. More on her, and the mural, in a future entry.

Muralist painting wildflowers and butterflies on the 1855 building at night under work lights — Burning the midnight oil. Wildflowers going up on the old bank, one petal at a time.

If you missed it, the good news is the series is not done. Sharp Dressed Men, the ZZ Top tribute, takes the stage on August 22, and the Birddog Blues Band closes out the season on September 26. Details at mazolive.org.

And a friendly tip from the bank down the street: concert days are better with a slow morning first. We are a short walk from the pavilion, pouring from 6 AM. Fuel up, wander the village, claim your patch of grass early.

The 1855 crew

All Ledger entries