NSLC Main Street Director, Cody Walters using the end of summer event to highlight a potential new venue for outdoor concerts and events in Allegheny Commons Park.
By: Neil Strebig
Cody Walters and his Deutschtown Series are at it again. At the end of this month, Walters plans on sharing his “Skyline Party” with local Northsiders and residents city-wide.
The idea for the free day-long concert came about in conjunction with the current implementation of the Allegheny Commons Park Master Plan. The goal of the Skyline Party is to showcase the Hampton Battery Stage, located off of Cedar Avenue (directly behind the Sue Murray Pool) as the possible permanent location for outdoor shows. According to Walters, the venue is currently a bit weathered but with the beautiful view of the Pittsburgh skyline as a backdrop, the potential for the venue is immeasurable.
“Problem with that stage is it is mildly dilapidated. And ultimately the stage faces the opposite direction,” said Walters. Currently, performers would be the only ones with a view of the skyline, but the aim of a redesign is focused on “reclaiming the space.”
He believes the area can be used for a number of outdoor events such as outdoor movie nights, Shakespeare in the Park-style productions, and permanent events, not just an extension of the Deustchtown Music Festival. The Skyline Party is the launch pad for that discussion.
“Telling people about something is one thing, showing them is another,” said Walters, “I wanted to see what the stage would look like, how the stage would function.”
Walters has already built a substantial amount of success with his previous endeavors. In 2012, he created the Deutschtown Music Festival (DMF). An event he admits stemmed from the positive response of the Deustchtown Bar Crawl in previous two years. According to Walters participants in the 2010 and 2011 bar crawls clamored to see a similar event held in the summer months, and thus the DMF was born. Since its inception five years ago, the DMF has been a catalyst for a number of musically-centered gatherings.
Walters helped organize the Deustchtown Summer Series, a free live concert held weekly at Arnold’s Tea on E. Ohio St. every Saturday from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Skyline Party may mark the end of the summer portion of shows, but the Deutschtown Fall Series will begin in November, every Wednesday night at Allegheny City Brewing.
“It is the Deutschtown triple play,” said Walters, “Start your night out at Allegheny City Brewing, head down to the Elks for banjo club and then head to the Park House for Bluegrass Jam. Just trying to get people into new spaces with music as the component,” said Walters.
The Skyline Party is a free event sponsored by First National Bank. It will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. with live performances from Dinosoul, Old Game, Kaelber, God’s Green Apples, Colonel’s Eagleburgers Highstepping Goodtime Band, Timbeleza, and London Johnson’s Magnificent Street Entertainers.
