09/04/2026
Another summer has come and gone and with it comes the end of the Massena Concert Series Summer Season! For the past thirteen weeks we have brought live music to the Massena community, and Massena showed up in support! Events like this bring the community together and I was honored to play a part in that. Seeing three and four generations of family together enjoying the music every week told me that memories were made in Springs Park this year!
Without our amazing sponsors, we could not have made this year happen. Our Gold level sponsors, SeaComm and Massena Savings & Loan, continued their generous investments to Massena’s people, fostering arts in the village. Our Silver sponsors, Final Touch Detailing, Morley’s American Grill, Impact Gym & Fitness, Massena American Legion, Corner Convenience & More, Twin Rivers Federal Credit Union, Bear’s Den Charitable Foundation, and Amvets Post 4, also deserve a huge round of applause for their contributions in keeping the music going all summer long.
Despite being teased by rain almost every Thursday, the skies we’re most friendly to us, and we only got rained out twice. In those instances, the good people at Emmanuel Congregational United Church of Christ - Massena, NY were kind enough to host our concerts so the people didn’t have to miss out. And let me tell you, some musical magic was made on those occasions! There are some great acoustics in that place!
To all the vendors who came down to offer food, drink, and crafts to our audiences, I extend my thanks. It helped create a festival-like atmosphere and our crowds continually asked for more. Thank you to The Happy Hive NY, The Little 56, Ty's Dyes / Windance, Tree’s Treasures & More, Nessa’s Nifty Crochet, Gorgeously Grotesque, 100 Women Who Care, and everyone else who joined us! Hopefully next year we’ll see even more turnout from our vendors!
And of course, to the musicians who came and graced our stage, we were honored to be able to host all of you. Lacey Rae Stoddard-Peets, Grim Guitar, Stephanie Fansler & Rob Zollner, Jaynie Trudell Music, Plan B (Band), JR Murray & Thomas Beckstead, Station 45, Atom Ghost, Merrik Follett & the Pickups, Divided Roads, Sal Pascual, Foolish Pride, New Horizons Swing Ambassadors, and Benny Bent Tail all gave us some unforgettable moments and amazing music over the last few months. I’m humbled to be able to know so many unparalleled musicians and bring such a wealth of talent to Massena Concert Series. To paraphrase Andre 3000, it’s like this though, The North Country got something to say.
Of course I also have to extend thanks to Massena Arts and Theater Association and Massena Schine Theater for producing this series, with a special thanks to our treasurer Justin Cardinal for keeping our books. And thanks to SLC Arts Council for administering the grant funding that allows us to bring this series to life every summer. One of these years I’ll be able to recite “This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the St. Lawrence County Arts Council” from memory without having to look at my notes. Thank you to our friends at Explore Massena, for always sharing the information about our concerts and for working together with us during Red, White, and Boom to make it a success for both events rather than a competition, and for everything else they do for Massena.
And of course, to my co-director, partner in life and in the Series, creative decision maker, organizer, letter-writer, chalkboard-designer (until, uhh, I dropped it and broke it) and general absorber of my chaos, Amy Murphy. Thank you for everything you put into this. I couldn’t do it without you.
But most of all, thank you to YOU, our concertgoers and the whole Massena community, who spread the word and showed up every Thursday night to make Springs Park the place to be. I’ve been honored to make summers a little bit more fun the last three years and I hope to continue to for years to come. To quote the great Jerry Garcia, “Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart!”
So for those who have read this far, what was your favorite moment from Massena Concert Series this year? What did you like, what could we do better? Who would you like to see return next summer? Who would you like to see make their MCS debut? Tag them below! We’re only just getting started…
—-Ryan T. Murphy, Massena Concert Series Director
