Courtesy milfordamp.org
Over the past decade, Sean Lynch has probably played just about every rock club and alternative venue in Detroit you can think of, between his band 800beloved and other projects. But soon he'll bring the dark sounds of 800beloved to a family-friendly venue right in his hometown.
Back in May, Milford unveiled its new LaFontaine Family Amphitheater, an outdoor theater located in its Central Park. That's when Lynch approached his Milford's Downtown Development Authority with a pitch.
"It just started out with me saying like, 'You know, you should really encourage all original music because Michigan has an exceptional feed for that, and people don't have to always drive out of town if there are bands producing albums right underneath their roofs," he says, referring to work he's done with Scott Masson of OFFICE.
The idea sat around until Huron Valley State Bank expressed an interest in launching a summer program similar to Ann Arbor's "Sonic Lunch."
"I had this pitch to them, focusing on this particular branch of left-of-the-dial indie artists who are very DIY but sound good enough live to appeal to lots of different ages," Lynch says.
Many meetings later, 800beloved will now perform on Saturday, Sept. 19. Lynch says the other bands on the bill — Grand Rapids' Dear Tracks and Detroit's Missionary — were "acutely selected" to fit the outdoor theater vibe.
"They just really fit in with that, to put it bluntly, that Saturday night that you never thought would happen in your hometown," Lynch says. "This is my attempt to give back basically maybe a dream that I had as a kid to see three indie rock bands playing in the middle of my town, like straight out of a movie."
It's perhaps a strange venue for Lynch's band — better known for tracks with titles like "Show Me Evil" — but then again, 800beloved has always had kind of a melodramatic after-school special quality to their music. "I thought they hated me here!" he says. "I'm the guy who gets noise complaints all the time."
All summer concerts at the amphitheater are free and open to the public. Central Park is located on Main Street between Huron and Liberty streets — learn more at the event's Facebook page.
Check out the flier below, or listen to a playlist of the bands here.
