Blankets and lawn chairs stretched across the Quad on Thursday as people gathered for a night of jazz.
Muncie's local America's Hometown Big Band played a group of songs made famous by big band leader Stan Kenton on Ball State's Art Terrace on Thursday night. The band played more than a dozen songs featuring solos from music director Roger McConnell.
The crowd attending the concert came with blankets, lawn chairs and even their furry companions. Some were just happy the weather was cooler and more enjoyable than the previous weeks.
Gretchen Cumings said her daughter received an email about the event and they decided it was a great opportunity "to get out of the house, see something, see some live music."
Many of the concert goers were familiar with Roger McConnell from previous concert and McConnell's good friend William Taylor was just there to see him.
"We've been following them for years and years and years," he said. "They operate through Ball State."
Williams said he sees McConnell perform whenever he gets the chance but he probably would have stayed home if the temperature was still in the 100's.
A few members of University Singers had just returned from Cincinnati where they competed at the World Choir Games and decided this would be a great first stop.
Alec Burke and John Nelson, both of which are jazz minors, knew members of the big band are were glad they were in attendance.
"We heard about this concert and we're all right here, we'll stick around for a bit," Burke said.
Some of the tunes from the Kenton repertoire included "A Little Minor Booze, The End of a Love Affair" and a fan favorite, "Pennies From Heaven."
Many relatives of the band members were in attendance including, Susan Magrath who was there to see her husband saxophonist George Wolfe perform, both professors at Ball State.
Magrath said the group was started by a faculty member and is a great organization for the city of Muncie.
"It's really a good town and gown type thing with community and Ball State people," she said. "It is non profit but you can donate to it actually."
The big band also performed this Fourth of July and the last couple of years at Minnetrista while trying to promote their group with the help of McConnell, Magrath said.
"He's been trying to build community awareness for years and city support has been kind of up and down," she said.
Despite the support of the city, the band's recent performances at Minnetrista and the Arts Terrace are just a few of the shows the band plays every year. Their loyal fans and friends continue to follow them.
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