'Stackhouse' plays to large crowd in Springville

SPRINGVILLE — It was the perfect combination for a great evening - blue skies, a light breeze, free home-made ice cream, plenty of children's laughter and the ability to spend quality time with friends, family and loved ones at Springville Veterans Memorial Park while taking in a free concert - part of the Springville Concerts in the Park series held from 7 to 9 p.m. every other Friday.

"Stackhouse"- playing a mix of classic rock and blues - entertained the large crowd, many of whom arrived early with lawn chairs, blankets and picnic dinners.

Linn and Karin Wiseman of Springville said they have attended the concert series at the renovated park for three years.

"We love them," Linn said. "We want to be a part o the community. This is an excellent event. The park is very nice. People have been renovating it and it looks great."

As Ted Switzer waited for the concert to start, he held his great grandson, 7-month old Colton Vanwagoner, as he also visited with friends, Debra and Marvin Pardee, Springville's retired postmaster and a member of the band High Sierra.

"I play at Rustlers [Steakhouse] on Saturday nights, so whenever I can, I like to get out of the house, socialize, and enjoy the music from this other side,' Marvin Pardee said.

As people continued to arrive, Katie Ferraro, 11, and Hannah Bowles, 8, knew exactly what they wanted. They headed to a back table where Lighthouse Chapel of Springville offered homemade ice cream - strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate Oreo - to all who attended.

"I live eight miles above Springville but we always come to the concerts," Katie said. "Springville is such a beautiful place to live and [the concerts] are fun to come to."

The two young girls ran off to join dozens of other young children playing on the new playground equipment at the park.

While most people drove vehicles to the concert, some arrived by motorcycle, others walked or rode their bicycles and scooters but 2-year-old Emery Leascher arrived to the concert by unique transportation - driving a John Deere tractor.

"This is really great," his father, Keith Leascher said. "This is the greatest park. They did an awesome job."

It was a sentiment expressed again and again by those in attendance.

As the sun started to settle, lead vocalist David Blair joined drummer Fernando Romero, guitarist Mitch Hayes, and bass guitarist Brandon Moreno as they opened to "Back to the Chicken Shack."

"He's pretty good. I'm impressed," said Rene Martinez of Porterville. "He's my supervisor at work and he's been playing for a long time but I had never had a chance to go see him until tonight."

Blair said the band was named after their friend Anita Stackhouse-Hite.

"The band has been together for about 10 years. We really liked the name ‘Stackhouse-Hite' but finally decided to go with only ‘Stackhouse' as our name. It fits well," Blair said. "This was the first time we played at the Springville concert series. It was a different crowd - a little older than I expected but it was great and we tried to play a variety of music so that everyone could enjoy it."

The band played everything from Creedence Clearwater Revival and Allman Brothers to the Beatles, Leonard Skynard and Eric Clapton music.

Mary Higgins, sitting on a blanket with her family, offered pizza slices to her son, Hawk, and triplets, Falcon, Wren and Phoenix.

"This is the third one this year that we attend," Higgins said. "It is so nice out here. It is so family oriented. People bring their dogs and people in general are very nice. When you have four children, even going to McDonalds can add up. This is free and so nice."

The next Springville Concert in the Park series is scheduled for Aug. 8, and will feature "Beach Band" playing 1960s music.

-- Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1047 or eavila@portervillerecorder.com.