In my neverending quest for free stuff to do I came upon an article touting this year’s Patio Sessions at Sammons Park in front of the Opera House in the Dallas Arts District. That sounded like a plan, so I rearranged some scheduling, dragged myself out of bed a little earlier so I could leave work on time, and took the DART Red Line from work downtown.
I got there in plenty of time – they weren’t even set up when I arrived. The two musical guests for this, the first Patio Session of the year were Madison King and Calhoun.
It was really nice. With the evening sun starting to set, the light in the Arts District was thick and gorgeous. The musicians played in front of the reflecting pool between the Winspear and the Wyly – which is a particularly attractive spot. The skyscrapers of downtown all glowed in the evening light like warm mountain spires and far overhead the aluminum sunscreen reached out with a welcoming last bit of shade. The crowd was light and super mellow – most people brought blankets and spread out on the patches of bright green grass around the pool. The weather, unusual for North Texas, was perfect – the killer summer heat hasn’t arrived yet.
Madison King was up first and did an excellent acoustic set. Everything was so relaxed and chilled – it was just what I wanted – a perfect escape at the end of a day.
Between the bands I wandered over to the food trucks and bought something to eat. There were plenty of tables – my only difficulty was balancing my food on the way over. Most people found their way into the roped-off area with little tables where they were selling alcohol. Even though this was outside, the sound was good and you didn’t have to scrunch up close – though you could if you wanted to. The only downside was the periodic roar of a Southwest Jet overhead and, for some reason, a couple of times the bells of the nearby Catholic Church erupted into a cacophony of clanging – which usually is cool, but clashed with the music.
I wandered back for Calhoun’s set. They were using an instrument I had never seen before – it was like an accordion in a ornate wooden box set on a stand. He would move one wall of the box back and forth and you could see the air going through little cloth valves. The box said “NAGI” on it and it didn’t take much work to find out what the instrument is. It’s a portable harmonium. These seem to be mostly used by Indian musicians, but it fit right in with what Calhoun was playing tonight. It enabled the three piece ensemble to have a deeper, more complex sound.
In their Youtube video for their SXSW showcase they look like a pop band, but again, for this setting, they went for a mellower, chilled out acoustic sound. They were very good at it and I really liked their set.
It didn’t last long – at 7:30 or so they were done. That’s nice for a work night, and I was able to catch the train before the sun set.
The Patio Sessions continue into the summer, every Thursday at 5:30. The lineup looks impressively diverse – and thankfully full of local talent – The Simon & Garfunkel tribute band looks cool, and I’m always up for a string quartet. I don’t know if it is always as relaxing and laid back – but I imagine it is. It might get more crowded as the season goes on, but there is plenty of room.
I’ll have to remember to bring a blanket next time.
Madison King at the first Patio Session
Madison King
The musicians play next to the reflecting pool in front of the Opera House
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The audience was very, very laid back.
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Tha Nagi harmonium that Calhoun used... very cool.
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Bill Chance 
Now Bill that is what I am talking about. We are definitely on the same page with our recent post. Music. Music in the air. Parks and city streets. Glad you had a great time. Cool sounds.
Thanks! I was thinking the other evening – I don’t remember a paid concert that I ever liked as much as a free one.
Looks like a good show even with the jet and church disruptions. Great photos! 🙂
It was fun – very laid-back. It will be interesting to see if the rest of the sessions are too.
Oh I would love to be sitting there on the grass too! Cool and relaxing 🙂
Thank you, it was very nice. It won’t be cool here for much longer.
Loved this post! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m defiantly going to check out the schedule and walk up there week next week.
Are you going to the Arts Festival of Main today? I went last night and they have A LOT of talented artist. My favorite one was the guy who paints jars that look like photographs. I was F-L-O-O-R-E-D when i saw them! I think he’s Irish!
I hope you have a chance to make it out there!
Do you mean the Deep Ellum Arts Festival? I’m going to it tomorrow (busy today) for sure. There is a sculptor there named David Pound that I am a big fan of. He makes little monster heads in wooden boxes. I hope he has something left that I like and can afford.
Thanks for the comment!
Yes, the Deep Ellum Festival. I went Friday and Saturday. It is HUGE this year… to me at least… I didn’t recall seeing a David Pound, but there are SO MANY artist there that I could have missed him.
I made it out to the Deep Ellum arts festival on Sunday, before the rain. Thanks for the recommendation – I even was able to squeeze a couple blog entries out of it and have enough photos for a third.
https://billchance.org/2012/04/11/art-music-food-and-bad-tattoos/
https://billchance.org/2012/04/12/monster-heads-in-little-wooden-boxes/
It goes well, here is a Sunshine Award. http://wp.me/pJRaR-Dw
I can’t wait til my lil old community starts their , “Park days,” again. They feature a band in the late afternoon, food trucks, and a movie in the park at night. Such a chill setting. Your day sounded wonderful.
Yes, it was really nice and relaxing. It won’t be long before the heat sets in here, though.
Hi Bill,
I appreciate the photos and videos that accompany your story. 🙂
Not that your words alone don’t paint a good picture of your topics. We enjoy taking advantage of the free offerings in the arts district, too. Just got back from 3 hours at the DMA (First Saturday free admission IF you have a Bank of America card). Paid $4 to get into the Youth and Beauty exhibit and let me tell you, it was worth every penny! We both loved that exhibit. Also had never seen the Wendy & Emery Reves exhibit, so that was fun, esp. the Winston Churchill room.
We may revisit that exhibit next First Saturday, but maybe the Nasher will exert a stronger pull.
BTW, we had lunch at the food trucks and it was pretty good if a little pricey.
Thanks for the comment! I’ve gone to the First Saturday a few times, plus the free times at the Nasher. I’ll have to go see the Youth and Beauty exhibit.
I’m afraid the Wendy Reeves exhibit sort of aggravates me. There is so much beautiful art that you can’t even see properly because it is set up in a monument to Wendy Reeve’s home decorating skills. I wish they could at least rotate the paintings out so you could get a good look at them. The Churchill stuff is fascinating, though.
I wasn’t too excited about the Bacchae exibit at the Nasher, until I was able to see it up close. It’s something (I’m not sure what). I could look at it for hours.
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Cool scene. Love it. Just finally caught the first free Jazz night outside the museums on the outskirts of L.A. Surprised by the level of talent… it was superb, and I could even stand directly behind the musicians and watch as closely as I wished. They’ll continue the free Jazz every Friday evening from here on… guess where I’ll be? 🙂
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