Fall 2026
About
Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and listen to live, local music in an extraordinary setting! Beer and wine are available for purchase ($1 off for Sister Cities members). Kids will love the weekly make-and-take crafts and the playground nearby!
The concerts are free to attend; a $10 donation is suggested. In the case of inclement weather, the concerts will move inside the adjacent Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center. This season’s donations will go to the Traveling Musician Fund, which helps support the musician(s) selected annually to travel to Isesaki, Japan, and perform at the city festival and other events. This year’s Traveling Musicians are Grupo Canela from sister city, Tlaquepaque, Mexico, uniting our three cities for SSCA’s 40th anniversary year. Donations of $25 or more will receive a commemorative bucket hat or t-shirt.
Performance Schedule
Hey Pam! is a friendly pop band with hints of the Ozarks sprinkled into their music. They released their self-titled debut album Hey Pam! in 2022 while living out of state, and are happy to be living and performing in Springfield again.
Originally, the band consisted of Will and Marissa Knauer, but has since expanded to welcome Joe Misterovich on guitar and vocals, Will Hopkins on drums, and Brooks Burrell on bass.
Hey Pam! strives to write songs that welcome everyone to their music. Each time a song is being considered for an album, they put it to the final test by wondering, “would this song appeal to all the members of a family?”
With an eclectic mix of inspiration ranging from Big Country to Big Smith, Hey Pam! is a band that mixes fun and positive energy together to evoke a great experience for all.
It sounds like Arkansas. It’s not polished enough to be James Taylor and it’s not L.A. enough to be John Mayer. It’s not Florida enough to be Tom Petty and it’s not smooth enough to be Tony Rice.
Somewhere in the lovechild of all those different sounds is what you’d call Jed Clark. Growing up in Arkansas around the tradition of bluegrass music with early influences in the progressive rock sounds of the late 2000s Jed constructed his ideas for what “sounded good.” Placing flatpicking influences from Tony Rice into melodies that might be more reminiscent of Petty or Mayer, Jed intertwines a distinctly southern sound with emotions that aren’t limited to any part of the world.
There is an honesty that connects Jed’s songs to the human experience. Life’s all-too-common painful experiences are soothed by melodic reminders that we all go through heartaches and dark nights of the soul. Like all music, it’s best experienced for yourself.
French and Fourt is a jazz duo featuring vocalist Laura French and guitarist Ryan Fourt.
A classically trained singer with roots in musical theatre, Laura is known for her clear, expressive vocals and a storyteller’s approach to the Great American Songbook.
Ryan has spent more than two decades performing, recording, and teaching jazz in a career that has taken him from Arkansas to Colorado and back again. His playing is defined by a deep sense of swing, creative improvisation, and exceptional time.
Together, they perform jazz standards, bossa novas, and Great American Songbook favorites.
The duo will be joined by bassist Seth Darby for their Gigs in the Garden performance.
Kenny and Juanita met when singing in a bluegrass band. Somewhere along the way they also started doing duets from other genres of music – folk, pop, country, rock. They are good storytellers and their harmony is music to the ears!
SSCA Membership Benefit
Springfield Sister Cities members receive $1 off alcoholic beverages at Gigs in the Garden! Just show your membership card before purchase to redeem.
BECOME A MEMBERLocation
Peace through People Pavilion
in the Kay Cummins Finnie Memorial Dogwood Garden
at the Springfield Botanical Gardens at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park
2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, MO
Nearby parking is available in the Botanical Center lot. Auxiliary parking is available to the north of the Dogwood Garden or at the Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden.
Organizers
The series is organized by lead volunteers Ric Mayer and Linda Chorice and managed by Springfield Sister Cities Association in cooperation with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
Sponsors
PRESENTING SPONSOR:
SUPPORTING SPONSOR:
Tom Finnie
About the PTP Pavilion
The Peace Through People Pavilion was funded by the Finnie family and constructed in late 2016 to encourage more cultural performances and community events in the Springfield Botanical Gardens. The Pavilion furthers the Friends of the Garden mission to bring people, nature, and gardens together as well as the Springfield Sister Cities Association mission of Peace Through People.
More Information
For more information, please call 417-864-1191 or contact us.