Young musicians in Floral Park looking for a stage may be able to find one in Memorial Park.
In a first for the village’s annual summer concert series, the night of July 25 will be devoted to young local artists seeking a stage to showcase their songs.
Floral Park Trustee Jennifer Stewart, who is leading the event’s organization for the village, said she initially got the idea for the “Locals Only” concert after a resident reached out to her last yeae wondering if her son’s band could join the summer series.
“Last summer I received a call from a resident asking if her son’s band could perform. It was too late for last season, so I filed it away for this year,” Stewart said. “I brought the idea to the village board to have sort of a locals-only high school, college-age performance night, and they were totally on board.”
Stewart said anyone is welcome to contact the village about performing, but the event is targeted at musicians under 30. She said her goal with the event is to give young people in the area a chance to perform.
“You just have to be brave enough to get on the stage and perform in front of the community,” Stewart said of the performance requirements. “We’re hoping to get some kids from the high schools and the marching bands. It’s really an opportunity for our younger people.”
The soft deadline to sign up by contacting the village hall is June 30.
Stewart has been working with Jennifer Toohey, the co-owner of Long Island Studio of Music, to organize the concert. Toohey has helped coordinate the sound system and equipment for the event and has publicized it to her students, many of whom are high school or college-aged, who she said are excited about the opportunity.
“This gives the students an opportunity to practice their craft, to showcase their talents, to share what they’ve been working on with the community,” Toohey said. “They’re really excited to do an outdoor concert. We’ve never done that before, and that’s something we’ve always wanted.”

She said her musicians, who typically play indoor recitals through her school, were planning to perform Broadway covers, pop songs and guitar solos.
As this is the concert’s first run, Stewart said she would assess what worked and what didn’t in order to make adjustments for the following year’s rendition. She added that she hoped the village would come out to support the concert in its first year and that young musicians would take advantage of the opportunity.
“I think someone who’s interested in performing should come out and give it a try for the practice to expose themselves to the community,” Stewart said. “I think their friends should come out and spend some time in our Memorial Park and maybe experience a different kind of music they may not have been exposed to previously.”
Residents can hear the lineup of local performers on Fri., July 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Park, the same time and location as the village’s other summer concerts. All are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs.