Hartford Live has announced four of the six bands playing in the 2024 series. Jam bands are prominent, but it’s a respected indie rock band from Vancouver that will be kicking off concerts in early August.
The free concerts happen every Thursday from Aug. 18 to Sept. 19 (except Aug. 29) at 6 p.m. outside the Old State House in Hartford. The series begins Aug. 8 with Canadian indie band The New Pornographers, featuring opening act Gustaf.
The New Pornographers released their 10th album “Continue as a Guest” last year. Gustaf, based in Brooklyn, released their second album “Package Pt. 2” earlier this year.
Ripe, the Boston-born pop/funk band that features a trombone in its lineup, plays on Aug. 22.
The Grateful Dead-styled jam band Max Creek, who played the Hartford Live series last year, returns for a Sept. 5 show. Max Creek has been a mainstay in the New England music scene for nearly 50 years.
Eggy performs Sept. 12. The jam band is from Woodbridge, playing frequently at Pacific Standard Tavern in their formative years, and is now gaining national attention. Eggy’s current tour (mostly as an opening act for Umphrey’s McGee) brings them to Colorado, California, North Carolina and elsewhere. They’re releasing a new album shortly before their Hartford Live show.
The performers for the Aug. 15 and Sept. 19 dates have yet to be announced. There is no concert on Aug. 29, which is the Thursday before the Labor Day weekend.
Hartford Live is now in its third year. The series was created by the City of Hartford and the local music booking and promotions company Goodworks Entertainment in order to get people outside to arts events again following the COVID pandemic. Bands who’ve played the series in the past include indie rock icons Dinosaur Jr. and reggae legends Burning Spear and The Wailers.
Goodworks Entertainment runs the Infinity Hall music venues in Hartford and Norfolk. It also held the first Capitol Groove festival last month in Bushnell Park. Capitol Groove, a ticketed event with national headlining acts such as Dispatch, My Morning Jacket and Guster, was a success, and GoodWorks Entertainment announced Tuesday that the festival will happen again next year on June 28 and 29, 2025.
The Hartford Live concerts are free but in past years special seating opportunities and other amenities have been offered for an added cost. Food trucks and a beer garden are on the Old State House lawn near the stage.
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