Rock Island State Park will revive a historic musical tradition this Saturday as it hosts the Rockin’ at the Rock Lawn Chair Jam.
Park Manager Jake Viamonte said the event aims to recapture the atmosphere of the park from decades ago when musicians frequently gathered to play. The revival seeks to honor the legacy of past performers while establishing a new space for the local community to connect through music.
“Maybe 20, 30 years ago we used to have a lot of musicians who would come to the park and spend about a week in our campground and you could just drive through the campground and it would be music everywhere,” Viamonte said. “So what we’ve done is we’ve set aside time and space so that musicians, bands, or just folks who enjoy music can come and kind of enjoy themselves at the park and just enjoy that tradition, carry it on.”
Viamonte said the gathering will take place at the Sandbar Pavilion located at the end of Beach Road. The event is scheduled to run from 12:00 PM until dark on Saturday.
“Something like this lawn chair jam can give people the opportunity to get outside, be in the sunlight, enjoy some nature and just spend time face-to-face with other people,” Viamonte said. “It also gives people an opportunity to kind of showcase their skills a little bit and, you know, you don’t have to be a professional musician to come enjoy the lawn chair jam.”
The event is designed as a participant-driven jam session rather than a formal concert. Viamonte said attendees are encouraged to bring instruments, lawn chairs, towels, and even food dishes to share with others.
“The cool thing about a jam session or a participation-based event like this is that you can really create some interesting moments just by being off the cuff and being open to whatever might happen and you know, of course that doesn’t always happen exactly like we would like, but that’s kind of the beauty of it is you never know what’ll happen and sometimes that leads to, you know, some fun and interesting things,” Viamonte said.
Viamonte said the park has served as a generational resource for families since it opened in 1969. He said the staff views the park as a safe space that belongs to everyone, regardless of where they are from.
“Some of my favorite people I’ve met some of my closest friends I’ve met through playing music with them,” Viamonte said. “It’s awesome to give people that opportunity to come and build those relationships.”