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‘Next Door Live!’ Brings Local Music to Audubon Park Neighborhood Venues
Audubon Park Hosts Free Walking Music Festival
Audubon Park’s Garden District spotlights Orlando’s local music scene during “Next Door Live!” This free walking festival brings artists, businesses, and community members together across the neighborhood on May 24. Organized by the combination retail-restaurant space The Neighbors Orlando, the all-day event transforms familiar spaces into a concert crawl featuring local talent, from noon to 9 p.m.
“The sole purpose of this event was collaboration with our neighboring small businesses,” said Brittany Dilorio, owner of The Neighbors Orlando. “We wanted to position live music in places where it wouldn’t typically be to get people walking around and into all the venues that make Audubon Park so great,” she elaborated.
The area is nationally recognized as one of three winners of the 2016 Great American Main Street Award, selected by a national jury of community professionals and leaders in economic development and historic preservation. Dilorio hopes people will feel pride in the community as they walk between locations.
Eleven Local Acts Perform in Various Audubon Park Venues
Of the 11 featured acts, the Tom Haney Band will kick things off with a performance at Palmer’s Garden & Goods, a family-owned business that has served the neighborhood for more than 22 years. “What sets this community apart is the diversity, crop of talent, and camaraderie,” Haney told Pulp City. The band formed after an impromptu jam session with a drummer and violinist, who stayed with him long after the performance ended. Since then, the band has followed a nontraditional assortment of instruments, playing to the tune of Haney’s original lyrics. This Sunday, the band will even feature a dobro, a resonator guitar known for its distinctive twangy metallic sound.
Other musicians performing throughout the district include Chris Dryfoos at The Salty, Francesca Tarantino at The New Romantics bookstore, and Austin Palmer at The Owl’s Attic.
Beyond showcasing local talent, the festival will also support Conservation Florida through attendee donations. “With every event we do, we tie in a charitable partner,” said Delirio. “We’re happy to have Conservation Florida out for education, a scavenger hunt, and a neighborhood clean-up.”
She hopes to make it an annual event, where neighbors get outside and meet each other in person. “Audubon is one of the most eclectic and sought-after neighborhoods in Orlando, so we should be celebrating the small businesses, musicians, and people that make it that way,” she explained.
As music moves through coffee shops, bookstores, gardens, and storefronts Sunday, organizers hope to bring neighbors together through a shared celebration of local sound and community.
To grab free tickets, donate to Conservation Florida, and learn more, visit nextdoorlivefest.com
Mike Synan
News | Sports | Politics
- After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com
