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John E. Lawrence
Summer Jazz Series
Where:
Ford Lake Park (during summer)
Launched:
2021
Owner:
John E. Lawrence
The Inspiration
Most people in Ypsi seem to know John E. Lawrence, and if they don’t know him directly, they’ve likely heard him play. As Lawrence tells it, music was in his life from day one. A visually-minded person, Lawrence began understanding music before he could read, since he’d study the shapes of notes on the page. Then, in the fourth grade, Lawrence heard a classmate play “Louie Louie” on the guitar, and for him, that was all it took to fuel a lifetime of learning and practice.
After many decades spent traveling the world playing music — and making friends with countless musicians along the way — Lawrence decided he wanted to do something for the community in which he’d grown up. So he held a free concert. But as he considered how many musicians he knew, and the opportunity to showcase their talents, he realized, “Why stop at one concert?” From there the Summer Jazz Series was born, and on any given Friday it will attract up to 2,000 people, who descend on Ford Lake Park for an evening of jazz in the summer air.
Looking Forward
For Lawrence, the most important thing about his summer jazz series is that it exists “for all people.”
“It’s all-inclusive,” Lawrence said. “All people, all races, all ages, can come.”
Beyond that, Lawrence hopes to use the series to elevate Ypsilanti’s position beyond a city that you simply “pass through” to get to Ann Arbor or Detroit. Lawrence hopes that Ypsi can become its own destination.
“I want people to start coming here from all over,” Lawrence said. “I want people flying over from Europe to see this jazz series. I want to put Ypsilanti on the map.”
