Billy G and Destiny To Open Walnut Beach Concert Series Saturday

MILFORD, CT —After the 2020 Walnut Beach Association Summer Concert Series was canceled because of the pandemic, and the 2021 event hung in the balance for a portion of the spring pending the health department's approval of crowded gatherings, the banner for the 2021 concert series finally was displayed on the beach's pavilion last week.

At that point, for many locals, it was official: live music was coming back to Walnut Beach.

"Once the banner was up, everybody was excited, people took pictures of it on Walnut Beach, and people said to me: 'Oh my God, thank you!" Wendy Terenzio, president of the Walnut Beach Association (WBA), told Patch.

The 10th Annual Walnut Beach Concert Series - which actually started 11 years ago - kicks off under the pavilion Saturday when Billy G and Destiny are scheduled to perform between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The following day, Silver Steel Pan Band will play a July 4 show from 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., before locals take to the beach to create their own amateur fireworks display.

The July 4 show will be first of 10 straight weeks of free Sunday concerts for the whole family. Other highlights include, Arena Rock Tribute, a New York City band that plays 70s and 80s anthems (July 11), Heavy Hitters, featuring the popular singer Heather Joseph (July 25), The Barons, a 50s Doo Wop group (Aug. 1) and The RumRunners, who will close the festival (Sept. 5). All the concerts after July 4 are scheduled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

"You have the pavilion, with great acoustics, and the extended grass area, the wind from the beach, people on the beach can hear the music. It's a great venue and people are happy to be part of it," Terenzio said.

Vendors and food trucks also will be present to serve the crowds, which Terenzio said have ranged from anywhere between 300 and 1,000 in years past.

Terenzio, a musician and performer herself, launched the festival in 2011, initially with four bands, which grew to seven and then to nine.

Eleven concerts also were scheduled last year before the series was canceled. However, this year's lineup is nearly identical to 2020, except that Silver Steel Pan Band and Billy G and Destiny swapped days, so the former could still play July 4.

The cancellation of last year's festival clearly left a void for many local music fans, but Terenzio did her best to keep the music going.

Living near the beach, Terenzio invited some of her friends in the music business to perform shows on her own home's deck outside. Audiences that began with just invited guests -they sat socially distanced - swelled as folks walking by heard the music and decided to stay for the concerts, many sitting in a nearby church parking lot.

"People were crying and saying 'thank you,' and the musicians were saying it was so great to play and have an audience. It was a big win-win," Terenzio said.

Billy Genuario, lead singer of Billy G and Destiny, has been performing for four decades, and traditionally plays area gigs three of four nights a week, including a regular Thursday slot at the Spotted Horse Tavern in Westport. But during the pandemic, Genuario was reduced livestreaming at-home performances on YouTube.

Genuario said the band began doing two or three outdoor gigs per week last summer, and saw that number drop a bit when cooler weather hit. However, with indoor seating off-limits in many venues, cold-weather show were better than no shows at all.

"We were luckier than most, we kept working. A few times a month we'd play on patios, with heaters. Now I know I can play anywhere and at any temperature," said Genuario, who said his schedule has gotten back to "almost normal."

On Saturday, Genuario said he and his five-piece band will perform covers, and attendees can expect "little bit of everything," including: Al Green, Billy Joel, Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Motown, dance stuff and classic rock. He's also got a female bandmate who will cover Bonnie Raitt.

Billy G and Destiny will be making its Walnut Beach Concert Series debut, but Genuario said he's heard good things about the venue and said there is a good lineup of bands for the series.

Genuario said the pandemic brought home just how important live music is to so many people.

"Even when I was doing things from home, people were saying 'we miss you guys playing this music.'" Genuario said. "I couldn't imagine a life without music, and people must feel the same way."