[PHOTOSTORY 1: OUTDOORS] Papa Sol Concludes Downtown Live Concert Series

 By: Sarah Aceves

Two concertgoers walk down East Main Street ahead of the Papa Sol performance in downtown Statesboro on Thursday. Locals and visitors alike gathered for the free outdoor concert serving as the finale for the City of Stateboro's, Downtown Live Concert Series.

Signs and traffic cones line the street in front of a black van and white truck against the back of the stage. The temporary roadblock closed off parts of East Main Street from the Bulloch County Courthouse intersection to Oak Street.

Concertgoers unfold lawn chairs on the courthouse lawn. Attendees started gathering hours ahead of the music's start time of 7 p.m.

 

Two friends reach out to embrace each other after unexpectedly seeing each other. The concert created numerous accidental reunions among local residents drawing smiles to many faces. 

A Grice Connect employee orders food from the Hobbs Barbecue food truck. Grice Connect and several other businesses partnered alongside the City of Statesboro to make the concert series free for the public.

Food trucks and trailers park along the sidewalk of East Main Street before the concert. Vendors started serving the crowd at 6 p.m. before the 7 p.m. show start time.

Concertgoers dance in the street before Papa Sol takes the stage. While food vendors served dinner during the 6 p.m. hour, a DJ played music to entertain the growing crowd.

Multiple generations of music fans dance to the DJ's personal upbeat remixes tailored to a diverse audience. As a large crowd continued to grow, people transformed the open street into a dance floor which continued throughout the night.

Papa Sol took the stage promptly at 7 p.m. with a lively performance. The crowd was at its largest for the night as spectators eagerly watched the first song. 

Popsicle wrappers and an empty bubble wand sit beneath a child and her lawn chair. As the concert went along photojournalists from Grice Connect passed around bubbles to children while taking photos.

A man on an electric bike pauses on the sidewalk to watch the live performance. The outdoor concert drew in a diverse crowd of pedestrians, bicyclists, and golf cart drivers. 

Band members invited male concertgoers on stage to participate in a singing battle. The spur-of-the-moment competition drew large amounts of cheers and laughter from the crowd.

The spur-of-the-moment singing competition quickly transforms into a dance session as participants groove to the bands songs. The interactive stage kept the crowd engaged despite the muggy heat and gnats. 

Papa Sol's lively performance continues throughout the night, including dancing with synchronized steps. The band is known for their ability to perform a wide variety of genres while keeping their audience moving and engaged. 

The crowd and lawn chairs overflow into the nearby Synovus Bank parking lot. The courthouse lawn and street were entirely filled by 7 p.m., leaving them to find seating where ever they could fit.

   

Georgia Southern University's live mascot Freedom II and her handler Steve Hein arrive in the parking lot to speak with concert spectators. The appearance was a planned training and community engagement opportunity for the newly appointed mascot. 

        

A young girl excitedly talks to Hein about Freedom II as concertgoers start to notice the bird. This appearance drew a small crowd to the Synovus Bank parking lot during the concert.

The young girl pets Freedom II with Hein holding the bird. The event continued with numerous interactive community engagement opportunities for all. 

The dancing continues out into the crowd as some attendees begin to pack up their belongings ahead of the concert's end at 9 p.m. The band kept the remaining attendees dancing and engaged until the very end.

Two women begin packing up their chairs and food as the concert ends. Papa Sol's concert concluded the Downtown Live Concert Series, which drew in a large number of people, bringing locals together.