Lifestyles

Music in the park sounds off

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Adam Howard will give his final farewell to Siloam Springs surrounded by friends, music and nature.

Howard, the 2013 JBU Alumni behind the stage name The Duke of Norfolk, will be playing a “Music in the Park” concert on Sept. 21, at Twin Springs Park with Little Chief, Jason Bowyer and Susannah Powell.

“In a way, it’s like a good-bye party,” said Howard.

Howard took up the name of Duke of Norfolk as an act in the University’s first Next Big Thing competition. Since then, Howard has mainly performed in Siloam Springs.

Howard however will be moving to Europe in October and he had the idea to play one last concert in Siloam Springs.

“I got together some bands I thought would be good and thought of a place that would be nice,” said Howard about planning the concert from his current residence in Tulsa, Okla.

The Duke of Norfolk’s manager had expressed interest in pairing him with a band based in Fayetteville, Ark, named Little Chief. Howard decided his final concert would the perfect time to pair up with the band.

Jason Bowyer, a senior at John Brown University, is another one of the acts performing at the concert and is one of Howard’s close friends. He and the members of Little Chief together suggested Susannah Powell as the final act of the night.

One downfall of planning the event from so far away was a lack of communication about events planned by the University. Howard found out Breakaway was planned for the same weekend as the concert, but was assured students would be returning in time to go to his final show.

“Musicians are generally really, really bad at communicating and committing to things, so I’m really lucky it all worked out,” said Howard.

The styles of all three acts are very different according to Bowyer ranging from singer/songwriter to pop to folk music. But for the artists, the music in and of itself is not the main theme of the evening.

“We want it to be like kind of like a cook-out, social event and the music will really bring everyone together,” said Bowyer.

While there will be some food and games provided, attendants are strongly encouraged to bring a picnic and yard games.

“Adam is one of my best friends,” said Bowyer, “This event means a lot to him and in that way it means a lot to me. I want to have this last concert to kind of send him out.”

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