Atop the mosaics embedded in the patio of Peoples Park, Baanu Balci danced with her 3-year-old son, Ada, skipping and swinging him in the air between dance moves.
Their soundtrack — and their reason for coming to the park — was the free concert.
“We love music,” Balci said.
Bloomington jazz-country duo Davis and Devitt played the free midday concert.
The event was part of the Peoples Park Lunch Concert Series, which is presented by the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.
The series, which is in its ninth year, began this year’s shows in May.
Tuesday’s concert was the first at Peoples Park since the month and a half break in June.
Greg Jacobs, community events coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department, said the park’s location suits midweek afternoon concerts.
“It’s such an interesting, small park, and it’s also close to the University,” he said. “(The series is) something people on lunch can come down to see, as well as people who work in Bloomington.”
Jacobs said even though the Lunch Concert Series is often grouped with Bloomington’s Performing Arts Series, they’re technically separate.
While the Performing Arts Series sees local businesses taking part in financing shows and selecting performers, Jacobs books the concerts in Peoples Park directly.
Jacobs selects the artists via an application process, which becomes available in the fall.
Jacobs books artists based on type of performance, availability and cost, among other factors.
Jacobs said he makes an effort to pick artists from a variety of genres, in addition to those that would appeal to the general public.
“We always try to pick something family-friendly,” he said. “But not everything is exactly geared towards families. When we do, we try to put it towards the summer when kids are out of school.”
The series gives artists an opportunity to perform publicly, sometimes in unconventional settings.
Davis and Devitt’s vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sharlee Davis estimated the group has played shows in the Lunch Concert Series and Performing Arts Series somewhere between 13 and 15 times since she and guitarist Will Devitt started writing music as a duo in the mid ’90s.
By the time the pair finished their first song — a guitar solo-heavy cover of Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” — about 15 people had gathered in the park to watch, most of them also eating lunch or ice cream.
Davis said she doesn’t mind playing to small audiences. She said some of the appeal of concerts like those in Peoples Park comes from the way performances blend into their surroundings.
“It’s crazy, just the traffic and the people and the constant movement,” she said. “We just kind of become part of the ambiance of the city.”
Last fall, Davis and Devitt released their ninth CD, “Nine.”
Most of their recent shows have taken them out of town, Davis said.
When they do play a hometown concert, it’s often part of the Lunch Concert Series or something similar.
In some years, she said, the duo has performed multiple times in such a series.
“This is a great series throughout the whole summer,” she said. “It just really adds so much to Bloomington.”
The concerts in Peoples Park continue every Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Sept. 29.
Upcoming performers include roadhouse blues four-piece the Jukedaddyz Sept. 1, jazz pianist Monika Herzig Sept. 15 and blues duo the NorTones Sept. 29.
