The Allen County Public Library has announced the 2024 Rock the Plaza lineup and a new partnership with Downtown Fort Wayne. Rock the Plaza, now in its 17th year, will feature a total of 28 local bands and will take place every Saturday from June 15 through July 27. Concerts are held from 6 to 10 p.m. on the Main Library Plaza (900 Library Plaza) in Fort Wayne.
“Rock the Plaza was the first of its kind in downtown Fort Wayne and we have continued to provide an engaging, safe, and fun concert experience season after season,” said Rock the Plaza lead and ACPL Access Fort Wayne Manager Norm Compton. “We’re excited to give folks even more reasons to hang out, support local musicians, and enjoy summer evenings in the Summit City!”
This year’s Rock the Plaza lineup includes fan favorites from a variety of genres, as well as, 17 bands who have never played Rock the Plaza previously:
June 15: Jack's Beanstalk, Jessie Mae, Burnt Violets, Fort Wayne Funk Orchestra
June 22: Radio Blast, Teresa Long, SUN.DYLE, The Be Colony
June 29: The Audacity, Wagner Pastor, Los Electros, Alicia Pyle & the Locals
July 6: Maybe Naughts, Gray Matter, Midnight Mimosas, U.R.B.
July 13: Sahara, Brian Lemert, Todd Harrold Band, Grateful Groove
July 20: Wizards In Texas, The Keystones, StraitJack, Rock Steady, Intrepid Cat
July 27: Humans Among Us, Michael Patterson, Taj Maholics, The G Money Band
Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, chairs, and/or food. Pets are prohibited. Pint & Slice will be on site selling food and beverages, including beer and wine. For those who are unable to attend in person, concerts will air on ACPL’s Access Fort Wayne, Comcast channel 55 and Frontier channel 25. The concerts will also be livestreamed on the Library’s YouTube channel and replayed on ACPL’s radio station WELT 95.7. Rock the Plaza’s 2024 Platinum Sponsors are 96.3WXKE and the Allen County Public Library Foundation.
New this year, Rock the Plaza will partner with Downtown Fort Wayne to present two themed music weeks celebrating live music downtown. The first, World Music Week, is June 27 – 29. That week, Lunch on the Square, Downtown Live, and Rock the Plaza will each showcase a band/musician specializing in music from around the world. Similarly, July 18 – 20 will be Young Artist Week and will celebrate up and coming artists from Northeast Indiana.
“As Fort Wayne develops as a creative hub, we’re happy to partner with ACPL to encourage and support our growing music scene by focusing on young and diverse artists,” said Downtown Fort Wayne President & CEO Michael Galbraith.
The Library’s annual Music on the Plaza Concert Series will also provide lunchtime music opportunities downtown. These concerts feature local bands and food trucks from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Music on the Plaza lineup is as follows:
June 12: Whoa, Man!
July 10: New Millennium Jazz Orchestra
August 7: Farmland Jazz Band
Combined, Rock the Plaza and Music on the Plaza provide 10 free opportunities for the community to enjoy live music from 31 local bands and performers on the Library plaza downtown. For more information, call (260) 421-1200 or visit acpl.info/music.