Fill the night with music.

This is how we spend a sultry late-summer Saturday evening in Hagerstown.

Dead Men's Hollow--one of my favorite Bluegrass bands--brought their lush harmonies and rich-yet-precise instrumentals (sounds like they're fanatics about pitch, which is appreciated) to an audience of hundreds this evening.

This series--a collaboration by the Washington County Arts Council and the City of Hagerstown begun four years ago--is intended to bring the experience of excellent live performance to people who don't get that very often. This year, thanks to the Maryland State Arts Council and the Hagerstown Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau, an underserved population is getting eight consecutive weeks of great music right in their own back yard. But--here's the cool part--people are coming into these folks' neighborhood as cultural tourists. Lord, did you ever think you'd see the day that people from Frederick would be coming to city-center Hagerstown for their cultural experience on a summer evening? I witnessed one exchange between a visiting couple (who had a blanket, brie, and LL Bean picnic equipment) and one of our downtown residents who lives in the neighborhood because services for low-income disabled persons are available there. The guy in the wheelchair possibly hasn't been in a restaurant in years. But he was helpfully explaining that the visiting couple should definitely after the concert go directly to Duffy's which is our new trendy nightclub on the Public Square. At first that sort of broke my heart; he's never been to Duffy's, and probably never will. But he gave careful instructions on where it is and where to park. But then I thought, good for you, good for us; how excellent for anyone to welcome people to their neighborhood with hospitality and grace. Once in a while I feel a flash of human respect and dignity here in Hagerstown, and it makes me think that our future is a hopeful one. The arts make that happen.