The bands of summer return

By Odeya Pinkus
MILFORD — The sounds of summer are about to swell in Milford, as the town prepares for its Music in the Park concert series.
The annual event will feature four different concerts and at least eight different performers, including the local band Blind Men Driving? and nationally known country singer Kendall Phillips.
The first of these shows will take place on the last day of Milford’s Music Festival on Sunday, June 26, from 1 until 4 p.m. Phillips, a contestant on American Idol and NBC’s Country Showdown, is an Indiana native. She's performed with star country acts like Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, and Darius Rucker.
She is an official Country Music Association recording artist. Her single “You Should Know" made it to Music Row’s Hot 100 Country Breakout Chart.
Opening for her will be the acoustic trio Mason Jar Rebellion, who describe themselves on Facebook as “an acoustic folk, rock, and bluegrass trio” and perform both cover songs as well as originals.
The band is led by front man, vocalist and North Jersey native Will Cowan. Cowan also plays harmonica, guitar and percussion for the group, as well as bass for Blind Men Driving? another band that will be performing later on in the series.
“I call it folk-grass,” Cowan said about their style. “It’s a combination of folk music to the speed of bluegrass.”
Cowan says he is most excited about “just getting the chance to play for new people, meet new people.”
He also says he’s excited to open for the evening’s last act.
“Obviously Kendall Phillips is huge,” Cowan said.
Also performing during the “Kick-Off” concert will be local singer and guitarist Lenny Miller. While he has performed in other local venues, this is his first time performing at this series.
Miller describes his style as “kind of like classic-rock, because I do a little bit of everything.”
He says that within this genre, his music reflects many different influences.
“Back when I grew up and music was exploding, you could do soul, you could do Eric Clapton or BB King, it was all one big genre,” Miller said. “I kind of tap into all of those different things at once.”
Miller says that his favorite style, however, is the blues.
“I kind of change everything into a kind of blues-y feel when I play it,” he said.
Having practiced and performed music for around 40 years, Miller is no stranger to an artist community. And expressed while he is not originally from the area, he feels very much at home in Milford.
“As soon as I got here I felt like this is where I should have been all along,” Miller said.
Music in the Park will be held in Ann St. Park on June 26, July 10, July 24 and Aug. 14, from 1 to 4 p.m. Sponsors for the event include Milford Dairy Bar, The Naked Bagel, Milford Presents, AltoMusic, Milford Township, Harrington House, Teslicko Enterprises, Waterwheel, Patisserie Fauchere, Fretta’s Italian Food Specialties, Firsky Goat Coffeehouse, Calling All Angels Mission, Pike County Licensing, Milford Borough and Milford Borough Recreation Committee.