Downtown Clinton comes alive for summer
Free concert planned for July 3 to celebrate reopening of historic district
Katie Brown, left, of Knoxville makes a purchase at Granny’s Attic Antiques during last Saturday’s Market Night event in Historic Downtown Clinton. At right is store owner Kathie Creasy. (photo:Emma Jayne Williams )
It served as a prelude to events planned for the July 4 weekend downtown.
The city of Clinton has invited the community and visitors from across the region to celebrate the reopening of Historic Downtown Clinton with a live concert on Thursday, July 3, from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Market Street, to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
After nearly a year-and-a-half of construction work focused on upgrading downtown’s Clinton’s streets, sidewalks, and landscaping, “the celebration marks a new chapter for Historic Downtown Clinton,” the city said in an announcement.
The free concert will feature nationally recognized artists and regional favorites, headlined by actor, singer-songwriter and One Tree Hill star Tyler Hilton.
From portraying Elvis Presley in “Walk the Line,” to gaining a devoted fanbase as musician Chris Keller on the CW show “One Tree Hill,” Hilton has built an award-winning career spanning music, television and film, the city said.
He has toured and collaborated with artists including Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum and Joe Cocker.
Also performing for the evening will be singer-songwriter and actress Kate Voegele, known for both her successful music career and her role on One Tree Hill. Voegele has released four studio albums which have sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide, and amassed millions of streams while touring internationally.
The lineup also includes the Americana/country duo and local Clinton favorite Westwend, featuring Wendy and Jonathan Maness.
Combining influences from bluegrass, Delta blues, classic country and Motown, the duo have performed at major festivals across the United States and Europe, including Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and the Spring Bluegrass Festival in Switzerland.
As for last Saturday’s Market Night, Danny and Melissa Aikens came from Lenoir City for the event, and said they were enjoying visiting the downtown stores and checking out the vendors set up in tents along Market Street.
Two additional Market Nights are scheduled for July 11 and Aug. 8, from 5-8 p.m.
Conducted by the merchants’ group, the Market Night events also include food trucks and trailers.
The merchants and even Hamock’s restaurant stayed open late to accommodate the crowds, which were expected to be big as Market Street comes back to life after the long shutdown.
Even though Market Street has yet to be repaved – the last step in the rehabilitation project – new sidewalks and other improvements on the street were ready to accommodate people on foot.
City Manager Roger Houck said last week that he expects Market Street to be reopened to vehicular traffic by the end of June, when repaving should be completed – “weather permitting.”
“Right now, we’re doing wiring and landscaping,” he said.
That includes putting trees in the new planters along the sidewalk, which is now well along.
Meanwhile, repaving of Main Street “will be another six weeks down the road,” Houck said. “They’re still putting in sewer lines. That’s what we’re waiting on.”
Additionally, two blocks of Main Street just south of Commerce Street have been closed to vehicles for about three weeks straight, after several months of rolling shutdowns as water and sewer lines were being replaced.
